Lesson #8 - the last one!

Well, we made it. We're finally to our last Ethiopia lesson: How to be the hands and feet of Christ in Ethiopia (my plan was to research and find some worthy organizations to give to and then pick one with the kids.) Wow - I've been thinking a ton about this all week. First off, I feel like I kind of dropped the ball with Lesson #7, because I was supposed to write about more than just one thing going on in Ethiopia right now (the famine), but I just got kind of overwhelmed. Truth is, it feels way too big for me - and it is! The issues...the solutions....continued critical food shortages, poverty, HIV/AIDS, orphans, the need for clean drinking water...makes my head spin. So where do we start?

I heard a quote on the radio a couple of weeks ago, and wish I would've written it down. It was something like this: An African leader was talking about how people in his community had been the blessed recipients of new wells, health education and support, and food, but they still had a sense of unrest and searching. What was missing? (This thought stayed with me and has been resonating and working in my soul the past couple of weeks.) I guess what I've come up with is that just feeding people's physical bodies only gets them so far...YES, there's a critical, immediate need right now that must be met, but looking beyond NOW, what's gonna last? What's gonna really facilitate change not only in people's circumstances in Ethiopia, but their lives...their souls? So yes, we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus by serving others, but MORE than that - we want to share the hope that lives inside of us. We want to share Jesus.

So, what's that look like for you and me? What does it look like for my kids and I? How's that translate from great intentions and big words to action? Of course the goal is the same, but how it's carried out is different for all of us. And this blog post is just scratching the surface. I've found links to some really great holistic organizations that share the Gospel as well as provide for people's physical needs, and will share them in a second. But first I guess I wanted to challenge myself and you guys to just totally surrender. Yes - the issues sometime seem insurmountable. I mean, we live in a fallen world, right? Yeah, BUT, we serve an awesome all-powerful God...imagine if we were to pray what Isaiah prayed, "Here I am Lord, send me!" Some are called to pray, some to give financially, some to do short-term missions, some to adopt, some to start companies whose profits go 100% to orphan ministries, some to spread the word and need, some to....???? (And by all means this applies to ALL areas of our lives and in all sorts of ways - not just in helping those in Ethiopia. That's just my focus for this lesson.)

So, here's some really cool organizations we found for you to take a look at. They all have a Christ-centered focus, but work in different ways and in various avenues. A really great picture of the Body of Christ. It's certainly not extensive - and most definitely just the beginning - but it's place to start.
First, the organizations who can connect you to tons of great resources:

The Red Letters Campaign -
"We’re connecting you to resources, people and partners that can educate you and equip you to make a difference in the areas of poverty that you care most about."

Cry of the Orphan -
"The Cry of the Orphan campaign represents a group of Christian organizations and churches that are joining voices to make caring for every orphan a reality."

And then some more with specific methods of outreach:

Living Water International -
"Living Water International exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water, and to experience "living water"—the gospel of Jesus Christ—which alone satisfies the deepest thirst."

Gobena Coffee -
"Construction is underway for a group home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where Christian house-parents will look after the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of "their" children."

Adventures in Missions -
"Through our 14 bases around the world, we have year-round ministry to places where “the least of these” are found. We believe that by giving people the opportunity to hold orphans, bring hope to the hopeless, and pray for the sick, lives are transformed."

Children's Hopechest -
"Children’s Hopechest exists to show God’s heart for orphans to know him, expereince the blessings of family, and aquire skills necessary for independent living."

African Widows and Orphan Project -
"African Widows and Orphans Project (AWOP) believes that through a cooperative team of ministries with diverse methods of service and a common goal of glorifying the Lord through evangelism, discipleship and servant ministries the widows and orphans throughout Africa will have hope for this present life and a joyful expectation of eternity with the Lord."

Kingdom Vision International -
"KVI will stand for people to receive the whole blessing of God on their lives. He will lead them to faith in Himself, as well as heal the rest of their lives."

LifeSong for Orphans -
“Our Children” will have:

1. No want for food, clothing, or shelter.
2. Fundamental Christian training and discipleship.
3. A quality education to provide a foundation for the future.
4. Continued love and support as they transition into adult living."

