School Days

School has been getting better and better. I am having fun teaching and bonding with the kids in all grades. Although it gets really frustrating at times dealing with a wild class and a particular group of boys who have a knack for doing anything but what they're SUPPOSED to be doing at all times... I try to focus on enjoying being with the kids and making school a happy place for them.

Today was "Hat and Shades Day" as part of Red-Ribbon Week (it is an anti-drug awareness thing, so it was "shade out drugs.")

(Blurry- taken by a 3rd grader!)
...and yesterday was Pajama Day! ("Dreams Not Drugs.") The best!
This morning we had an awesome math experience with money. We have been working with pennies, and today we introduced the nickel. I told them we were going to a "penny candy store" and brought in a bag of different candies. I first pulled out a bubble gum ("oohs" and "ahhs" abounded) and said I was selling it for 6 cents. They had to show how they'd pay for it with pennies; then I told them "nah, I don't want all those pennies in my cash register- please pay for it with fewer coins!" If they could show me 6 cents with a penny and nickel, I'd give them a chance to buy the bubble gum. I continued with different candy at different prices- tootsie rolls, jaw breakers, and the expensive 10 cent ones, smarties! ("some smarties for a bunch of smarties")- until all the kids could do it. They loved it! It was also fun for me because when they got too loud or if someone was fooling around I said, "I'm sorry, but I won't serve any rowdy customers! I'll have to get Policewoman Miss Sam to kick you out of my store!" and the kids sat straight up. Amazing how much control you have over a class when you're holding a bag of candy....


My friend Sam, the first grade aid and our next-door neighbor, was telling me how much she loved the math lesson, and said that last year the teacher just basically told them that a nickel is 5 cents and gave them their work page to do. I spend a lot of time planning my lessons, but it's worth it to me when the kids are engaged and learning in a hands-on, interactive way. It makes me so happy to hear a child shout out "Who loves math??" and see all his friends around him shoot their hands in the air. It just gives me more inspiration to keep making our learning experiences exciting.


This afternoon I also subbed for art class- so fun! It was a double period with 4th grade, so I had them for an hour. We did Halloween wax resist projects :)




Tomorrow we leave for a retreat in Whitehall, MT. We'll be there through Sunday. Really looking forward to seeing a new part of Montana and also getting together with all the other volunteer.! Been so excited about seeing Erica there, too!! I actually am disappointed about missing school on Friday- wow! (just because it's the last school day before Halloween and there's lots of fun Halloween things to be done...)- but it will be great to get away and have the long weekend.

Oh, reason #27 Pajama Day was the best- we had this awesome hot cocoa snack, with Ghost Peeps.

Halloween on Monday- so excited!!

Last Sunday...

...I spent the entire day outside drawing. I went out at 9:30 and didn't come back in until 5:30! I had been wanting to get out and draw and wanted to do it before it got too cold. It was a big challenge for me to jump in, not having been in the swing of it for a while. But I knew that then meant that I couldn't give up or turn away... I had to push myself to see if I still got it. It was scary but once I got over that initial hump and got on a roll, I just kept going. When I finally finished (not that it could ever really be finished-any drawing could be constantly worked on!), I jumped up on the rock I'd been camped on and shouted out "YESS!!" Felt so good to get back in landscape mode.



The landscape looking towards the mountains

TOMS One for One

On Monday, every student at Pretty Eagle Catholic Academy received their very own brand new pair of TOMS shoes. I got to witness One-for-One first hand and see how excited it made real-life kids feel.

For those who don't know, TOMS is a shoe company that started 5 years ago by a guy who wanted to get shoes to kids who had none.

"TOMS was founded on a simple premise: For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for one." Check them out here!

Until now, I had only heard of One for One happening in South America and Africa. I am so happy to hear that TOMS partnered with National Relief Services to bring them to reservation communities here in the U.S.

Being a proud TOMS wearer myself, I was thrilled when I saw the poster up in school announcing that TOMS would be coming. How cool- TOMS love will be spread all around school, I thought.

But it goes beyond the students just being excited about a new pair of shoes. TOMS One for One is about meeting a basic need; about working to let these kids, who are born into inequality, get off on an equal footing (Get it? shoes/footing? Okay, bad pun, but seriously...) Simply, it's about making them feel special. Feel proud of something that's their very own. And showing them that they deserve it.

One of my first graders hasn't had shoes that fit her all year. She had to wear her big sister's 4-sizes-too-big shoes or her little sister's squish-up-her-toes-too-small ones. Her new TOMS fit her perfectly and she is so proud of them. She wears them everyday. Each time I see her just-right green TOMS run by, I smile.

The kids have seen me wear my own TOMS nearly everyday, so when they heard they were going to get shoes just like mine, they were excited and thought they were legit (instead of thinking "why are we getting these funny looking shoes?") They talked about it all week- "When are we getting our shoes??" We even turned it into an impromptu math activity- I couldn't curb their chatter about which color they wanted, so I steered it into a teachable moment. We took a tally (since we just recently learned about tally marks and they love 'em) of what color each student was going to pick out.

When the day finally came, it was like Christmas. They loved their new shoes. Many of my students have worn them everyday since receiving them. They always say how comfortable they are. It makes me so happy to see a whole bunch of kids running around in their mini TOMS. (I feel like I have a bunch of little Mindful Livers running around... :) )

Just so cool to see something I have supported actually benefit kids that I serve everyday. To think that essentially the two pairs I own gave shoes to two of my own Pretty Eagle students. So awesome. Thank you, TOMS, for doing good and spreading good!

