Two Weeks of Summer Sports Camp

The last week of June and the first week of July have for the past 10 years been sports camp weeks here in Bishkek. We've been a part of helping out since 2015. 

I won't put a label on every picture (all 60 of them) but it was a wonderful time with lots of new sports and games, fun stories and crafts, water days and eating plov and ice cream at the end of the week. 

We had super hot days and rainy days. 

We had kids who wanted to do and hear it all and kids who wanted to just sit on the sidelines. 

We had volunteers step up from all different walks of life but all on the same page, knowing they were there to serve. 

It was a blessed experience! 

Warm ups and getting to know each other on the first Monday of camp.

Supply tent....we are prepared with lots of water and craft supplies and snacks.

The teams were broken up by age and they each had a color that associated with a super hero. I believe yellow was Iron Man. The kids got to paint and personalize their shirts the first day.

Indy, handing out the apples.

Each day the kids had a craft that went along with the story time.

The younger kiddos, the red team, sometimes need a little help with their shirts. Red team was Spiderman.

Some three-legged races were a bunch of fun.

The older kids just wanted to talk and get to know each other. There was plenty of time for some real sharing to occur.

Tug-of-war is always a favorite!

Chalk drawings. She was definitely proud and wanted me to take a picture of her princess.

One of the older kids did this chalk drawing. Beautiful!

Week two...we got a few new volunteers that came in from the US. They jumped right in with some great ideas and lots of youthful energy.

Playing Ships and Sailors....I think it was a new favorite and will need to be repeated next year.

Mermaids

Captains during the Ships and Sailors game.

When it's hot, you've got to have some water games....and everyone enjoys getting wet.

Followed by some rainy days...we cancelled for the kids, but the volunteers still came out and played some baseball.

Here we are, playing baseball, but with a kickball instead.

Trying to sneak up on the team leader, but then freeze when he turns around. Kind of like Red Light, Green Light.

Story times were great. Lots of good conversations took place and the kids asked many excellent questions.

Working on some crafts after a story time.

All packed up in the storage unit and ready for next year! It'll sneak up on us before we know it, I'm sure!

Summer 2019 Horse Trek to Kol Ukok

End of the school year demands an outing with friends to celebrate!

This year we planned a trip up to Kol Ukok; a first for our family.

The Stamp kids with their friends.

The field outside of Kochkor where we picked up our horses for the trek.

This girl loved riding and was pretty much always in the lead.

Seth, racing back to join the group.

Gwangi and Indy with the valley of Kochkor behind them.

Indy on his horse. Yes, even with big Kyrgyz horses Indy is still a tall guy.

The kids, posing on their horses.

The brick house by the yurt camp we stayed at for the night.

Our yurt for the evening.

Group picture!

Sissi by Kol Ukok.

So, I have several good photos of the lake...don't get bored, it really is that beautiful.

Yep, the lake again.

Group shot while we were resting. My horse kicked Seth in the leg and his leg was pretty bruised.

Not much different from the picture above, but I still like it.

Other side of the lake, we walked along the long side and were able to look back over the pass we had come from.

Sissi, galloping down the hill. It was hard to get her off of her horse most of the time; even when the rest of us were taking a break, she was still riding.

I really liked the way the colors turned out in this shot. So lovely and no edits...just the way the light hit the water and the clouds. 

Indy and I, at Kol Ukok.

On the way back down.

End of the 2018-2019 School Year!

What a year!

This year I had a high schooler and two middle schoolers, next year it flips on me.

How in the world am I going to have two high schoolers next year...ahhhh!?!

But, seriously, this year has been fabulous!

Lots of cool things to remember...

Krypto finished his first class with The Potter's School (TPS). He took English 2/3: High School Writing Intensive and loved it, finishing with a strong A. Next year will be English 4/5: Arthurian Literature and Composition.

Gwangi got more involved with computer coding, doing Coda Kid all school year and designing his own levels in several online gaming platforms. He'll be taking an online class with TPS next year as well, Introduction to Computer Programming with Python.

Sissi has been spending more and more time drawing and finding her "style" which is a kind of cartoony style that she says some people call "cartanimea."

All the kids did great with their memorization this year...they memorized the whole book of Galatians first semester and then Ephesians this winter and spring. We miss the opportunity to be in JBQ and BQ, but we try our best to recreate some of the aspects of it here. Next year we'll be doing the book of Mark.

So, what will we do for the summer...we'll continue with some language learning, Krypto will continue writing the 2nd book in his fantasy trilogy; stay tuned to details about us self publishing his first book in the next few months, "The Bow of Ice." Gwangi will continue some fun online coding projects, and Sissi will do art. Both of the boys will continue with their Khan Academy PSAT prep work as well.

My three kiddos, all done with school...

Krypto, all finished with 10th grade.

Gwangi, all finished with 8th grade.

Sissi, all finished with 6th grade.

And, because the kids were all standing and posing, Vera did the same thing and wanted her picture taken as well.

Our 8th grade graduate! Ready for high school!

Gwangi, all done with Algebra and moving on to Geometry.

Krypto, he completed Algebra 2 and is moving on to PreCalculus.

Sissi, all done with Zeta and moving on to Pre-Algebra in the fall.

The first shelf is just some of the books we read for history and literature this year, we have a TON more on Kindle. The second shelf is the pile of books for next year. We'll be covering the Fall of Rome to the Founding of America using Year 2 of Tapestry of Grace.

Finishing up a science experiment today. A chicken bone that sat a week in vinegar that he bending in half.

Our last official Russian class for the school year. We were re-telling the story of Noah using an online cartoon. We'll be reviewing word lists, focusing on writing and reading (something we don't do much of in the GPA method, which focuses mostly on speaking) and we'll be watching some Super Book cartoons this summer, in Russian!

Sissi working on a princess picture in her "cartanimea" style.

Krypto quoting the book of Ephesians to me last week.