The Day the Golden Eagles Ate Ketchup

Every year our family looks forward to the annual whole school Track and Field Day at Sahel. I am usually somewhat involved in planning or coaching before hand. For several years, Ian has been the starter through out the day. The kids run and jump and throw, and generally have a fabulous time cheering for their team mates and classmates. This year was no different; Mom presided at high jump, Dad made the rounds of the starting lines with his whistle, and Heidi, Kay, and Tom jumped, ran, and threw with enthusiasm. At the end of the day we were sweaty, sunburned, muscle sore and full of fun memories!

Each year the entire school is broken up into four teams. Each team then chooses a color and a name. They create a banner and a team cheer which is performed at the opening "ceremonies" of our Field day. Points are given for team banners, cheers, participation, and placing in the various events. This year Kay and Tom were both on the Ketchup (red) Team, Heidi was a Golden Eagle (brown and gold). Also competing were the Green Greek Fire and the Blue Angels. The morning is spent at the national stadium where we are able to use their track and field facilities. This year morning events included the hula hoop roll (K-2), softball throw (K-6), frisbee throw (K-6), shot put (7-12), discus (7-12), broad jump (K-4), long jump (3-12), high jump (5-12), 50m (K-4), 100m (3-12), 200m (K-12), 400m (5-12), 800m (5-12), 1500m (5-12), 4x100m relay (7-12), and 4x400m relay (7-12). We return to school for lunch, and after lunch have lots of fun team games which ranged this year from water relays to tug of war.
Silliness is never an event, but with such a great expanse of grass and a flexible schedule, you can always find a dog pile or two,
lines of cheering fans slurping slushies, or just friends quietly pestering one another.
This year was the first year we have had the privilege of an official PE teacher to help in the planning and organizing. Of course there is a PE teacher every year, but Coach Winsor is trained as a PE teacher and coach. Experienced or not, a traditional activity of this magnitude is a huge task for a new arrival to take on. We were thankful for his enthusiasm and expertise! He did a great job!

This is the house that Kay built...

Tonight, I will take you on a tour of a welcoming little town that gives a new meaning to recycling. Located on the edge of the shady Sahel playground, this town sprang up almost overnight. Though relatively new, it has a working bank, several stores, multiple residences(This is Kay's house. Note the generator to the far left as well as the tv antenna on the roof. She has several room mates!), an army base, and a highly organized infrastructure which includes a its own monetary system, an elected mayor, rigid driving laws, a police force, and town trash collection. Its residents are largely law abiding citizens whose goals include improving their property and working together to contribute to the ever widening community in which they live. Come for a visit! You just might move in...

For the last month or so the elementary students, and even a few middle schoolers from time to time, have used all available recess and after school play time creating and cleaning, collecting valuable junk to create "Town." In the last week, I have noticed a decrease in residents. Just as it sprang up overnight, just as suddenly it seems the children have moved on to something else, but I thought I should take the time to document the town of 2010.Two years ago there was a similar creation, both times it has spontaneously grown out of bark and broken tile, old bricks and dried leaves, and a significant number of bottle caps (the town's currency). It is funny to note that as a result of the frequent power cuts we lived through a month ago, most of the houses have "generators" on their property! Wishful building, I suppose?! The kindergarten's set of dump trucks were also strong participants in this year's town patrolling for trash and requiring a town driver's license program complete with speeding fines. I love to see our kids creating and playing in different ways! Move over Toys R Us, we have imagination! It seems the newest craze involves chairs on the lawn... we shall see!

Somewhere in outerspace....

Greetings Earthlings!

Last weekend the student council put on a community space fair. It was lots of fun with a space themed meal (alien rice and beans or moon cake anyone?), a space vehicle competition, booths of carnival games, and lots of space creatures trying to earn their astronaut status. One of the biggest hits was this space simulator. The SIMAIR guys were asked for lots of old dials and gadgets which used to transform this box into a fun ride. The astronaut could wear the headset, watch the multiple dials, and "steer" the control the yoke all the while hearing real take off sounds and feeling the vibrations as they were shaken through the outer reaches of the atmosphere. (The box was on a cart that was tipped back and shaken around on stacked tires.) The really fun part, though, was the video system set up to let the outside observers see the crew inside! Tom spent his entire ride making face at the camera... reminicent of his usual skype calls!
Tom and Heidi enthusiastically dressed up for the event. Tom, remembering his recent success as the pea during Spirit Week went as "a big, fat, green alien," his favorite part is stuffing pillows in his green shirt. Heidi decided on being a black hole. Kay decided she didn't want to dress up, but spent time masquerading as an alien at the sponge throw where she was an enthusiastic target.
With aliens there of all shapes and sizes, Tom was happy to find someone from his "home planet." Funny how she looked an awful lot like his teacher, Miss Botheras... Their class must be out of this world! :)

