School Days

Carter is now in his second semester in the Romanian school and is doing amazingly well.  So well, in fact, that I sometimes forget to show him a little extra grace and patience on those days that he doesn't do so well.  For example, several weeks ago his teacher mentioned to me that Carter wasn't doing his writing work in class and was putting his head on the desk or staring at the ceiling instead.  (Remember, his teacher doesn't speak any English, so I think that is what she was telling me...)  Later that evening, being a responsible mother, I had a long talk with Carter that started with "The Bible tells us to always do our best for God" ...there was something in the middle about "being a good example"... and it ended with "if you can't make it four hours without getting tired then you need to go to bed earlier"... Yep, it went downhill fast.  To my last point, Carter responded "But Moooom, four hours is a lot longer than you think when they only speak Romanian!" Now, I tried not to let him realize it, but he totally put me in my place! He was exactly right.  Four hours is a really long time for a 6-year-old to sit in a desk and listen to everyone speak a different language. I can't even make it through the 2 hour parent meetings without spacing out and hunting for the Advil.

But Carter is persevering through the good days and the bad. His language ability is constantly improving and I'm always surprised by something he says or something he understands. It's hard to know exactly how much he knows because he won't speak much in front of us. And he won't even speak Romanian to a Romanian if he knows they also speak English (clever boy)!

It has been a humbling experience for us (his parents) as well. It is frustrating to be unable to help your 1st grader with his homework because you don't understand the directions either. Or because you can't tell him with certainty which of the pictures start with the letter "m."  But, God is faithful and gracious towards us. It seems that every time we start to get overwhelmed by it all, He gives us an encouraging experience as well. Maybe it's meeting another Mom that speaks English and offers to help in any way, or getting back a writing "test" in which Carter received all FBs & Bs (Very Good &  Good), or listening outside the door during his tutoring sessions as he speaks Romanian with his tutor. God is faithful to remind me why we are here; that its important for Carter to learn the language and for us to be connected to the community.

Carter, working on his writing homework.

Kamryn, working on her homework too! :)