Dear HOUNDS,

I am taking over the blog for a moment to brag on Mrs. Hull!!  I just heard the EXCELLENT news about your EXCELLENT teacher, Mrs. Hull, being named TEACHER OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WOW!!!!!  Isn’t this fabulous news???  Be sure to let her know how proud you are of her….I am definitely proud of her!

Love,

Mrs. Jumbeck

PS- I will be writing you again next week about Saving Lilly….stay tuned!

posted 10/9/2009 10:45 PM | comment | view comments (2)

posted 10/6/2009 2:26 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Dear HOUNDS,

How are you?  I have been thinking of you a lot and MISSING YOU!!  I am sorry that I have not blogged lately.  My grandparents came to visit me, and that kept me extremely busy!  Thank you for the comments!  I always enjoy reading them!

Here are a few responses:

Kami, Ally, and Jaden- How did the cell test go?  What are you learning about now?  What is your favorite piece by Picasso?

Luke- You are right that there are similarities and differences between Nicaraguan schools and US schools.  Normally, the students in Nicaragua do not need a translator because their lessons are taught in Spanish, which they speak.  The translator came with us since we do not speak Spanish.  Guess what though?  Mr. Jumbeck and I are learning Spanish!  You know that I know a lot more French than Spanish, but it is going to be a fun challenge to learn a new language! 

Jodie- The outdoor classroom sounds so cool!  Tell me more about how you use it!

Andrew- Welcome to Patronis!!!  I think Patronis is the BEST, and I hope you make lots of friends and have a great year!

Hannah- I miss you, too!! The volcano was SUPER cool!!!

Mack- Of course, I am always proud of you!  How is your football team doing?  Do you have to practice a lot?  Yes, we did tell the Nicaraguan children about God.  And we can’t wait to go on another mission trip!  We would really like to return to Nicaragua, but there are other places that we would like to visit also.  Thank you for asking about my Junglers….but, there are no new Junglers this year!  You are all STILL my Junglers…you are Jungler-HOUNDS now!  J

Mrs. Hull- Thank you so much for telling me about the book!  I obtained my library card this morning, and I checked out Saving Lilly.  I have already read the first chapter, and I LOVED IT!!!!  I cannot wait to read more and catch up with you.  You always select the BEST books!!!

HOUNDS- Have you heard about all the rain that we have gotten here in Atlanta?  It rained for eight days in a row!  That resulted in a lot of flooding, and all of the public schools are closed today!  The sun is out right now, and that makes me very happy.  I had almost forgotten what the sun looks like!  Hopefully, it will be sunny and dry for a few days now.

I realize that you are ahead of me in Saving Lilly, but I want to talk about the first chapter!  First of all, do you think the kids can read three hundred books by the deadline?  I am guessing that the students only have two or three weeks to do it (how do I know this??), so it will be a challenge.  I wonder if the HOUNDS could read three hundred books (not counting preschool books, of course) in two or three weeks??  What do you think?  Tell you what, I want you send me a comment with the title and author of every book that you read between now and October 10^th!  We can see how many books you read!

Also, I LOVED the vocabulary words that the author, Peg Kehret, used in just the first chapter.  Some of my favorites were: electrified, eloquent, unanimous.  And those were all in just ONE sentence!  That is impressive!  What are some of your favorite vocab words in the book??

Okay, I need to get back to reading and so do you!  I can’t wait to hear the titles of the books that you read…be sure to comment to THIS posting so that I will see them!

Love you all,

Mrs. Jumbeck

posted 9/22/2009 1:19 PM | comment | view comments (5)

Dear HOUNDS,

Hello!  It was SO great to hear from you….although, I did notice that a few of you were missing from the dialogue!!  You don’t HAVE to write to me, but just know that if you don’t, I do notice and I miss you!  I hope you are learning lots in fourth grade and that you are working hard.  Tell me what you have been studying!

It’s time for another Nicaragua story!  I started by telling you about one of our breaks during the trip, but today I am going to tell you about some of the work that we did.  Most days we drove to different schools and orphanages to share Bible stories, create crafts, play games, and offer snacks.  Sometimes, the drive was very long—as long as an hour and a half each way.  Now, you may be thinking that this is no big deal, and it wouldn’t be in America! In the United States, we have smoothly paved roads and highways, air conditioned vehicles, and sometimes we even have cushioned, leather seats!  That is NOT the case in Nicaragua!  I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but when our vehicle arrived, I just had to smile.

Visualize a flatbed truck with a frame over it like a covered wagon has.  Now, imagine that there is no cover on the “covered wagon” part of the truck.  Do you have it pictured?  That is pretty much what it looked like!  The flatbed part of the truck had two narrow, wooden benches on each side—and those were our seats.  When I first saw the truck, I was relieved—I was so happy that it was NOT covered so we would be sure to get plenty of air.  You know how carsick I can get, and I was really worried about being stuck in a vehicle without proper airflow.  And, have I mentioned how hot it gets there??????

So, we loaded up the truck for our big adventure.  I was happy and excited to be off for our first school visit.  My excitement quickly vanished.  We left El Ayudante, and I soon discovered that the roads in Nicaragua are much different than the roads in America.  In fact, some of the roads we took were more like paths than roads.  They were only one lane wide and full of huge potholes.  We were all hanging on for dear life as we bumped and bounced and were even airborne at times, as if on a rollercoaster!  Mr. Jumbeck exclaimed, “This is like something out of an Indiana Jones movie!” 