Right now we're enjoying some great Gobena with the knowledge that great things will be done with the profits. No, the kids don't drink it like we do, but they get it. And they've totally fallen in love with the little Ethiopian sweetie and her family who started it - Lehman's, we love you guys!

This is way long, and it's hard to know how to end my last post for Ethiopia 101. I guess I'll just think about it as a beginning instead...

Lesson #7

We've spent the last several weeks learning about all that makes Ethiopia beautiful and unique. This week has a different feel. Our lesson: Present Day Ethiopia and Current Issues. And although there are many current issues, just like anywhere in the world, here's what's going on right now and appears to be the greatest, most pressing challenge and crisis facing Ethiopia:



This leaves me so speechless. The kids and I sat glued, motionless and silent, to the computer screen as we watched video after video and read article after article. Here's an informative article from TIME:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1829841,00.html

and some others:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-food5-2008aug05,0,1993870.story

http://www.unicefusa.org/news/news-from-the-field/unicef-seeks-additional-funds.html?gclid=CIfK4M7A-ZQCFRghnAodAjqArA

And our project for this week? Prayer, prayer, and more prayer for the people directly affected by this famine and for all of us here, still eating, drinking, and daily living obliviously to the pain and need on the other side of the world...Lord, show us how to be your hands and feet!

Lesson #6

Ok, I got up early to finally write about our Lesson #6 but instead I've spent the last 15 minutes checking out some of my friends' blogs and had so much fun...living vicariously through Holli and her friends living it up in England shopping & eating...reading about the hilarious things Jami and Megan's kids have said recently...finding out Abby just got her I-171H!...I could go on. I'm feeling kind of (ok, totally) boring!!! :) But here goes...

This past Friday was a crazy one. It was my sister's last day in town and we decided to move all of her wedding gifts that have been in our basement closet to our parent's house. (To make a long story short, they're building a house and we plan on buying theirs, so we are in the process of cleaning out and getting ready to sell, and now my sister's stuff will be packed by the movers and stored in my parent's new place.) Anyway - Lesson #6 was sandwiched sometime between lugging everything up out of our basement and onto our front porch (it was such a huge load, people thought we were already moving!) and then hauling it over in 4 car trips to my parent's. The kids worked like troopers and we were all incredibly beat. But, it was a good break to sit and listen and yet again, be crafty. :)

Our lesson was just a brief history and a little on the influence of Christianity in Ethiopia. Kind of heavy for kids, and to be completely honest, I lost them pretty early on. But they totally loved making cross necklaces - and it was kind of cool because we've been reading that American Girl book, Saba, and in places it talks about how important her cross necklace is to her. So, my kids were able to grasp some significance and meaning as to why they were making necklaces with big crosses. :)

Some cool things we learned:
1. Ethiopian history dates back to at least 1000 B.C., when people from Arabia sailed across the Red Sea into northern Ethiopia. (And it could even be 2000 B.C. when an Egyptian sailed to the "Land of Punt" which is possibly Ethiopia.)

2. Christianity became the official religion of the early Axumite kingdom in the fourth century and the church's influence became very intertwined with the Ethiopian monarchy (so much so that it remained the official church through the era of Haile Selassie - the mid-1970's.)

3. Ethiopia's Christians remained isolated in the highlands (while Muslims occupied much of the lowlands.) I guess historians feel that this isolation allowed the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to adopt some different, unique practices - much that are rooted in really interesting legend. The story goes like this: When the Queen of Sheba went to honor King Solomon in the 10th century B.C., they fell in love, and after her return to Ethiopia she gave birth to Solomon's son, Menelik. When he was 22 yrs. old, he went to Jerusalem to meet this father. While there, he saw the Ark of the Covenant and dreamed God told him to take it back to Ethiopia. It's believed that the Ark has been in Aksum ever since. Although this has never been proven, and scholars are skeptical, Ethiopian Christians fully believe. It's safely guarded in a chapel by a special caretaker and can't be viewed by anyone else. Every church has a replica ark.

