(14/02/26) A Valentine's Day to Remember ❤️

Love was definitely in the air today at TBR as we celebrated Valentine’s Day in our own special way. We started our session strong with a holiday-themed word search. Cornelia, Gerald, Nana Kwesi, Joana, and Lucinda proved they are pros at finding love-themed words, securing first through fifth place respectively. Afterward, we read a childhood favorite of mine, Grandma’s List. The story follows young, eager Fatima as she tries her best to complete her grandmother’s errands—even though she has forgotten what to do! After finishing the book, we moved on to a spelling test, where today’s bonus word was, of course, "Valentine."

However, while I was conducting the test, I felt a cool breeze and was surprised to see the sky turning dark. By the time I looked back into the classroom, everything had become so dim that Aunty Priscilla and I had to turn on our flashlights! By the end of the spelling test, the winds had grown harsher, bringing rain that forced the students sitting by the windows to move toward the center of the room.

The noise was the biggest challenge. It took me back to one of the very first TBR sessions when the rain was so loud that my voice was completely muffled by the pitter-patter on the tin roof. Back then, that small classroom was all we had, but things are different now. At the first roar of thunder, we were already lined up in the corridors being escorted to our computer lab and library. How grateful we are to have such a space to retreat to when it pours! 😅

In our new location, we continued as normal with a spelling test review and prepared for our main activity: Word Scramble! I got the idea from Google but decided to add a classic TBR spin by creating three categories: Hard, Medium, and Easy. This was designed to challenge each student at a level that best suited them. Not to toot my own horn, but the idea worked amazingly! The mood in the room immediately brightened as five different groups got busy unscrambling words—some using my hints and others even coming up with their own words. Everyone showed off their creativity and quick thinking, but I want to give a special shout-out to Joshua, Kezia, and Prince for tackling their batch like pros and finishing ahead of the other groups.

After the scramble, we wrapped up the day with our weekly "spelling bee." Today's challenge words were quinoa, ambidextrous, and onomatopoeia! Before leaving the lab and library, each TBR student wrote heartwarming messages at the back of their spelling test sheet for their parents to show them our love. Once the rain finally let up, we returned to our classroom to sing "Happy Birthday" to Petra and distribute chocolates and candy roses. It was the perfect way to conclude this year’s Valentine’s Day!

Thank you for reading today’s update! Comment with a red heart if you made it to the end, and leave a like if you enjoyed this post. Scroll down for videos and pictures from today. See you next week!