Morning of Wednesday, June 28th

I think it is the 28th? I realized that I don't really know the date at all. I do, however, know it is Wednesday and I have about 18 minutes before I have to be downstairs for devotions.

I saw the red dots of itchiness in my last posting. My legs still look like that, but my arms have faded away now to nothing. They do, however, itch again today, but I forgot to take my Benadryl last night, so I will remember to do that tonight. It is a "normal" itch today, however and not the painful kind where I wanted to rip all of my skin off.

Due to my fear of these hairy caterpillars my explorations have been extremely limited. As a matter of fact, I can't tell you when I have spent this much time in my apartments here in Okinawa. I'm afraid to go out and get a reaction again. I know that I should not live in fear, but it was quite miserable. Tomorrow morning, however, I MUST get out and work out again. I hope to get out this evening as well - it is too hot in the middle of the day for a work out.

School is going well. There are a couple of other people that were attacked by the hairy caterpillars like I was, so they are dealing with the whiplash from that. I can empathise. We also have some sort of illness that some of the kids and a couple of teachers are fighting. Seems odd to deal with that when it is so obviously summer here, but they are pressing on.

Academically we are progressing in my classrooms. My 4th graders are learning how to round numbers. I didn't remember that this was a hard concept to grasp, but apparently it is. Both 4th and 5th are reviewing long division and then rounding to the nearest ______. I've also started one 4th grader and most 5th graders on some upper level order of operation problems. I try to give them some variety to make the days go by faster. All of the kids are also still working on increasing their fact recall with multiplication.

I did have one 4th grader yesterday who just would NOT work. I had to make her stay in at recess because she just didn't want to do what she was being asked to do. I found it amazing that what she couldn't accomplish in 50 minutes of class, suddenly was done in 6 minutes of recess. Amazing how that happens, right?

The "newness" of everything is gone for the kids. They are showing their true colors and we are learning every day. I'm grateful for the kids I get to work with. They are a great group of young people and I have grown to love them.

On the first day, they asked what my hobbies were. I mentioned that I liked to bake or cook. Of course, they then wanted me to make something for them. I am very restricted here because sugar is off limits for elementary students. Last night, I made some homemade bread for the kids and I will reward them at the end of the week(s) with a piece of that. It is better than nothing, and I'm unsure what else to offer. Hopefully that will keep them happy.

Beyond that, due to my more quiet personal activities I don't have a whole lot of stories or anecdotes to share. I have to share devotions on Friday with the staff so I've been spending some time getting that ready. Hopefully, my next post will be more "newsy". I appreciate your continued prayers.