4. And then, the significance of the cross necklaces from:
http://www.authenticafrica.com/etcros.html

"African jewelry: Christianity was established in the Ethiopian highlands as early as the 4th century. For over 1600 years Christian Ethiopians have worn neck crosses as a symbol of faith. The cross was suspended around the neck by a cotton blue cord called a “mateb” which was received at baptism. Jewelry wise, the cross is the most prized personal possession and most valued to collectors of all highland selections.The crosses are usually named from the region that they originate. The crosses feature various design styling from the simplistic Greek or Latin crucifix to the more elaborate with flared arms, trefoils, decorative projections, complicated openwork designing and patterns of interwoven lines symbolizing eternity. "

So, here's our attempt at some unique Ethiopian cross necklaces:

Lesson #5

The weeks are seriously flying by! I can't believe we're already on Lesson #5 for Ethiopia 101. This week, our focus was on FOOD! - recipes, coffee ceremonies, traditions and etiquette. My main goal was to experience and share a traditional Ethiopian meal together. I commissioned my Grandma, Dad, Mom, sister, sister-in-law, and brothers to each make something, so we had a serious feast. Our adoption agency gave us a packet of lots of great recipes that they got online at http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Cookbook/Ethiopia.html.

Here's what we made:
Ross & I: Injera (Ethiopian pancake-like bread), Iab (cottage-cheese/yogurt w/herbs), Doro Wat (chicken stew), and Tej (honey wine)
Grandma T.: Sega Wat (Ethiopian lamb)
Dad, Mom, and Bob: Vegetable Alecha (vegetable stew)
Macy: Dabo Kolo (little fried snacks)
Mike & Sarah: Chef Kurt Linsi's Queen of Sheba Salad (a great tomato/onion accompaniment - not a part of the traditional Ethiopian meal, but suggested as a great addition from this website.)
The only thing we weren't brave enough to try was the Kitfo, or raw ground beef mixed with salt, pepper, and butter...it's served raw, and is considered the dessert of the meal.) :)
And, although we didn't get to talk about the coffee ceremonies, we did enjoy a pot of Gobena!

Right before dinner I read the intro that came with all of these recipes and it talks about how a traditional meal is served and how it's eaten. We made some modifications - for example, instead of sitting on 8-in. stools and putting our Wat and Iab directly on the Injera, we all filled our plates with the stews, etc. and then ripped off the Injera and filled it from our plates. (And we used forks and spoons.)

We really, really enjoyed the food and had an absolute blast together. I think this worked out so well to include part of our extended family in this too because I could tell their interest and excitement grew by being able to contribute and share in the Ethiopian meal and lesson. We all agreed this was just the first of many Ethiopian feasts to come! But instead of writing more, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!


Clockwise, starting at the top: Iab, Sega Wat, Queen of Sheba Salad, Doro Wat, Dabo Kolo, and Vegetable Alecha


From left to right: my sis Macy (visiting with Moses for the week - more pics to come...), sis-in-law Sarah, bro Mike, bro Bob, Dad, Mom, Gram T., and Ross (my man)


Ellie, Miles, Maggie, and Josie totally digging the Injera - their favorite part.


Me and my Dad

Molly and Eric - we missed you guys!!!

Lesson #4

This Friday we tackled Lesson #4 for Ethiopia 101. I didn't realize this when I was planning our curriculum last month, but it worked out really well to talk about Ethiopia's calendar, festivals, music, art, and sports on one of America's biggest days of celebration - the 4th of July! I thought it would be fun to tie the two together just a little bit by doing an activity centered around the Ethiopian flag (because the American flag is so much a part of our 4th of July celebrations.) We discovered the meaning behind both the Ethiopian and American flags - which I found interesting. Here's what we found:

The Ethiopian flag: (found online at http://exodus2006.com/flag.htm)
Green represents the fertility of the country
Yellow represents the religious freedom
Red represents the lives sacrificed in the protection of national integrity
The star and it's rays represents the equality of all ethnic groups as well as creed and gender equity. Also, the rays point to Ethiopia's bright future and the blue background stands for peace and democracy.

