Kumbaya...
 

Everybody now!

Let's join hands and raise them high...

Oh Lord, Kumbaya.

Kumba yo!

(this is how it once was released in my country)

Someone's singing, Lord

Lynn -

I'd love to join in, but I hate to say how many years it's been since I was a Girl Scout :>

DanaPhx,

At least you made it to Girl Scouts. I was a Brownie dropout.

Are Boy scout drop outs allowed :D

I was a girl scout until our leader quit, and they couldn't get anyone to replace her--so I'm sort of a girl scout dropout!

Another brownie drop-out here! And proud of it! :)

And another!

Well, I was a Brownie, and a Guide, and then later a Boy Scout Leader, Treasurer & Camp Chief Assistant for Cubs for 10 years.

And I CAN'T remember the words to Kumbaya! (The words to 'Going on a Lion Hunt - and I'm not afraid!' popped into my mind though....)

But I have a nice story about my experience in the Brownies and I think this board needs a nice story at the moment - even if it is from someone who sees the world through rose coloured glasses @};- and thinks teddy bears =:) have feelings.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago - in a land not so far away (Ontario, Canada) I was a brownie. Brown Owl told us one day we could get our writer's badge (no fair, Kavey, don't tell, I know you have heard this story before.... :-) )if we could keep a penpal for one year - well actually only from Sept. to June of the next year. I was eight or nine by the way.

I was so excited to see the huge world map that she brought in, and all kinds of addresses from all over the world from kids that wanted penpals in North America. She told us she got the names from "Teen Beat" magazine. I'm dating myself, I know.

She pinned each name up on the world map where that person was located, and then drew straws or numbers or something for the order in which we would pick. And, I was FIRST!!! I couldn't beleive, had never been first in my life for anything - and I got to choose ANYWHERE in the world where I wanted to write to someone.

I proudly walked to the board and scanned the world to pick the MOST exotic place I could think of, my eyes rested on India - oh yes I thought, I would LOVE to have a penpal from India! We were supposed to choose two, in case one didn't write back, then we would still have a chance to get our Brownie writer's badge. As I was born in England (moved to Canada when I was 4), I chose England as the second one.

And, I wrote to both - Mithoo in Calcutta, India, and Susan in Liverpool, England. I was so proud when I brought Brown Owl all the letters from the year in June - I had written tons, and both Mithoo and Susan did too. And, of course I got my writer's badge.

Oh, don't go away - it doesn't stop there!

Not only do I still write to Mithoo in India 40 some-odd years later, but our families have formed a very close bond.

We wrote through teenage heartbreak relationships, boyfriends, the whole nine yeards. We met our husbands-to-be the same year, and we married the same year. We had our sons (one each!) in the same year. And still we had not met, but we kept writing, and our lives ran paralell (wish I could spell that) through the decades. Except she had a daughter 8 years after her son, and we never did.

We met in 1996 in Hong Kong - her and her family lived there at this time. What a thrill! The following year, both our sons graduated (from different schools of course), but her son applied to the University of Washington (Seattle), was accepted and moved here. He then became my second son, as he would come and stay at spring break, and at Christmas and for a bit in the summer. He and my son became very good friends, which they remain so today.

And, her daughter now lives with us, she registered for a college here in Vancouver and was accepted!

And that's my nice story!

Thanks for posting this thread, Lynn - and thanks to whoever is still reading!

<i><b>Someone’s laughing, Lord, kumbaya</b></i>
Cool story Lynda! Any news on if Kennedy's daughter will be joining your family in Vancouver?

Teen Beat! I remember. I was allowed to buy only one in my life because it was not considered a good influence.

Lynda, Thanks for the heart warming story of coincidences and happy endings.

Dennis-

I'm working on finding out all kinds of info for a possible partial scholarship (a supplement only, not a full deal) to help Kennedy out with the tuition, as little did I know that a law degree was 6 years, not four! Sarah (Kennedy's daughter) is a very smart girl, she won top honours in Nairobi in English, as well as she does a lot of volunteer activities, so I think there is a good chance that I may be able to source something. I'm just starting this though, I'll keep you guys posted.

But yes, Jim and I are determined that she will be here in 2010. (hey, same year as the Olympics)

But, meantime, don't forget Dennis we are going together to the Pantanal in 2009!

also a brownie drop out, they just didn't do as much fun stuff as the cub scouts did.