Sahel Spirit Week

Each year over Columbus Day weekend, the community here in Niger put on a softball tournament. They have both competitive and social teams competing for a trophy in each category. Since softball is a game that allows for both sexes, many ages, and varied ability levels, it is always a fun time for the whole family. This year, the tournament was especially fun as almost every game was a close one and there were several come from behind wins. Ian played, as he does every year. Their team lost by one run in the second overtime inning to the Competitive team from Sahel. It was such a great game, it was difficult to be too disappointed.Sahel Academy, where the kids attend, sponsored a total of 4 teams this year! One competitive and three social teams. As usual, leading up the the weekend and the following week of "fall" break, the school had Spirit week. Each day, the student council picks a new theme. At recess time, there is a costume parade. Finally to top off the week, Friday at the end of school, there is an all school pep rally where the each class presents a cheer, the Sahel teams are loudly cheered for and prayed for, and the costume winners for elementary and secondary are announced for each day. Here is Kay's class with their cheer.This year, the themes of the day included:
Hippie Day:
Tom was especially proud of his mustache, but I think it was the wig that insured him the prize!
Class Choice Day:
Grades 1/2 were cowboys and grades 3/4 were Indigenous Peoples... Not pictured is our 50's girl, Heidi Sports/Team Jersey Day:
Heidi and Kay proudly supported the Red Sox, and Tom wore his Romanian soccer jersey. Kay's sign reads, " I cheer for 2 teams, the Red Sox and whoever beats the Yankees!"Fairy Tale/Fantasy Day:
Tom's ultimate goal for this day was to wear a costume for which he could stuff a pillow up his shirt! As a result, he was the Princess and the Pea...Here is a second picture of the Pea with his sister the Gingerbread Man...And last, but not least, Puss in Boots! (This was rehearsal without the nose and whiskers.)and, as always, Friday was Sahel Suns Spirit Day, our colors are Yellow and Black!

As always, the kids were very creative and had lots of fun. Tom even came home with a free soda coupon for winning first prize for elementary Hippie Day! It was so fun seeing their excitement and imagination! Hope you enjoy the pictures! Unfortunately, some days Heidi had to go to school dressed for PE and change into her costume after-wards. To see the pictures of her on those days, and more of the kids, check out my face book account and see photos that other people took during the costume parades.

Art

The kids are excited to go back to school next week... back to a known schedule, back to friends both old and new to play with, back to new teachers to meet and learn from. Before the new school year starts though, I wanted to post one last thing from last school year: pictures from the Fine Arts Festival.
God has gifted my kids with a LOVE for creating art!! Since they were small they could each be entertained for hours with paper and crayons. They started out drawing me at the ripe old ages of about 4 or 5. None of their talent, such as it is could be traced back to their mother. Their dad's genes were definitely in on that and perhaps some Forsen genes that skipped a generation! They love to draw, paint, color, create, sew... mostly in an orderly fashion (that is where their mom's genes come into play). We have been SO thankful the past few years to have an art teacher at Sahel Academy that has challenged them to think wild, simple, colorful, detailed, classical, practical, yes, even (gasp!) messy and outside-the-lines thoughts in the art room. With her they used paints and pastels, they copied masterpieces and tried their hand at traditional Asian art. They illustrated books and pretended they were cavemen. She is the one that was the champion for the now annual fine arts festival. Hours upon hours of work are represented in the play performed, the music played, and the art of all types hung and displayed around the library for that special weekend. This year when the kids return, Mrs. P-H won't be there. They (and we!) will deeply miss the input she had into their lives. Though from a family that is stuctured from her they learned to be spontaneous. Though Mom cares more about words and books, from her they were encouraged in color and texture. We know that God will use Mrs. P-H elsewhere to challenge and grow more students. We are so thankful that someone new has come to challenge our elementary artists in different ways. But our thankfulness doesn't mean we won't miss Mrs. P-H and her family! Here are pictures of each of our artists at the fine arts festival this past May: Heidi with her art teacher, Mrs. P-H and her Best in Show for 5/6 line drawing. Kay followed by her colorful painted scarecrow. Tom pointing to his "cave drawing" that won an Honorable mention in the Kindergarten age group.