Soon, we were sojourning through heavy brush and trees.  The branches were hanging so low that we often had to duck so that we wouldn’t get smacked in the head.  This was fine, and somewhat exciting, but we soon discovered that each time the branches hit the UNCOVERED truck, they were also shaking down upon us hundreds of bugs.  I am not talking about regular bugs either—these were HUGE, Jungle bugs (for lack of a better description.)  Mr. Jumbeck then said, “It’s raining bugs!”  And he was soooo right!  After we survived a bug rain, we would instinctively begin hitting each other in order to free our bodies of the unknown creatures.  At one point, I looked on my arm and discovered the biggest bug I have EVER seen….I have no idea what it even was.  This experience led me to nickname the truck the “Wagon of DOOM!”  There is always a bright side though, and for me, the best part of the experience was that it was not raining snakes!!  THAT would have been REALLY bad!

The Wagon of Doom was reliable though, and it deposited safely at our first location, which was a preschool.  When we arrived, about thirty children were waiting to greet us.  They were wearing uniforms—navy bottoms and white shirts (sound familiar??), and they had their hands folded in “prayer position” as they rushed up to us.  The translator quickly explained that the children were showing us respect, and that they wanted us to put our hands over their tiny hands.  We did this over and over again—they may have been showing us respect, but the pleasure was all ours.  It was so precious and sweet to see these children.

After we read our Bible story, we took a tour of the school.  It was very different than Patronis, as you will see in this week’s slideshow.  But, they were so proud of their work and their school!!  Before we left, the teacher (who works for FREE), told us that she desperately needed toothbrushes for her students.  Can you imagine not owning your own toothbrush?  Well, that was the reality for these kids.  But, guess what?  Our team had brought an entire suitcase FULL of toothbrushes to Nicaragua, so we were able to send them right to that school.  I know that sometimes I get lazy at night and I don’t want to brush my teeth, but now I realize what a privilege it is that I can own a toothbrush and toothpaste and keep my teeth clean and healthy.  I remember that whenever I am tempted to get too lazy!

I am really excited to hear your comments, and for you to tell me what you think of the slideshow.  What differences and similarities are noticeable to you between the Nicaraguan schools and Patronis?

Love you lots and miss you sooooooo much!

Love,

Mrs. Jumbeck

posted 9/3/2009 8:59 PM | comment | view comments (8)

Hey HOUNDS!  Here are my responses to your comments!!

Mrs. Hull- I am so glad that you enjoyed the story!  Thank you so much for inviting me to blog on your website.  It is going to be so much fun!

Peyton- I am so happy to hear about your new friend! (Hi, Kendell!)  Where is Kendell from?  No, we have not been to the Coke factory since we moved here, but we did go a few years ago on our honeymoon.  Good job on figuring out what El Ayudante means!!  I miss you too, but I am so glad that you are having a great time in fourth grade!

Jodie- I am excited about being pen pals…it is going to be so great to blog with you this year!  No, I am not teaching.  I was in Nicaragua when school started here. L

Jaden- Great to meet you!!  Is this your first year at Patronis?  Nicaragua was WONDERFUL!!!  I am excited to tell you more about it over the next few weeks.

Mrs. Loyed- Aren’t they so technologically adept?  I am so proud of them!  Miss you lots!

Kamryn- You are right about El Ayudante.  Great work!  I am so excited about your new puppy!!  I want to see photos ASAP!  What is her name?  Is she potty trained yet? I’m glad that you like blogging to me—I love hearing from you guys, and I check the site each and every day!  I am so glad that you love Mrs. Hull….I love her, too!!!

Maria- WOW!  I am VERY impressed that you know the French, English, AND Spanish translations of El Ayudante!  Awesome job!!! It makes me happy that you are still in the Jungle classroom.  Yes, I am in Atlanta.  I miss you all more than you will ever know.

Ms. Rose- I am so happy and proud to hear that my Junglers are being good role models for your Rock Stars.  They are awesome kids!  Our camera stayed behind in Nicaragua, but as soon as I get a new one I will take photos of our new place and post them!  Miss you!!!!  Hug my Junglers!

Carter H.-  I am so happy that you enjoyed the pictures.  There are LOTS more to come, so keep your eye out for them on the website!

Cassie- Great to meet you!  Thank you for writing to me.  I noticed that you and Maria have the same email address….did you know each other before school started??

Emily- I really miss you, too. I am glad that you liked the pictures, but I can’t believe you don’t remember what I look like!!  Actually, I did look a lot different in Nicaragua because I didn’t waste any time putting on make-up or making my hair straight.  There were so many more important things to do while I was there! I am so sorry that we didn’t get to have that lunch.  BUT, don’t worry!  I am sure that I will be there during the school year at some point, and I promise I will eat lunch with you!  Remind me what the “station thing” is…. 

Mrs. Adair- I want to know about those volcanoes!  I am suspicious!  Miss you!!

Luke- Thanks for compliment on the story.  I am really glad that you liked it!  There is more to come!!  Your trip to Colorado sounds very exciting!  I have never been skiing, so you will have to tell me all about it.  Are you flying there or driving there?  If you drive, you will probably drive through Kansas!

Ezra- Guess what?  I DO know who you are!  I am in the United States now, but I will be telling you all lots more about my time in Nicaragua.  And don’t worry, it was more than a bit educational! J

Kevin- I am glad that you are not bored at school!  What is your favorite subject?

Trevor- Which volcano did you climb?  For what do you have tickets?

Alivia- Happy Belated Birthday!!!  That is so cool that you received a free meal at Red Robin!  Yummy!!!!  What is your puppy’s name?  Your project sounds SOOO cool.  I want to see pictures!

David- Hi!  Tell me more about fourth grade!

Jeffrey- Hi to you!  Is that all you have for me???  I want to hear more! J

posted 9/3/2009 8:57 PM | comment | view comments (1)

posted 8/26/2009 1:21 PM | comment | view comments (23)

posted 8/19/2009 12:08 AM | comment | view comments (9)

posted 8/19/2009 12:06 AM | comment | view comments (6)