Lynn i loved your story, thank you for posting.

joyce

All together:

Someone's dancing, Lord, kumbaya....

(Camp Fire Girl dropout)

Love your wonderful story Lynda.

I was a brownie and a bad Girl Scout - I think it was suggested at one point that it wasn't my cup of tea.


Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
O Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s laughing, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s laughing, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s laughing, Lord, kumbaya
O Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s crying, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s crying, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s crying, Lord, kumbaya
O Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s praying, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s praying, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s praying, Lord, kumbaya
O Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s singing, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s singing, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s singing, Lord, kumbaya
O Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
O Lord, kumbaya

Cybor

Bad Girl Scout &gt;:-)

I ditched the fly up (remember that term?) from Brownies to Girl Scouts and my mom was a troop leader.

Sherry-

Bad girl Scout or no, you knew the words - the whole nine yards!! I think your leader was wrong - you should have gone on to take over her job! :-)

Dennis - oops sorry I meant 2010 for the Pantanal - we're going back to Kenya/TZ in 2009!

Lynda, Keep us posted on your Pantanal trip as it develops!

And Kenya-Tanzania 2009, have you laid out any plans for that one?

You may have been a Girl Scout but your packing list shows you also took the Boy Scout motto of &quot;Be Prepared&quot; to heart.

I'm not sure yet about exactly what we will do in Kenya/TZ for 2009, but I do have a plan hatching in my head. I'm hoping that I can finally convince Jamie (son) and Laura (his girlfriend) to go with us in 2009 - which may change things if they say yes! If there are 4 of us, I think I may just look into a private safari, and use that latest itinerary that you guys helped me come up with for my friend....

I'll keep you guys posted.

I too am a drop out scout (unisex). More than singing Kumbaya, what we need is a group hug smiley, but not before I’d had the time to join the bickering.

nyamera, you're late to the party! how'd the school thing go?

What's all this talk about <u>singing</u> Kumbaya? It's the name of my new travel agency that specializes in Africa properties with plunge pools and chocolate covered strawberries.

Editors, I am joking! &gt;:-)

Dennis, the school thing is going worse than I hoped and better than I feared. It’s not quite finished. Next week the kids will present their animals. I wanted African wildlife, but some hated all animals except the Tasmanian devil. I should have suggested the honey badger. Now I need something to do the remaining lessons. As there are all kinds of Christmas activities, I don’t know exactly how many lessons I have left. I need something very entertaining that I could do for a long time or a short time. What I know is that I’ll do a Christmas quiz and need some ideas about questions and prizes (wooden animals?). I’d also need some ideas about the last Spanish lessons …

Re. Kumbaya, here’s an idea for an Africa themed film: http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx...nist_wainaina/

Lynn, :-D

More on your school situation later. The Kumbaya link was great.

Here is an excerpt from the review of that movie, which is much in need right now on this forum.

&quot;<i>The elephants of Kumbayaa are noble and timeless, they do not have petty rivalries or jealousies.</i>&quot;

But then there's the part about <i>&quot;lead(ing) a life of debauchery and khaki and greed in Africa.&quot;</i>

Well done, Nyamera!

I find lots of things follow that exact description you gave of &quot;worse than I hoped and better than I feared.&quot; Somehow we manage and muddle through whatever it is. You are almost done, I believe.

It is now later, so here are some thoughts.

If the wooden animals are from your shop, I wouldn't give out too many of those. It will reduce your profits. Maybe something small and edible instead for a prize.

Have you ever seen a variety of Christmas caroles re-worded. The words you use could be Spanish or even Swedish or English.

For example, Silent Night = Hushed Nocturnal Time

You give a list and then the kids try to guess what Christmas Carole it is.

On a non-Christmas theme, you can do this with movies.

Sound of Music = Auditory Clue of Melody. Students can make these up, also stating the real movie so you have the &quot;key.&quot; Then you can share them and have the other students guess.

You could have students investigate Christmas and holiday traditions around the world. For example putting a pickle in the tree is a Polish custom. At least those of Polish heritage in the US do that. At least some of my Polish friends do.

They could explain in Spanish and particular Christmas traditions of their own family.

You could do a match game with a holiday twist. One student is the &quot;supreme matcher&quot; and the others try to match him/her based on a variety of questions.