Crow Fair 2011

Ashland, Billings, and St. Xavier JV's at Crow Fair

About one week after landing in Montana, we were invited to Crow Fair. It was probably the coolest thing we've gotten to do so far. Crow Fair is the largest Northern Plains Indians celebration, and one of the largest pow wows in the country. It is held annually in the middle of August; many families set up camp and stay there for over a week. I think it's the highlight of the year around here.


Teepee capital of the world.

We spent two days there. I got to sleep over in a teepee!! It was exciting.


Inside the teepee.


Kathleen and I at the teepee we stayed in!

Each morning starts with a parade, where Indians (from 1 years old to 100, it seems!) dress up in traditional outfits, decorate their horses or trucks, and ride in the parade around the fairground, competing for prizes given out for best/most decorated.




Blake, our new friend from Ivan's camp, riding in the parade.

One of the best parts of Crow Fair was being welcomed to Ivan's family's camp. (Ivan Small is the superintendent of schools at St. Labre, and I guess he invites the JV's every year to stay at his camp. Since there were so many of us this year, they split us up among different staff members' camps.) Families are very big and very close here, so at Crow Fair a lot of families reserve a big area that everyone piles into.



Sitting under their canopy playing card games with the little kids running around and playing, it reminded me a lot of Bonny Eagle, with the whole family gathered in one place. I kept asking different people there, "What's your favorite part of Crow Fair?" and almost everyone said it was spending time with family. Reminded me of home and spending time with my own family :)

At first I felt a little weird being a big group of strangers intruding on this family's camp, but they were very welcoming and hospitable to us. We had a lot of fun playing with two of the little boys in the family, Josiah and Blake.


Josiah and Blake casually riding their horse around the camp.


Chris walking with Blake to the arbor (the center of camp where there are food and craft vendors and a large circle for the powwow dancing in the middle.)

I also sat with three older women one afternoon (Ivan's sister and two of her friends) and watched as they worked on sewing a traditional elk tooth dress. I really wanted to hear about their traditional craft and learn everything about how they were making the dress. Just getting the chance to talk to this woman and hear some of her stories felt like such a privilege, which I was so grateful for.




Skillful hands

The second day we went down to the river in the afternoon with Josiah & Blake... it was such a scene of chaos and wonderful fun! The river was full of children EVERYWHERE, jumping off 10-foot cliffs and running and splashing all around, and there were maybe 3 adults in the whole vicinity. When we got there I felt like I should play the lifeguard... I couldn't believe all these little kids had no one watching them while swimming! But the best part was that no one was really concerned. It's just such a different culture here. The whole weekend kids were running wild around Crow Fair and no parents seemed to be phased; but then again everyone knows/is related to everyone here so there's probably a much bigger sense of security. I just thought it was so funny. But anyways I've never had so much fun splashing around in a river!

One of my favorite parts was the powwow dancing, which is a main part of Crow Fair. It started early in the afternoon and lasted all the way into the night. The dancers wore beautiful outfits, shawls, headdresses, and regalia.


Part of the grand entry procession


Drum circles played the songs for the dancers the whole time.

We also went to the rodeo while we were there. I'd never been to a rodeo (I know, with ALL the rodeos around Boston and all... ha ha) so it was kind of interesting... for about 10 minutes. I guess I'm not the biggest rodeo fan. I did enjoy trying to learn how to lasso, though!


This 3-year-old girl showed us how it's done.


Kathleen looking confused.


Chris got it!

A really special part was getting to witness Ivan's grandson's naming ceremony. They were celebrating his first birthday and invited an age old friend and respected elder to name their grandson. The naming of a child is a very significant ordeal in Crow culture. They asked the man a year in advance, and he spent the year finding the right name; researching names of important people that had gone before and also checking to make sure no others currently had the name he would give the boy. So we witnessed baby Brandon getting his Indian name- Moonlight Boy. They set up a space where they laid down a buffalo hide and set out four posts in a circle around it, bearing the colors of the universe. He said several prayers in Crow and blessed him with respect to each of the pillars of the universe. It was very ceremonious and really special to celebrate with them.

The last evening there we offered to help Ivan's sister (who seemed to be the care taker of the camp) prepare dinner. So we cooked (they set up intense outdoor kitchens at their camps!) and cleaned up and served the whole camp. I was glad we were able to do that to show gratitude for their hospitality. Later on we said farewell and the older woman told us "Now you know where we stay, and you are always welcome here."

What a way to start to the year!

The Battle of Little Bighorn

This Sunday we had a very special chance to get a personal tour of Little Bighorn Battlefield from one of the staff at Pretty Eagle, Verdell, and his family. He lives on the far side of the battlefield and has actually found old rusted spurs and rifles on his land while digging for worms. So crazy!



He showed us some of the relics he's found, and took us through the battlefield, brining the battle to life as he presented each spot through both historical tellings and his own personal stories.



It was one of those moments where I felt overwhelmed with appreciation at the chance to have such an experience... to actually experience this hugely historical place not just as another tourist spot but by sharing in a Native's history of it, someone whose ancestors were a part of it and whose spirit can still be felt there.



I was just overcome by what a cool experience it was to be there with him and his family, hearing an "insider's" perspective, and being welcomed as strangers, really, to share in their history and culture... it's moments like these that I came to Montana for!



Little Bighorn Battlefield is the site of Custer's Last Stand and "one of the last armed efforts of the Northern Plains Indians to preserve their ancestral way of life,"says the National Park Service.