A Visit to TISOL

Jonathan's class has just started a unit on "Celebrations and Traditions", where the students are gaining an appreciation for different cultures and the way they celebrate special occasions. My parents were invited to go and share about their Dutch and Canadian cultures and special stories that have been told in their families. The supply of available grandparents to come and visit the class is pretty low here since most of the kids are ex-pats and their grandparents live in their home countries. So this was a special opportunity!

My mom shared some stories about growing up in Holland with the dikes and bikes. She also told a story about my grandparents during WWII (in a way that 5/6 year old's could understand), when my grandmother was taken to a concentration camp because her brothers were involved in hiding Jews. Although Mom didn't share this with the kids, my grandparents were engaged at the time and when my grandfather heard that his young fiance had been taken, one side of his face paralyzed because of the shock. Something that you could notice on him for the rest of his life. Thankfully, the Lord was with my grandmother and after 5 months, she was released. Still, it is a powerful story that will remain in our family and be passed down to the next generations to remember the sacrifices made during the war.
To end her sharing time, my mom gave them a little taste of Holland...some purple and pink 'vruchtenhagel' on toast!

Here they are using a giant atlas to show where Canada and Holland are...far from this side of the world, that's for sure!

Dad read to the kid's an A to Z book on Canada. "If only my colleagues could see me now...", Dad was thinking.
He told them stories about dog-sledding...and tobogganing...and hockey...and Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our family has the tradition at Thanksgiving to each share something we are thankful to God for. Jonathan's teacher liked this so much she asked the kids to share their thanksgivings that day after my parent's session.

It was Caleb's first day at TISOL too.

Karlyn enjoyed the Library Corner!

My parents were really thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with Jonathan and his class during their time here. A reminder again that God's timing is perfect in every way.