Our Last Days at School! So Sad!

These are some girls and boys from the younger class that we really didn't teach.  But they were always so happy to see us at school and were always so friendly!

Cute little Mongolian kids!

 The girls on the last day.  Davaa, Baska, LaNice, Ulzii, Bolgormaa and Puje!

 Everyone loves Puje!  They were sort of ganging up on her, but she was lovin' it!  One can never get too many hugs from cute guys!

 Bilgee starting running and jumping on Alan to give him hugs.  He would lift his feet right off the floor!

 This is Baska, one who was so quiet and shy at the beginning of our year!  Now look at her!  All smiles and happy and hugging everyone.  She really made a change during this school year!

 We finished our Brown Bear books.  Bolgormaa was so proud of her yellow duck! 

 (Orange is close enough!)

 We also finished and put our ABC Books together.  They were all pretty proud that we got them done and they can keep them now!  I think some of them actually may have learned their ABCs in this process!

 Augi was pretty attached to Alan.  He was always so excited to see him.  We are going to miss these kids!

 

 Baska and Davaa with their blue horses for their Brown Bear books. They really liked the glitter!  Everyone did.  And most ended up with glitter sparkling in their hair!

 Baska and her completed Brown Bear book.

 I made Play Dough and took to school that day.  They all loved it and made some pretty creative things!  Me with Bolgormaa and Ulzii.

 More fun with Play Dough. 

Jargal, Sheree and Enkhees were students in Alan's more advanced class.  Jargal had bad eye sight, Sheree was totally blind and Enkhee had deformed hands.  Their minds were very bright!  Sheree plays the piano and Enkhees does amazing art projects--coloring, drawing and cutting--with her feet!

Because of their physical handicaps they could not attend traditional school.  They were so excited to be able to have someone who would teach them English!

The school held a talent show and award program in December right before we left.  All of our kids received an award for something.  They were pretty excited.  It was our very last day at the school and we had a hard time leaving!  The school gifted us each a small gift and we took candy for all the kids. We will miss them so! Sheree called Puje later in the day and said the kids all cried after we left.  It was hard for them too!

 Jargal gave quite a poem for the program.  He is really gifted and it's a shame he can't continue to attend traditional school.

 Bilgee and his award for being an outstanding student.  He was so proud. 

Purvee was sometimes a little hard to deal with because he wasn't very communicative.  But he was so shy when we first came, and when we left he would let us help him with with his work and would participate with us in activities.  He's the one I accidentally made cry when we were learning our dance because he wouldn't participate and I wanted him to sit quietly.  He thought I was mad at him and started to cry and I felt so bad! I took him out in the hall and taught him the dance--just me and him--and he was my friend forever after that!  He came and sat with us during the awards program.  Such a cute young man!

 And sweet Ulzii in her pretty Christmas red vest!  She was also pretty quiet, but was very bright.  Her stature was very small and she had a hump on her back.  That's why she couldn't go to traditional school.  She had a pretty good mind and could do the work easily and was always so kind to others!

These are roses that Enkhees made for Alan before we left.  They are made of modeling clay and she made them with her feet!  Such a tender thing for her to do for us!

Truly, teaching at this school was one of the highlights of our mission so far.  The kids were great and were so accepting of us and so loving.  I hope we were able to teach them something, if not the ABCs and their colors, then that we loved them and felt it a privilege to be able to spend time with them and do fun things together!  We know we will miss them and wish them all success as they get older.  We made photo pages for each of them of pictures Alan had taken throughout the year.  They were so excited to get them!  Hopefully it will help them remember that we love them and they won't forget us!  We will certainly never forget them!