Around the World - Ukraine

From nearly the beginning of the school year, the mother of one of Matthew's classmates has taken upon herself to come into the classroom on a weekly basis to present a lesson on the language, art, culture, and history of various countries from all around the world. A Spanish teacher by trade, this amazing and ambitious mom spends countless hours preparing lessons, slide shows, and art projects. It's not surprising for most kids, this weekly segment is the highlight of the week. With the help of other parent "experts," the class has traveled to Mexico, Spain, Japan, China, Australia, Italy, England, Ireland, France, South Africa, and most recently Ukraine!

This Thursday Jon volunteered (okay I volunteered him, but he didn't mind) to come in a do a little presentation on Ukraine. He had about an hour to give the kids a little overview of the country, eat some homemade piroshky, and do a little art project. Knowing that he probably couldn't hold the kids attention babbling on about Ukrainian culture, he enlisted the help of a former Ukrainian mission buddy by setting up a call on Skype. We both were a little nervous about the call; not only the mechanics of it (would the connection be good, how long could we hold the connection) but also about whether the kids would enjoy talking to someone halfway around the world. Thankfully, everything went smoothly connection-wise, and the kids loved asking their (sometimes ridiculous) questions to Jon's friend.
Jon also got many compliments on his piroshky and the kids loved decorating their own felt matryoshka dolls.
Jon enjoyed breaking out his collection of Ukrainian souvenirs and reminiscing about the old mission days in preparation for the lesson.
Matthew loved having Jon (and the rest of us) in his class.
And we all enjoyed spending weekday afternoon together.