It's The Small, Treasured Things

We talked about families today in my C3 class. I love my C3 kiddos. They haven't yet reached the age where they're too cool to run up to me before class and give me hugs. 

"Miss Lauren, Miss Lauren, how are you," they always ask while wrapping their arms around my waist and squeezing me tightly. If I responded with any other words except "fine, thanks," they would have no idea what I was talking about.

C3 is a great class because at this stage the students have developed a foundational vocabulary and are finally beginning to construct sentences on their own, as opposed to reciting parroted lines they learn in earlier classes. It's fun to teach, and they're so cute and entertaining to watch.

We learned the word house today and reviewed terms like mother, brother, father, sister, grandma and grandpa. I decided I was long overdue for an art project in this class, so I asked the students to draw me a picture of their house and label it. They were to then draw and label their family members standing next to their house.

I confess, I have a huge soft spot for children's artwork, even if they are simple sketches drawn on scratch paper. My journal is full of drawings by the Kenyan children I sat next to in church the Sunday I visited Nairobi. And I love them. 

Today was no different. I probably should have let my students keep their drawings, but I couldn't resist collecting them and taking them home with me where they have been thoughtfully stashed away.

I smiled as I walked around the class and studied the pictures of my students' families, feeling as though I could enjoy my own, if only vicariously, during this simple lesson. I had given a sample of what I wanted from my students by drawing my own house on the chalk board and myself next to it. One of the boys, Winston, I think was a bit confused and when collecting his artwork, I realized that he had included me in his drawing. Perhaps he didn't quite grasp the concept, but it warmed my heart to see a stick figure with my name on it next to Winston's family. 

As I've eluded to so many times in these posts, life in Guiyang is pretty simple. I have two suitcases of belongings to call my own, a handful of Chinese friends and my students. That's all. But I don't need much else, and one day when I'm really missing my luxurious American life, I'm going to pull out these pictures and remember how much joy I received the day my students drew sketches of their families for me. I'm going to remember this object lesson and that the small things in life are often the most treasured. 

I hope you won't be too harsh a copy editor. We're still working on our spelling...