Going to school with Dawson

The day after we arrived Dawson had a Christmas party at his school so Zachary and I thought we would join in on the fun and cultural experience. Dawson attends a Christian French school in town since he is not old enough to join the home schoolers at the mission yet.

All the kids at the school wear the same shirt. Zachary got to wear one too.

When we arrive, the to pre-K classes were outside getting ready for morning singing. Zachary was a little unsure as we arrived and didn't want to participate or even come in. It took him about 30 minutes or so but the he finally jumped in with a little guidance and direction from mommy. Here you can see him sitting way far away from everyone else.

After a lot of singing together, we headed inside to his classroom. There are about 24 kids in his 4 year old class. Dawson is the only white kid. The teacher was decorating the classroom for the party so the kids got to practice drawing circles and squares on their chalkboards.

It was soon time for a bathroom break and snack time. The bathrooms were far away in a another building- ok they were little rooms with a hole in the ground. For the little guys, peeing on the bushes next to the wall worked just as well. We came back and got to wash our hands. One bucket with soapy water and one for rinse water.

At snack/recess time, the kids could buy a little juice. It was unfiltered water in a plastic bag that had some flavoring in it and was frozen. You just sucked on the bag to drink the juice.

On a normal day, the kids would get to play in the play corners. From left to right- kitchen corner, doll corner, and reading corner.

Kitchen corner with mortar and pestal

Doll corner

The kids in Dawson's class enjoyed us being there. They loved getting their picture taken. The little girl in pink is Hannah- her mom is from England but her dad is from Mali. The closest kid to another foreigner at the school. Her dad works at the school.

It was finally time to party! We went back outside and we sang some more songs. The teachers then passed out candy, cake and juice and the party was over. Quite different from the expectations of an American party with games and crafts. The kids had fun though.

Zachary and I enjoyed going to see where Dawson goes to school each day. It is very different from what we are used to but serves the same purpose. It was fun to celebrate Christmas in another culture realizing that we are all celebrating the birth of the same Jesus Christ no matter what language.