The American flag:
The 50 stars represent the 50 states
The 13 stripes represent the 13 colonies
BUT, there's actually no official designation of the colors! (I never knew this)
In 1782, the gov't. chose the same red, white, and blue flag colors for the Great Seal of the US and they give meanings behind the colors then:
White represents purity and innocence
Red represents valor and hardiness
Blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice
I read that there are lots of legends, theories, and traditions concerning the colors of the flag (such as red stands for the blood shed), but I guess that's never been official!

And then for a fun activity (being crafty is just one of our things...see my last post) :), the kids and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby and bought some green, red, yellow, and blue fleece to make a giant flag blanket. I did a little sewing and then the kids (along with Ross' mom and bro and sis who were visiting for the holiday) tied the ends of the blanket to finish it up. (I know it's kind of weird to make a blanket in July, but amazingly, I wished we would've had it during fireworks - it was actually cold here!) I think it turned out pretty well! (And totally reminded us of a giant stop-light.)





To wrap this up, I did a little post-class student interview to get a taste for what they learned. :)

Ross: "I thought it was cool finding the traditional Ethiopian music and learning about some of the unique instruments like the washint which shepherds sometimes play to supposedly calm the animals."
(Ross was home too so he was in on this one. He actually found the Ethiopian national anthem on iTunes and some really cool traditional flute-ish washint music as well...good background blanket-making music.)

Ellie: "I learned that the day starts at 1 a.m., instead of 12 a.m. like it does here. And they make really cool leather-ish things like saddles and knife sheaths."
(We read a lot about different arts and crafts, and how most inspiration is from the country's religious traditions. They do a lot of metalwork, leatherwork, and basketry among other things. Also tapestry and weaving and stuff like that - which is kind of what got me thinking about the blanket idea. The kids and I want to make some silver cross necklaces - but we'll save that one for another lesson.) :)

Josie: "I learned that they play soccer, hockey, and track and field!"
(This was totally cool for my little soccer-girl/gymnast to find out.)

Maggie: "I think they have like 5 or 6 days in the week or something?!?!"
(ha ha...she's referring to the 13th month which has 5 or 6 days, depending on if it's a leap year. Instead of using the Gregorian calendar, like most of the Western world, Ethiopia uses the Julian calendar which has 13 months, instead of 12. Interestingly, the Ethiopian calendar is 7 yrs. and 8 mo. behind the Gregorian calendar.)

Miles: "I learned about music."
(Yep, buddy, you sure did. hee hee...He had lots of fun dancing and cracking us up.)

Me: My interest was especially piqued when studying the various religious festivals. I learned that Ethiopian holidays are very popular and a way for people to come together and feast, give gifts, sing, dance, play games, and just take a break from the daily grind. I even discovered that one of the most popular festivals honors a patron saint that has the same name we've been carrying in our minds and hearts for our future child for over a year! It's got lots of special meaning already, and this was kind of another cool connection...but I'm not gonna tell...yet! :)

Keeping it real

Ok, here's the deal. I've had fun getting together these Ethiopian class times, running around with summer activities, and getting new pets (and the kids have enjoyed it for the most part), but I feel somehow that by writing just to tell what we've done or learned or made, that reality is skewed a little. And thinking about this just really bugs me and got me thinking more about transparency, authenticity...all that good stuff. So, yes, I enjoy being "crafty," and I'm a total geeky bookworm, and it may APPEAR (ok, maybe this is a bit presumptuous) that I somehow have it together. Let me assure you all (and I'm sure this is so obvious - esp. to those who see me regularly!) - I DON'T! Yes - I am blessed beyond belief and have much joy in my life, but this past year has actually been one of the (if not THE) hardest years of my life.

There's been a whole lotta pain, a whole lotta crying out to God, and a whole lotta growing pains for both Ross and I - in our adoption, at church, and in our extended family, etc... So digging into books and keeping my mind and body busy the last month has been kinda therapeutic. :) But life is never as perfect as it appears in one picture - or one post. I guess that's all I want to say. As an example....in the last 24 hrs., our air conditioner, food processor, coffee maker, and vacuum cleaner all BROKE. Yep. And the week before that? 5 gallons of fishy salt water overflowed onto Ross' office carpet and the next day probably about 5 more gallons of sink water was discovered dripping into the hallway carpet and through the floorboards onto our kitchen island. :) Fun stuff.

