Two posts in one month?

April has been a pretty busy month for me.  I went to Lloydminster for the Recreation Facility Personnel Conference.  I was glad to have the opportunity to have gone.  I attended some pretty good sessions, mostly about leadership, as I would like to develop that side of myself, as I am not a "natural" leader, and have to work at it.  I got a lot of good ideas.  There was a "fun" session, where you got to sign up for a fieldtrip of sorts.  Instead of the spa or wine tasting, I opted for a Hutterite colony tour.  The pie was awesome (bought one to take home!), the coffee was tasty, and the tour was amazing.  The ladies that were giving us the tour were very informative, answering questions about baptisms, courtship, education and daily life on the colony.  One of our tour guides took us to her home.

Hutterites don't have kitchens in their homes.  They have a mini fridge, an electric skillet and a coffee maker, but all the proper meals are eaten communally in the large dining area.  Adults eat seperately from the children.  At 15, children "graduate" to the adult room.  There were no books that I could see in the house, as well as no radio or TV.  Their furniture is all hand made, as are their houses.  The workmanship is amazing, definitely not the disposable, mass produced pieces that are so common in our "outsider" culture.

We were fortunate enough to arrive at the end of the school day.  The elementary teacher (Grades 1, 2 and 3) is from the outside, hired by the Hutterites.  She shared her experience in teaching the children.  Hutterite teenagers graduate from school the day before they turn 15, regardless of school year reached.  The teachers are encouraged to push them as far as they can in terms of learning.  On this particular colony, the only audio/visual aids the teacher is allowed to use are the following:  Videos that deal with a specific safety issue the kids might face in the colony (ie, fire safety), and the only music that is allowed is a CD of a particular song so that the children understand how the song is supposed to sound (teacher can't carry a tune).  These aids are only allowed if the teacher approaches the colony and gives specific reasons why this should be allowed.  She says the children are wonderful to teach.

The tour was a wonderful experience and a glimpse into communal life.