12 reasons why Julia is a child:
1. She blends in with a group of second graders
2. Her ever lasting affection for Disney movies
3. Her soft-spoken voice
4. Her ability to wear jeans all the time
5. Her ability to win Ships and Sailors
6. Her youthful face
7. Her wild curly ringlets evoke a childish vibe
8. Her love for adventures
9. Her pure joy finding stars
10. Her agony while unable to find Big Dipper
11. Her lack of facial blemishes
12. Her inability to profane anything
I think I can speak on behalf of my whole team today when I saw that our first day of service went great. Getting to work among children is a unique experience and each one of us had a particular moment that stood out to us.
Background on what we did today: We went to Bluff Elementary School and helped out teachers in various classrooms as well as doing some outdoor work in the school's garden. We were paired off and each sent to different grade levels after we were introduced in the morning assembly. Uliana and Kyrie got to work with the kindergarteners, Lynsdey and Callie helped out in first grade, Kelli and I (Erin) in 2nd grade, and Julia and Meredith in 4th and 5th. Kate, Sam and Brooke labored outside most of the day in the garden, making it look beautiful as well as setting up a sundial.
For Uliana and Kyrie, they had an awesome time going on a "treasure hunt" with the first grade class, which was an assignment to find the color wheel in nature. The teacher, Mrs. Burckhardt did a great job incorporating Navajo beliefs along side modern day America for the children, whether that was through describing the land as they "treasure hunted" in a nearby canyon, or choosing particular texts to read that helped uphold Navajo values.
Just about every one of us also got to sit in on the Heritage Language class, where 1-5 learned how to speak Navajo. It was fun having the kids help us out and teach us new words as we played language bingo.
To end out the day, we had a picnic dinner in the Valley of the Gods, a nearby park with beautiful rocks and mountains. Pictures did not do the place justice, as they couldn't quite capture the sheer beauty of rural Utah. It was a great view for dinner…definitely beating Plaza 900!
It's hard to believe that it is only Monday but we're beyond stoked to see what the next days bring. Utah Crew Out.
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