One thing I've learned this year is that life is just too stinking short to focus on the crap - but at the same time, I think it's so important to be REAL! So, that's what this is - just checkin' in, making sure I'm keeping it real.

Lesson #3

*Sorry, long post ahead, but don't miss the videos at the end! :)

Yep, we're already to Lesson #3! This week's lesson focused on language, religion, education, and literature of Ethiopia. We read two little blurbs about religion and education in Enchantment of the World: Ethiopia. (It was published in the late '80's, so is a bit obsolete, but I really liked the short, concise, easy-to-understand way it talked about big subjects.) My plan is to talk more about Christianity's specific influence in a couple of weeks, but we learned this week that Ethiopia has many Muslims, Christians, various traditional religions, and also a few thousand Jewish people, called the Falashas. One point I found intriguing is that the Falashas believed, until they were discovered by the outside world in 1860, that they were the only Jews on earth! They've lived in the northwest part of Ethiopia for about two thousand years and say that they were a "lost tribe" of Israel that broke away from the main group during the Exodus from Egypt. (Some scholars think the Falashas converted later than this, but still before Christ. America is just such a young country - I'm struck by Ethiopia's rich history!)

We also talked briefly about going to school in Ethiopia. It's a priveledge many children don't have because of the poor transportation system and the fact that about 75% of the kids live more than 1/2 a day's walk from a good road. (This was a great spot for me to plug how BLESSED my kids are to be able to go to school...hee hee) The levels of education sound a lot like what we do here - elementary, junior high, high school, and college. We read that not many are able to finish high school and even fewer attend college.

Which brings us to language and literature. One of my favorite parts! We learned that Ethiopia has a very rich oral tradition, and many of their stories have been passed down through generations as a way to communicate their values and beliefs to their kids. Like my friend Meg said in a comment from a previous post, "Often, it has helped me to understand a culture by learning what they teach their children...." I've been just itching to get my hands on so many of these incredible books that have been recommended to me by friends and various websites. Here's a start to my list - I haven't read these because they aren't readily available for check-out at our tiny library, so I need to pace myself in buying and starting our very own collection!

When the World Began, by Elizabeth Laird (A wonderful recommendation from Meg - thank you, my dear!!!! This is #1 on my list - an out-of-print compilation of stories published by Oxford Press. It's on amazon.com and will be my first purchase next month! :)
Fire on the Mountain
The Perfect Orange: A Tale from Ethiopia

We did read a couple of folk-tales from the back of the book I mentioned earlier and we started on American Girl's Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot by Jane Kurtz. It's a story about an Ethiopian girl - one of the books from their Girls of Many Lands series. Another great picture book I found that mentions Ethiopia, but is not specifically about Ethiopia (but that we loved and is definitely worth a read), is Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, by Mary Williams. This book is based on a true story and is an incredible glimpse into the life of young refugees and the power of faith and perserverance.

Ok, if anybody has made it through this insanely long post (sorry - this stuff is fun for me), here's your pay-off. Some hilarious takes of our kids and me attempting to speak Amharic - the national language of Ethiopia. (And we found some good listening samples on YouTube, if you're interested in checking those out.)

This is what we're attempting to say:
Me: Hi!
Kids: Hi!
Me: Can you speak Amharic?
Kids: Yes.
Me: What is your name?
Kids: My name is....
Me: Thank you!
Kids: You're Welcome.
Me: Good-bye
Kids: Good-bye!

Lesson #2

Today we had lesson #2 for our Ethiopia 101. We tackled learning about clothing, housing, family life, and common professions. First off, we all sat around the computer and watched a couple of videos on YouTube - one was called "Faces of Ethiopia" and the other, "My house in Ethiopia." It was cool to see the beautiful diversity of people and to see first-hand where one family lives. Then we read a few excerpts from these books we found at our local library:

Continent in the Balance: Africa/Ethiopia, by Jim Corrigan
Modern World Nations: Ethiopia, by Carol Ann Gillespie
Enchantment of the World: Ethiopia, by Dennis Brindell Fradin
Cultures of the World: Ethiopia, by Steven Gish

This time around, I wanted the kids to tell one thing they learned from our little class:

Ellie: "I learned that there's also mansions in Ethiopia!"
We learned about the variety of Ethiopian houses, ranging from one-room houses, stone houses, apartment buildings, and luxurious villas.