February Banquet

Earlier this month the Sahel Student Council held a banquet for the entire school community. My girls are always THRILLED when the elementary students are included in the "fancy" banquets! They love dressing up and usually max out my meager jewelry collection and hair styling skills with the grand creations they have envisioned. Tom wasn't quite as excited about the dressing up bit (specifically tucking in his shirt!), but he went anyway because Ian and I were recruited to help. We all had a lot of fun!

This year the theme was Paris (note the Eiffel Tower in the background)...
The outside tables with the small lights twinkling made a very elegant setting. The food and its presentation were, Parisian-like, a big part of the evening. A delicious dinner was prepared with lots of special touches from elaborate vegetable garnishes and savory sauces, to a full boulangerie, and desert plates swirled elegantly with chocolate. Ian presided as one of the "chefs" for the evening, carving meat in the buffet line. During dinner, the student council hosted a talent show showcasing lots of student fun. Here are some of the kindergartners enjoying their evening together. (Tom is in the light blue shirt.)Afterward, the students had the opportunity to learn to waltz or watch a movie. The girls were very enthusiastic about waltzing, though they did confine their partners to the fairer sex. That didn't seem to bother the elementary boys any though, as the majority of them were watching the movie! :)
As always after events such as this, I am thankful for Sahel Academy and the fun things they plan for the students so they can have experiences and learn skills outside of the academic box (like manners and dancing!). I am also very thankful for our community, especially the older students who are so willing to include and tangibly care for the younger ones.

Track & Field Day

This past Friday was one of our favorite events of the year: Track and Field Day! For those of you who know Ian and I from the past, you know we both competed on track teams in high school, so we always enjoy helping out. This was the second year Ian has been the starter. I always enjoy helping coach the jumps and relays in the weeks leading up to the big day. For a few weeks now the kids have worked hard during PE class to practice various Track and Field events. The entire school is divided into four teams. Each team chooses a color and team name and creates a team cheer. This year Heidi was on the "Blue Baracudas". Kay was a member of "The Big Red", and Tom's first ever field day team was the "Green Mambas". All three of them had a fantastic time!

The day begins at the National Stadium; all the teams enter marching together, after each presents their cheers, the sport begins! At our school, we don't have a track, so it is extra special that we have this day of competition in such a fine facility! Most of the traditional track and field events are represented, and though three weeks doesn't make anyone an expert, we have a lot of fun. The younger crowd (K-2)chose from the 200m, 100m, & 60m races, a shuttle relay, the hula hoop toss (the younger version of the discus), and broad jump. 3rd-4th grade also can participate in the long jump,a team relay and the 400m. Heidi's class (5/6)also add the high jump, shot put, a 4x 100m relay, 1500, and 800 onto their possibilities. Kay and Tom's ages also have lots of fun games in the infield such as a sack race & three legged race, among others. For each event you enter, you receive a point for your team. You also get points if you win an event in your age category. Given that we are a small school, sometimes you place just because you enter!

Kay and Tom participated in everything. They both said their favorite race was the "long curvy one" (ie the 200m). They both did a great job, even staying in their lanes, which is a feat in and of itself for the younger elementary kids! It will be interesting to see how they develop physically as they grow older, both of them were on the faster end of their classes. Heidi signed up to do the 1500m this year, among other things. I was very proud of her! She did a great job in her first ever long distance race: holding her form and running hard to the very end. She wasn't sure if the 1500m was her favorite or if the 100m was her favorite. It is fun having her take more of an interest in athletic things and even choosing to try something that is difficult and requires lots of effort and training!

After the morning at the track, we adjourn to the school for lunch and fun games in the afternoon. The kids played a very fun game with water. It was especially fun as everyone was so hot! After arranging their teams in height order, they were each given a plastic cup. The first person in line filled their cup, then had to pour the water into the next person's cup HOLDING THE CUP ON THEIR HEAD the whole time. The recipient also had to keep their own cup on their own head. They were trying to fill a small bowl at the end of the line. It was funny to see the littlest trying so hard to aim for the bowl and to successfully pour... nothing! or only little drips into the bowl. As you can imagine, everyone got quite wet! The game ruptured into a big water fight when near the end the principal got out the hose and hosed everyone down. Much fun was had by all! Here is Tom at the end of the green team line waiting for the water to come his way.

