Why We Skype

Today we had the privilege of Skyping with a class of fourth graders in Kenya. There were twenty-two amazing students in the class. Those kids and their teacher made it one of the biggest educational moments of the year for my kids.

It was educational because

• my kids got to hear people speaking a language they had never even heard of.
• my kids got to hear other fourth graders express that their favorite thing to do is to sing! Then they sang for us and it was, well, amazing. My kids sang our national anthem and were shocked that the kids from Kenya sang it along with us!
• my kids got to share their favorite books with kids on the eastern side of Africa, and they did it with enthusiasm, clarity, and respect.
• my kids became aware of how privileged they are to have the means and the education to read chapter books and novels, while the students in many third world countries only have books that are very similar to "Golden Books." My kids couldn't get over the fact that they had ZERO chapter books.
• one of my kids realized that not all kids who go to school in Africa live in an orphanage.
• many of my kids learned that they wanted to share books with their new friends.
• the entire class was mesmerized throughout the Skype, which was close to an hour. (I thought their attention span was about ten minutes!)
• my kids gained a new appreciation for their educational opportunities.
• they thought deeply about what it would be like to live in a place where zebras, giraffe, and lions are indigenous. They were amazed the other kids had no idea what a deer looks like.
• There are countless other lessons my kids will learn that will serve them for the rest of their sweet lives!

Because of our visit, my kids decided they would each bring in a book to send to our new friends. They're each going to sign the book they bring. They also plan to write a book talk about the book and slip it inside so the students will be able to choose their book just like we do in our classroom. I'm so proud of them.

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I love my job.