Here are some, that are slanted toward the US that I copied here.

Instead of Ho Ho Ho, I heard Santa shouting, “________________”

The holiday fruitcake tasted like __________________

You won’t find any presents under my tree, instead you’ll find __________________

Did you see Santa’s new reindeer? Its nose doesn’t glow, it ______________s.

You used to get coal in your stocking for being bad, but in today’s world you get ______.

My favorite song for the holidays is ____________________

The reindeer are all sick so Santa has hitched up a team of ______________.

If you think figgy pudding is bad you should try my grandma’s ____________custard.

To have school called off due to too much snow it would have to snow __________ centimeters/meters.

Typical present for a 5-year-old boy:

Typical present for a 5-year-old girl

Instead of cookies our family leaves Santa a plate of ________________

I opened the door expecting carolers but instead found _______________

An outdoor winter sport

A holiday special on TV

Where does Frosty the Snowman go for vacation?

What toy do the elves like to make most?

At what age do most kids stop believing in Santa Claus?

As a bonus for working so hard, Santa gives the elves (a) __________________.

Wear this when sledding:

Instead of marshmallows, he floats ___________ in his hot chocolate.

A stocking stuffer

Animal at the North Pole

Assuming the Internet provides you with this info: Holiday stats are interesting, especially those dealing with spending. You can show how much that is per person in Sweden, meaning you bring up the country's population. So often kids don't know the pop of their country. You can add other pop figures too, your city, etc.

You can also relate those spending stats to GDPs of various countries. Maybe you can work in that &quot;how wealthy are you in comparison to the world?&quot; website, I forget its exact name that you posted a long time ago.

You could have them do a &quot;what I want for Christmas list&quot; for them, and then have them do one they think the school principal would like, one for other prominent people, one for your city, the country, the world, etc.


On a computer they could make Christmas cards. There are websites that make cards. Just google them. I know a site I think. If you have the Publisher program in the Office Suite, there is a built-in template for cards.

They could write Christmas cards to each other in Spanish and add some manual art.

The evolving Christmas tale:
On computer or on paper--everybody starts their Christmas or holiday story. Maybe you give a few words that must be included. After 2-5 minutes, switch. Everybody moves one desk to the right (or whatever) and continues on with the story, adding their part to what was already there. Maybe you give a word or concept that must be included. Repeat until the original writer is back at his own story or until time runs out or people get sick of it.

Just sing caroles in Spanish.

Thanks Lynn! Fodor’s is the perfect alternative to using your own brain! You’ll get a discount at Nyamera Camp.

From the looks of the homesick thread, Nyamera Camp may be on its way! Good luck on the move to Africa mission as well as the holiday lessons!

My grandmother was born in 1878 and was a girl scout leader of my mother's troop. My mother was a brownie, girl scout and girl scout leader of my sister's troop. And my sister and I both were brownies, girl scouts and went to girl scout camp.

Proud of all of that. I loved scouting. It taught me a lot.

Cheers!

Nyamera,

You could integrate a grammar lesson with a Christmas theme:

1) you show a picture of a typical family celebrating Christmas, to engage the students and capture interest. Ask them what they think it is about
2) you tell a story of your own childhood Christmas celebration, (or even go back in time to your parents or grandparents) using the grammatical form &quot; used to ....&quot;. Contrast that with some different ways you celebrate (or don't celebrate now). The point is to have a natural context to demonstrate 'used to' vs now. You used to get presents, now you give presents, etc.
3) write a sample sentence on the board that also uses the 'used to' format.
4) have the students work in pairs to figure out what the MEANING is (a habitual action happening in the past) and then do feedback with the whole class to see if they got it.
5) have the students work in pairs to figure out what the FORM is (subject + used to + verb) then do feedback with the whole class to see if they got it.
6) make some fill-in-the-gap exercises that require the students to figure out if they need to use the simple past tense or 'used to'. For example, use the proper form of the verb 'eat':
&quot;Yesterday I ____ a grapefruit for breakfast&quot;
&quot;When I was little, I _________ cereal (or ugali?) every morning&quot;
7) set up a speaking exercise for the students in pairs to discuss what they used to do, comparing it to what they do now, or what they want to do in the future.

Ann, you too are on the VIP list of Nyamera Camp.