Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at El Puente!!

To celebrate thanksgiving, some of the older students made hand-cut-out turkeys. Each feather
listed something they were thankful for. Enjoy their artwork. Thank you for continuing to check out our blog! We are thankful for YOU!

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!

Worship the Lord with gladness!

Come before him with joyful songs!

KNOW that the Lord is God

It is He who made us,

and we are His!

We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise

Give thanks to Him and praise His name

For the Lord is GOOD

and His love endures forever!

His faithfulness continues to all generations!

Psalm 100

Learning about Sharks

Did you know that there are 217 species of sharks and only 5 species are known to attack humans?

Or that while millions of people die in car accidents each year, on average only 5 people die from shark attacks?

These are just a few of the interesting facts that the Oceans Unlimited Team shared with us in their shark presentation this week. They explained that our fear of sharks is often blown out of proportion, and that we need to protect sharks as they are valuable part of the ocean's ecosystem.

The Oceans Unlimited Team giving their presentation

The students working on their shark posters.

The finished posters- they turned out great!

Thanks Oceans Unlimited for coming to share with our class!

These Precious Little Ones

Thanks for all your help in putting smiles on each one of our kids' faces. We are so blessed to be able to work with them and ask that you pray that the Lord will protect them and keep each one of them with us, despite financial problems their families may be experiencing.

Bible Class

Bible class is by far one of our students' favorite classes. They study and memorize God's word and often talk excitedly about wanting to follow Jesus. It is a privilege to be able to share the Bible stories with them, but, as teachers, WE are often the ones who are blessed and learn from their child-like faith and passion!

Noah's Ark.

After learning about Noah and the flood, students painted thier own ark cut-outs!

Students' re-lived the challenge of trying to create their own "Tower of Babel" that reached the ceiling without being able to communicate with one another.

El Mes de la Patria

This month, we celebrated "el mes de la Patria"... Independence day and patriotism month in Costa Rica! The kids were busy all month learning about their home country, including the national anthem, history and customs. As a culminating activity, they made books with pictures of the flag, the carreta (the national symbol of work), and the national shield, among others. We love Costa Rica!

Independence Day in Costa Rica

Feliz Dia de la Independencia!

Students show off their homemade Faroles

Today we are celebrating the Costa Rican Independence Day!

As part of the festivities, the kids at school made "faroles" for the 14th of September. Faroles, homemade lanterns that carry a candle, are a typical part of the Costa Rican celebration. In 1821, Delores Bedoya ran through the streets of what is now Guatamala City (the political capital of Guatamala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica at the time), carrying a farol and calling citizens to gather in the center of town, where a council was meeting. On the 15th, Independence was declared. In rememberence of this event in history, Costa Rican children make faroles and gather in center of town, letting the spirit of independence shine bright!

September 9th is Kids' Day in Costa Rica!

On September 9th we celebrated "Dia del Nino"- a holiday that celebrates kids! The students were so excited at the small party we threw for them and kept exclaiming "This is the best Kids' Day EVER!" We played traditional field games and then after enjoying a snack of cupcakes and ice cream, all the kids rushed outside to take their turn at trying to break open the piñata. Great fun for all!

Keilyn takes her best shot at the pinata...
Look how excited everyone is!

Vielka and Valerie ready for the egg race!

Somehow the "Big Kids" ended up as the bottom of the wheel-barrel... not every day you see a 4 year old taking the drivers seat with no doubt she can handle it :)