Josie: "I learned that the fireplaces in their homes are kind of shaped like rainbows!"
We learned that although housing styles vary greatly by region and ethic group, in the countryside, cooking is done in a fireplace in the middle of the house. (And it does kind of look like a rainbow from a certain angle!)

Maggie: "I learned that they make lots of clothes in the city."
We learned that about 90% of Ethiopians make their living from the land (farming crops and raising livestock), but in the city manufacturing textiles is also one of Ethiopia's most important industries.

Miles: "Some kids' parents died in Ethiopia..." (OK, we didn't talk about this today, but it must've been something that stuck with him when talking about orphans. His favorite part today hands down was sticking sticks and coffee beans in the playdough we used to make the fireplace.) :)

Me: I think one of the things that stuck out most to me is the importance of family in Ethiopia. Sometimes families are nuclear - dad, mom, and kids, and sometimes they're multi-generational. The families tend to be patriarchal, elders are shown great respect, and children are given small responsibilities and chores at about age 5.

So today the kids made a little diorama (I think that's the right word.) They were able to incorporate what they learned about traditional Ethiopian dress (and made their own with Ross' old T-shirt), farming, and the look of some homes in the countryside. (There's just typically not two Barbie-ish moms making injera at the same time.) ha ha Here's what they came up with:

Lesson #1!

Friday was our first Ethiopia 101 class session and we learned about Ethiopia's geography, climate, and wildlife. We sat down with snacks about 10 a.m. and the kids listened as I read from Cultures of the World, Ethiopia by Steven Gish - a children's encyclopedia-like book which focuses on many aspects of life in Ethiopia. It's a great book that we picked up at our local library - out of about 5 similar books, this one is by far the most recent (newly updated in 2007) and provides great info in a very user-friendly fashion (it's easy to paraphrase for younger kids.)

One of my main goals of this lesson was to teach the kids to identify North America and Africa on the world map and show where we're at in relation to each other. From there we focused on Ethiopia and it's special features. I drew a map of Ethiopia and its surrounding countries on a big white poster board (I copied the map from a couple I found online.) Then the kids painted the map with tempera paints - they loved this part...the messier the better in their opinion! We labeled some of the more distinguishing features of the country such as mountains, desserts, valleys, the Blue Nile, and the capital Addis Ababa. I found some spongy letter stencils at Walmart and we used those to write "Ethiopia" at the bottom of our map. I found some great pictures and descriptions of endemic animals such as the Ethiopian Wolf and Gelada Baboon and common crops such as coffee and teff (the grain used to make the flat pancake-like stuff called injera) online that we printed, cut out, and glued to our map as well. And I found some weather clip art that the kids cut and glued on the map to show where it's more hot and dry and where it's more cool and rainy.

We went over a lot, and we could probably spend one class on each landmark and animal alone, but some cool things we learned that stood out to us:
1) Ethiopia is very mountainous and is sometimes called "The Roof of Africa" because it boasts some of the highest elevations on the continent. (And these mountains, such as the Choke and Mendebo, have also been referred to as the "African Alps.")
2) Along with its mountains, Ethiopia also has one of the world's lowest points - the Denakil Depression - and the Great Rift Valley which runs through the center of the country.
3) I always pictured all of Ethiopia being hot and dry (because of the recurring droughts and famines), but we learned it has many different climates ranging from cool, temperate, to hot, depending on the elevation. (Also the lowlands receive much less rain than the highlands.)
4) Ethiopians were the first people to cultivate coffee to be used as a beverage - and it's the country's main export. (So buy some at www.gobena.org to help the farmers AND orphans!)

I seriously found such an over-abundance of information - here are a couple lists of sites I found especially helpful and are worth checking out:

Great sites for coloring pages and drawings of african/ethiopian wildlife and agriculture:

http://www.ethiopiafirst.com/Tour/endemic/Endemic-mammals.html
http://www.janbrett.com/activities_pages_artwork.htm
http://www.rainbowkids.com/HTMLFiles.aspx?page=KidsActivities
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/ethiopia/ethiopia_overview.html
(I also found the clips about common crops on this site - it's a really great site to explore.)

