What a crazy past two days it has been here in Cherokee.!! We have spent our days at the Head Start facility forming stronger relationships with our student's and teacher's, while spending our afternoons and evenings enjoying the beautiful nature and exploring all of the local restaurants and shops.
While at Dora Reed I have been forming strong bonds with the student's. They definitely now have a soft spot in my heart. I have greatly enjoyed getting to know them on a personal level. They are so loving and friendly. We took a trip to the schools media center, it is full of books that the students can check out and take home. They spend time once a week reading a story that followed closely with the text talk we have been learning about in our phonics class at app and then an activity. I was greatly impressed with their collection of books and how much the student's seemed to enjoy it. One thing that I have noticed is that the kids have a love for arts and crafts. On Tuesday the students made Easter bunnies and we took pictures of them and inserted their face. They absolutely LOVED this. Although I quickly learned that elmers glue is not always the best choice, sometimes you have to resort to tacky glue!! Today the student's worked on adding to their very own garden they had created on a large bulletin board. They had previously made clouds, worms, and flowers. They added butterflies to that garden today. One of my favorite parts of the day was singing and dancing with the girls in my class to the Alvin and the Chipmunk Movie soundtrack. The girls used instrumental sticks as microphones and new almost every word! The boys then came over and played the wooden blocks as if they were electric guitars, it made my day! I know that some of these children come from a home life that I could not even imagine but the smiles that are on their faces and their laughter would never reflect it. As their teacher for the week I do not believe I could ever teach them as much as they have taught me this week.
We have been spending our afternoons and evenings exploring the natural beauty here in Cherokee. I am in awe! Yesterday we went to Mingo Falls, which was a bit of a hike, but totally worth it! All of the workers at the Head Start told us we had to check it out and I am so glad that we did. The waterfall there was unlike anything I could have ever imagined. We then went to Soco falls and enjoyed it so much that today we went back and climbed to the middle where the two falls meet! We ended up soaked and muddy but it was well worth it!! Last night we ate at a local drive in diner called "Na-bers" (or something close to that spelling) where I got the best hot fudge brownie dessert and then spent time by the river talking, which was so much fun.
Today we got the privilege to tour the Cherokee School and it was nothing short of AMAZING. It is Pre-K thru 12th grade, over 430,000 sq ft, and came with a price tag of over 140 million dollars. It received a silver rating in terms of a green school. We spent 2 hours just touring the school and at any point if I would have ventured off I would of been lost. I was impressed by all of the attention to detail that was paid. All of the wood that was used in the school for the floors, walls, ceilings, etc. came from the site. They incorporate the Cherokee culture into the school (using 7 sided court yards to represent the 7 Cherokee Clans, having a gathering site, the river being represented on the ceiling and floor, etc ) as well as into the classroom (Cherokee Language classes, Woodcarving classes, Cherokee Culture classes, etc). My favorite was the amazing performing arts facility they had, I was imagining in my head all of the great performances the students would have the opportunity to present in this school.
The week is more than halfway over now, and they days are definitely flying by!! I am sure tomorrow will bring much more excitement... until then, Goodnight :)
--Allie
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