Rainy Day Activities

This has been the rainiest season Nicaragua has had for a very long time. Definitely the most rain I have seen in my six plus years here. Roads become rivers, potholes become small crater lakes, rays of sunshine become golden opportunities to dry your damp, musty clothes.

We've had our share of inside recess days at NCA. My class has done really well regardless of having to stay inside. The boys in my class are soccer fanatics. They go all out in the playground when they play soccer so they were starting to go through withdraw until they discovered they could make up their own soccer game.

Imagine it as a spin on fooseball! The boys love it and can entertain themselves for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile the girls play games, puzzles, color and chit chat.

Please pray for Nicaragua. Many homes are being flooded as the ground has reached its saturation point. Usually October is the rainiest month of the year. Join us in praying for safety for those whose homes are at risk of flooding, dry places for families to stay, safety in traveling on the wet and often flooded roads, protection for the crops. Some crops are at risk of being lost due to all the rain.

WARNING! Not for weak stomachs!

Nicaragua is full of wild life! Due to the openness of building design in Nicaragua there is not a lot of wall, window or ceiling between you and the great outdoors.

During my six years in Nicaragua I've grown accustomed to spiders, geckos, ants and even an occasional bird making their way into my classroom during any given day. This week started out like any other until Wednesday. As I opened up my classroom on Wednesday morning there was a terrible smell. I could tell immediately that something had died in my classroom. The smell of rotting something was potent. I immediately opened up the windows and turned up the fans in order to try and air things out. The maintenance guys came to see if they could locate what had died and remove it for me. As they were pulling out ceiling tiles the smell got worse. Picture all of my students with their shirts up over their noses making all kinds of terrible sounds as they tried not to breathe in the wretched smell. Richard and Jose Angel decided that it had to be a dead rat but that it was in a part of the roof that they could not access to remove the dead rat. In true Nica fashion they stuffed the hole full of newspapers and then sealed it with silicone. We all could breathe a little easier after that.

On Friday my students were playing with some insects during our carpet time. When I investigated I discovered wormlike things crawling around on the floor. Having the slight feeling that they just might be maggots I sent my kids right back to their desks. We called in the maintenance and cleaning staff again. There were maggots all underneath our classroom carpet and rapidly making their way around the classroom.



We cleaned, sprayed and sanitized and yet I was still finding them alive and crawling around the classroom on Saturday. Rosita and I have not been able to figure out exactly where they are coming from. Our suspiscions seem to lead us to the ceiling where the rat died last week. I think we are both fearful of just what we will find up there.


This just goes to show you that you never know what things you may encounter while teaching in a classroom in Nicaragua.

Wibbly Wobbly Teeth

Adventures in first grade are always looked upon with the innocence of childhood. Last week we had quite the day. Six and seven year olds are known for wibbly, wobbly teeth. Omar came up to me and showed me his loose tooth at the beginning of the day. He was excited because it was going to come out soon. After snack He was twisting it all around and it was ready to come out. Being a first grade teacher I have had a great deal of experience pulling teeth so naturally I offered my services. POP! It came right out. He was beaming a bright toothless smile.

Fedra saw all of this happen as she too was playing with her loose tooth. She was a little worried. "Miss Franklin, it is easier for Omar because he is a boy and it doesn't hurt to lose a tooth. But I am a girl and it hurts me." she said. I told her that if she changed her mind I'd be happy to pull it out for her. Twenty minutes later she was ready and POP! Out came another one.

Two teeth in one day makes the headlines in a small class of 20 first graders. :-) The next day Oscar came to school and told me that his tooth had fallen out the night before. That makes 3 teeth in one day. What a record!

End of the summer Fun!

Those of you who know me know that I like to run. Call me crazy but I find it relaxing and energizing. When we returned to Nicaragua Aimee told me about a 5k that was going to happen Aug 8th. I had not run much over the summer with all of my travels but thought it would be fun. We found out all of the race info the day before and ended up having a good sized group go with us. Races don't happen in Nicaragua very often so we have to participate when we have the chance. There were 250 racers/walkers in all.



To my surprise I was came in 3rd among the women. It was lots of fun and I even won 250 cordobas $12.50 US. Now that prize money paid for my registration for a half-marathon I'm running on Aug 22.

First Day of School

I promise to update from the summer soon. I've been busy and haven't had the time to do it just yet.



Monday was the first day of the new school year. Students arrived with lots of brand new pencils, notebooks and supplies. They were eager to get to class and play with their friends. I have a big class this year with 20 first graders. Eleven of them are in special English classes because they're level of English is really low. It will be an adventurous year that is for sure.


Please pray for a few little guys who are completely lost in the English. I want them to enjoy school and not feel so overwhelmed by it all that they don't hate coming to school.

Graduation Time

Well the 2009-2010 school year has officially ended. The year has been full of blessings, learning and much progress for my little first graders.

At NCA we continue one of our objectives as teachers is to help our students think of others before themselves. We strive to instill in them a heart of service. The elementary teachers organized a day of service activities for all of the students in first - sixth grade the last week of school. The kids did everything from sanding the playground equipment, picking up trash, washing chairs to painting a new mural on the playground.

This year I was able to attend the 6th grade graduation for my first class of first graders at NCA. This group has been very special to me during my time here in Nicaragua. I have seen them grow and mature into confident leaders and compassionate servants. What a special treat to have been able to see their growth throughout the years.





Graduating at the same time was the kindergarten class that will be moving up to first grade next Fall. They are an energetic group with lots of potential for learning, exploring and growing next year.



Two days later the senior class of 2010 graduated as well. Paola Fuentes a super responsible and incredibly gifted gal was part of this class. She is Alcides and Slieny's oldest daughter. Paola and I have worked together on teams during the past few years. It was a true honor to see her celebrate this special occasion. Paola graduated valedictorian of her class and has received many scholarships to study at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The RAIN has come!!

Yeah!! After a really dry Dry season the rains have finally come. They have washed away the brown dust cloud that has covered our world for a while. :-) The lush greenness has returned to the country I love.

Along with the green plant life we've also seen some other types of growth that come with the rain. Mold! Yep, it comes in a variety of shapes, colors and quantities. Below are a few pics of the mold that is growing on the grout between the ceramic tile in our house. We tried to get rid of it by scrubbing the floor with bleach water. That worked for all of 4 hours until the mold grew back again. Crazy eh!! I know that I was sure surprised by how quickly it grew. Oh well we'll keep trying to fight it off as best we can. :-) Until then we'll be amazed by this incredible phenomenon.