That's the way uh-huh uh-huh I like it uh-huh uh-huh

Today marks the halfway point of our initiative, and the end of the first week we were left to fend for ourselves since our wonderful Program Director Meg went home on Monday. We think we did pretty well on our own if we do say so ourselves (miss you Meg)! As you can see from our funky title, we learned some great hand-clapping games and songs from the students at St Luke's Methodist School. QHO Belize Primary has a growing partnership with St Luke's after returning there for the past couple of years, and the principal, students, and staff were excited to have us join them this year as well. Due to the large population of students at this inner-city school, all four of us had the opportunity to teach there for the week. This worked out well, since it was our first week in Belize City and alone.Karina and I (Vlad) partnered up and tackled the ever-so-popular question of whether or not we were related. The Lauras (who, to the children's astonishment, are not twins regardless of the fact that they share a name) buddied up to teach this week. Both pairs taught in standards 4 through 6; upon the principal's request, we talked about the importance of anger management and communication with the students in a discussion based classroom environment.Aside from anger management and communication, Karina and I taught bullying, peer pressure, drugs and substance abuse, and hygiene and illness, all topics requested by the teachers. We even had the opportunity to teach the standard 5s outdoors. The Lauras emphasized values and attitudes, goal setting, future aspirations, and understanding how to become role models. With the help of the standard 6 teacher, they were able to address specific issues brought up by the students. They worked with them in class to explore solutions for those issues. All classes provided great submissions to our question boxes, allowing all four of us to gear our lessons towards the students' concerns and topics of interest. All students enjoyed the many different in class activities. The standard 4s in particular showed a wonderful eagerness to learn, both about the topics we presented and about Canada.Tuesday morning, the principal invited us to attend their devotion in the church beside the schoolyard. We were very honored and thankful to be welcomed into their school community. Laura M really felt a sense of home singing along to Rise and Shine, one of the songs sung during the devotion, as it reminded her of her days at camp.Also, quick shout-out to our very own Laura "Junior" Manning, who is not so junior anymore after entering another decade of life. Happy 20th birthday! We celebrated with cake and Moho chocolate. Thanks to Chris from Moho,  you da real MVP.Although it was a short week at St Luke's because of Teacher's Day on Friday, we all felt as though we were able to have a positive influence on the students; we know they had a positive influence on us. We will miss the adorable bubble gum uniforms and constant energy of the students at St Luke's.We are looking forward to our upcoming week at Unity Presbyterian and Central Christian Assembly!See ya latuh alligatuhs,Love Karina, Vlad, and the LaurasVlad and Karina pose with some enthusiastic kidsThe kids outflexing the LaurasA sea of bubblegum during Vlad and Karina's outdoor lessonOn the way to Devotion Tuesday morning