My Special Name

We have just started week two of the school year. Teachers and families know, I'm sure, that the first week is filled with all about me activities, learning procedures, and filling up the empty walls in the classroom with student work, etc.  It's the usual order of events for a first week of school.

I did something new this year.  Of course it wasn't my own idea, as most ideas in teaching aren't original, but borrowed and stolen from other fabulous teachers around the world.

The outcome was really great, so I wanted to share it with you.

We read the book, Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. It's a great book about having a unique name.  I sent home an activity for my students to complete at home with the help of their parents.  They had to answer two questions:  "How was your name chosen?" and "Why is this name perfect for you?"  Here are a few of their responses:

Kolpanha

How was your name chosen?

     My dad named me.

Why is this the perfect name for you?

     Because it has a good meaning.  Kol is the year of the pig and Panha means clever.  So my name means clever pig.

Nai

How was your name chosen?

     

     By my mom and my dad.

Why is this the perfect name for you?

     It means a big lotus flower that smells good.  When we look at that flower it is colorful and grows by itself.

Nithi

How was your name chosen?

     Because my mom dreamed about her father bringing treasure to her.  My name means treasure.

Why is this the perfect name for you?

     Because it is a nice name and my parents like it.  Not many people have this name.

Sereyrath

How was your name chosen?

     This name means kind and modest and is just like my characteristic.

Why is this the perfect name for you?

     Because this name is nice and long and one more thing is because I got this lovely name from my lovely Grama.

Chan Liza

How was your name chosen?

     chosen by david and my daddy.

Why is this the perfect name for you?

     beacues my name is easy for me to rember and it's easy for me to warit it.

Sethika

How was your name chosen?

     My name was immediately chosen by my father when I was Born.  he told me that my name was chosen from Khmer dictionary.

Why is this the perfect name for you?

     I like my name.  Sethika means "the right to be a top leader".  Sethi means "Right"  Ka means "the top leader"

Jame

How was your name chosen?

     My name chosen by my mom because jame is one of jesus disciple.

Why is this the perfect name for you?

     I think this name is perfect for me because i like to eat Jam with toast.

I feel like I know something really special (or funny in the case of jam on toast) about my kids that I never would have discovered otherwise.  This activity is definitely a keeper for next year.  

Round Two Has Begun

The school year has begun and we're off to a good start.  Lots of things are new this year, so I'd like to highlight a few for you in this post.

I'm at the 592 campus this year (It's called 592 because it's located on Street 592)  They can't call it the Pre-Primary campus any longer because grade 2 resides there now ;)

I LOVE my new room.  I'm the only class on the third story. My room used to be a staff room and a library separately.  They knocked out a wall to make it one room. So what I've ended up with is a large sized room.  We have two A/C units, which means the room cools down fairly quick, and we also have our own personal water cooler in class.  We're blessed this year.

We're living in a new house this year.  It comes with lots of upgrades from last year, save one.  It's quite a bit further from my new campus, which means I can no longer ride my bike to school.  I could, but I'd arrive drenched in sweat and covered in dust.  That combination sounds like mud to me.  Rebecca and I've been tuk tuk-ing so far, but it's going to be pretty pricey, twice as much as the girls paid last year.  I'm thinking about investing in a moto, the cheapest form of motorized transportation here. It's a big one to consider, mostly because of the traffic here is not what you would call safe and orderly.

Speaking of our new digs.  Here are a few pictures.  I really debated whether or not to share these with you, because our house is still in move-in mode.  We have a lot to acquire still such as seating and stoves. However, if I waited until our home was completely furnished and cute, it probably wouldn't be until next May.  So you get it as is.

 It's a villa style house, but connected to another, so it's a villa duplex I guess.

This is the view from my balcony.

My little balcony.  All four rooms and their own balconies and bathrooms.  A huge perk for roommates!

I'm on the third floor.

I have a REAL shower this year.  It was bolted to the wall but not sealed in any way, so I took clear tape and sealed the edges.  Now my bathroom floor stays dry and I have a bathmat this year!

Our living area is a bit bare-bones at the moment.  The school has lent us two chairs and a table.  We're still working on filling it in so more than two people can sit, and we can invite folks over to visit.

Our dining area.

Our kitchen.  I love the checkerboard tile.

We even have a nice patio area in front of the house.  I have a vision that includes plants, a patio set and some white twinkle lights...

Isn't it great?!  I can't wait to get it fixed up nice and have people over for dinner or tea.  If you're in the neighborhood, you're invited to the housewarming party!