The thing I love best about field day every year is the glimpse of true community I come away with: a member of one team cheering on his competitor on another, the gracious welcoming and inclusion of home schoolers from all over Niger (and even Burkina this year!)on the various teams. The littlest kids are cheered for and helped by the big ones whether it be in showing them where to go for their leg of the relay or helping them find their water bottle. The big ones, in turn, have the respect and all the cheers the littlest kids can muster while they are competing. It is truly a joint effort and every member is valued whether they can contribute point wise or not. Each year, I appreciate the healthy competition that I see lived out and am so thankful for the models my children have in the realms of winning losing with grace, encouraging one another, and valuing every member.

Happy Fourth!!

Friday night Ian and I started our celebration of our country's birthday by going to a party hosted by the ambassador. We have never gone to one before; it was very interesting, not quite what I expected. For starters, suits & ties and evening attire isn't my interpretation of "business casual" dress! We filed in and shook hands with a whole line up of people whom I could not identify (except for the ambassador). Too bad they didn't wear name tags so we knew who they were and what they did! I was also rather surprised at how many people were invited that were not Americans. Obviously, given our surroundings, there would be some, but 3/4 of the very large crowd were not Americans at all. I guess I should have guessed if they extended the guest list to include me, it must have been quite extensive! :) Mostly it was a reception on the grass with drinks and the occasional munchie if you were willing to use football moves to get near a serving tray. The Marines presented the colors, a band played the our local national anthem as well as the Star Spangled Banner and the ambassador made a speech which no one could hear, I think it was in French? They passed around sparklers which was fun, but over all, I was hot & hungry, my feet hurt and I don't think I would go again! I am not a big fan of social mixing I guess.

Saturday we celebrated in a more traditional way: with our family! Heidi started the day on clothing patrol, insuring we all wore the appropriate red, white and blue. She asked me if I wanted her to pick out my clothes, but I told her I thought I could handle it, thanks anyway! :) Though there weren't any parades or fireworks, swimming and playing softball were on the schedule, as well as dinner outside. Then, in the evening, came the grand fanale which was a big gathering complete with red and blue tablecloths, homemade ice cream (YUM!) and games.
These pictures are for you Amy! We may be far away, but we still did our part of the cousin Fourth of July line up! Krista and I BOTH reminded eachother :) so we were thinking of you all across the ocean.

So, here they are, after a day in the pool and an evening of eatting chocolate ice cream and getting sweaty with their friends, they look pretty decent considering all that!

Oldest to youngest: Heidi, Kay, Kira, Tom, Brynn, Elayna, & Silas

I thought it rather appropriate that though attired in their red, white and blue, they are sitting on a couch that had African themed cushions!

Happy Birthday USA!
As a country, God's grace has truely been "shed on thee," we pray that God's mercy, justice and love would be evidenced through our leaders and citizens from "sea to shining sea."

"Sorry" summer

We haven't had too many days of vacation yet, but in the past week and a half, we have definitely seen a major theme developing... It is going to be a "Sorry" summer! All three of the kids enjoy playing games, and this is one they can all three play together. One day they logged 6 games total! Kay and Tom are especially fanatical. If one of them is gone for a bit during the game to use the bathroom or to finish a chore, they will play for one another, sometimes continuing the entire game by themselves- they just can't stop! Tom is currently the reigning champion, he wins so often it is uncanny. The girls don't mind too much though as our family rule is the winner cleans up the board!

The King's Fair

Sahel Academy's student council does a really great job planning fun things for the student body and community to do. Last night was one of this year's big events: a medieval fair! As usual, stuco went all out with decorations, turning the campus into a real fairground complete with ramparts and walls. We paid our "taxes" and enjoyed a feast as well as attended a play, enjoyed the jester and had fun at numerous booths. Among other things, our two princesses and one dragon slew several other dragons (they were not related!), stormed a castle, rode the king's steed, passed the requirements for being crowned princesses, looted treasure chests, and participated in water torture. I was disappointed that Tom didn't win an award in the fashion show for his dragon costume, until I learned the prizes were live chickens! Phew! We dodged a bullet or should I say a sword!? Much fun was had by all! Included here are pictures of Heidi the Princess and her classmate, Sara, Tom the dragon and his friend Ethan the knight. They had fun in combat. (Note Tom's fire-y breath!) Kay is pictured "slaying" the dragon (with darts). Heidi gloating over Dad in the stocks. Tom has spent the day today killing off ants with his newly acquired sword. He still insists he is a dragon though, not a knight. I guess the sword is loot from one of the knights he defeated in combat?