And sites for free, printable maps:

http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/africa.html
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/geography.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/
http://www.beyondbooks.com/bbshared/maps/africa/index.htm
http://www.edupics.com/
(This edupics site also has the weather clip-art I mentioned.)
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ethiopia.html
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/et.htm

Thanks again to all of you who have given me great ideas and resources to check out! I'm still looking constantly, and will have lots more to share as we keep learning! Here's the finished product... (In the morning I ran to Walmart to get all of our supplies and found flag T-shirts for $2.50 - a fun prize for the map-makers. They thought they were cool - but Ellie wasn't too thrilled about the picture idea :)

Summer School

Well, I've had a blast researching Ethiopia this past week - takes me back to my college days as an English major. I forgot how much I love this stuff. I've come across so many incredibly great websites and books and can't wait to share with you guys! (Also thanks to the people who posted great ideas for our Ethiopia 101 class - I'm going to incorporate every single one.) The toughest part was narrowing down the information and digesting it a bit for a 10, 8 ,6, and 4 year old...there won't be a whole lot on politics or government. :) The kids are actually really looking forward to it and that's really been fun for me. Just to give a basic idea of what I've got so far and what dates we'll be studying what:

June 13: Geography, Climate, and Wildlife

June 20: People and Culture: Part 1
(clothing, housing, family life, and common professions)

June 27: People and Culture: Part 2
(language, religion, education, and literature - folk tales)

July 4: People and Culture: Part 3
(calendar, festivals, music, art, sports)

July 11: People and Culture: Part 4
(FOOD! - recipes, coffee ceremonies, traditions and etiquette)

July 18: A Brief History and the Influence of Christianity

August 1: Present-day Ethiopia and Current Issues

August 8: How We Can Be the Hands and Feet of Christ in Present-Day Ethiopia
(study a few organizations and decide together how we're going to give and
get involved.)

I've got so much I want to write - so much I've learned already - it makes my head spin! But it's getting late, and I'm running out of steam. All I've gotta say is the more I read and the more I learn about Ethiopia and its beautiful people, the more I fall in love with and feel connected with the country, its people, and that little person God's got planned for our family. I guess that's why I've become so passionate about my goofy little Ethiopia 101 idea. Hmmm...more thoughts, but for another day...







Ethiopia 101

Today is the first official day of summer break since the kids have gotten out of school - yeah!!! I felt like we kind of skipped spring - it felt more like winter in Narnia - freezing cold, but never Christmas! :) I personally am more of a fall/spring girl - I live for jeans and sweatshirt weather - but I'm really looking forward to being with the kids and enjoying a more relaxed schedule.

This morning I was thinking about how I want our summer to look. Like I said, I want it to be relaxed, but I also don't want the next few months to just slip away without being somewhat intentional with our time. I updated my June calendar with the few activities we have - T-ball/soccer for Miles, Tennis for Josie and Maggie, and Horseback riding for Ellie....add a couple of weeks of swimming lessons for all of them and ongoing piano...ok, looking pretty good - just one-two hours most mornings and still lots of time to just be kids (and the opportunity to be bored and to use their imaginations.) But then I started thinking about the "intentional with our time part"...I began scheming...

We just finished our dossier, turned it in, and are officially waiting for our child/children in Ethiopia. Ross and I have just been itching to be done with our year-long paper chase so we can dive into the fun stuff - researching and reading more about Ethiopia's culture, history, etc. Then it hit me! We could totally do this as a family. I decided I'm going to attempt to make a very basic curriculum that spans 8 wks. - our lessons will be on Friday. I'm hunting for great books, recipes, and crafty ideas. I want to do one topic a week. So far, without doing any research, I've come up with food, geography, and history. Obviously, I need some help. I'm calling out to my blogging friends to give me some good ideas for our "Ethiopia 101: Summer Session."

Also, some accountability. I figure if we do our lessons on Friday, we'll post what we learned sometime over the weekend.

After I get going on my research and curriculum planning (and glean from all of your great ideas), we'll hopefully get started next Friday. Stay tuned!