Last week, a training session unassumingly entitled “Teaching Aids” jolted us into activity with a daunting challenge:

Create a visual aid in 18 minutes.

Our instructor had wowed us with photographs of hand-painted murals, board games constructed from 100% recycled materials, and the classic erupting volcano experiment adapted for South African classrooms. Now it was our turn.

The booty? King-sized candy bars. Saddled with “circulatory system” as our topic, my team sprang into action.

The calm before the storm: behind-the-scenes at daily training

The few and the proud: Our expedited creation claimed the prize

In celebration of our victory, please enjoy my top five photographs from the past week:

1. A band of us rolled down to the river for puddle-jumping and meditative musings.

2. Why did the cow cross the river? For the same reason as the chicken’s, we guessed…

3. Our constant companions at training: One snuck close when my attention lapsed — and yanked an apple core right out of my hands!

4. The children at our local school belted “Marching in the Light of God” as they paraded to their classrooms.

5. There are benefits to rising at dawn and retreating by sunset:

Our visual aids instructor had it right: Sometimes, pictures say it better.