art @ the heart: Nicaragua

Last month I was incredibly blessed to be a school leader on our school's mission trip to an orphanage in Nicaragua. It was my third trip of this sort, but my first to "the land of lakes and volcanos". We had a really successful trip- we helped build sidewalks and stairs to help with the rainy season, sorted and donated 3000 POUNDS of clothes and toiletries, organized activities, and built great connections with the students at the orphanage. Our days off were pretty special too- zip lining in the rain forest, visits to historical cities, and a boat ride on lake Nicaragua. I will post some of my favourite pictures here.
I would like to make special note of the pictures of art students- at the local school, they had no art teacher, so I was lucky to work with some of the students who had not taken lessons, but were really interested in art. I taught conte, as that is what I had packed for my own supplies. If you look at the pictures, you'll probably have a hard time believing that these students learned how to use conte incredibly well in just TWO HOURS! Over the two days, we learned how to work with the material both free hand and with the aid of a grid. I was so proud of them, and it felt really good to teach a group that was so appreciative of having a teacher with a background in the arts.
Now that I'm back and have caught up on my report cards, you can probably expect some more regular posting here. Thanks for all of your love and support!
Ms. G-E.