Russian Class Graduation Party.

The kids are proudly displaying their "Certificates of Achievement" for successful completion of "Russian Language, Level 1".

When you want to be polite you ask the hostess for a recipe of the dish you've tried at the party, regardless whether you liked it or not. Just to be polite. I don't do it, but I know that some people do that.

Well, today I was asked for a recipe a few times after our graduation pot luck lunch. And it was obvious that it was not due to the politeness factor! My borcsh was an instant hit! I am giving these kids and Moms a lot of credit for having the courage to try this very authentic soup that we cook almost weekly in Russia. As there was no one interested in seconds (besides my girls!), I still consider it a success! The sour cream part was not too much approved, though. Many of my "brave hearts" didn't want it in the soup.
I also made our traditional drink, kompot. It was gone before I could tell what the ingredients were and how I had cooked it. Someone suggested a great idea. Instead of a lemonade stand, we should sell this drink on a hot summer day. Thanks, I'll keep that in mind for when we are homesteading and selling our freshly grown produce, homemade jams, and other yammies in the city! Back to the party...
For dessert I made blyny with strawberry jam and whipped cream on top. I wanted to cut some fresh strawberries for garnish, but didn't remember about it in time. As everybody was getting their desserts they were asked a question that they needed to know the answer for after completing the Russian course.

The first half of the class we reviewed a bit what we had learned with the kids, sang "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" and "Wheels on the car", in Russian. The culmination of the program was to create a pen pal program with the kids in Siberia. So my students were asked to write a letter about themselves in English at home, and together in the class each of my students wrote a brief letter in Russian. I was so pleased with how the kids responded to my ideas and my ways of teaching. They have learned so much! I have ten envelopes ready to be mailed overseas. I just have to print our group picture and write up an introduction letter to the teacher in Russia.

After lunch we had part two of our finale. The students had to neat up their folders that we had been working on throughout the course and pass the test! The deal was if they would not manage to complete the test, they would not be able to graduate and would have to come to our house to do chores and learn more Russian. Guess what... I do not have anybody coming for chores next week, so that's a good thing for me as a teacher, not so good for me as a Mom :0)

The ceremony of handing in the certificates and goody bags with Russian candy and chocolates was bitter sweet as it meant that we would not be meeting on a weekly basis anymore and I am going to miss it.