Back to School

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School has finally begun!! This Wednesday we had our first day of school. It was a mix of Fun Day and Orientation, with two piñatas and mock classes. The teachers went from class to class, as they would in a regular day, but instead of teaching, we talked about what we did on vacation, reviewed from last year, and played games.

The children love coming to school; they are very excited to be here. They even enjoy lining up when the bell rings. Grades 1-3 know what they are doing, but Kindergarten and Pre-K children need a lot of assistence. Every morning after everyone is lined up, the leader says, ¨Good morning boys and girls¨and they say, ¨Good morning Miss...¨ ¨How are you this morning?¨asks the teacher. ¨Fine, thank you, and you?¨It is very cute to watch them go back in forth in English. They even have a prayer they say every morning in English. One student is selected and they say the words, then the rest of the children follow in chorus: Dear God, we thank you for this day. Thank you for the school. Please bless our parents, bless our teachers, and bless us too. Amen.

I have taught one day of classes so far. In science class we experimented with bubbles, and in reading class we drew pictures to help us remember what the words meant in English. It is hard, because there are some words with the same spelling in both languages, and the children have to remember how to say it in English, and what it means.

There are two problems I can forsee right now. My accent is different from the other teachers, because they are all from Honduras. The children have to get used to my accent. Also, in first grade, I have to repeat everything I say in Spanish because this is the first year they have classes taught only in English. The second graders understand more, but I think about 25% of them understand what I am saying. In third grade, I teach almost purely in English. Except today the power went out and the bank used their Very Loud Generator so the children didn´t understand a thing I said, so I talked more in Spanish.

The second problem is chattiness. They LOVE to communicate. That´s ok, but not during class. So I´ve been thinking through some classroom management ideas and hopefully can put them to use in the following days.

I would appreciate your prayers for better communication in the classroom, better classroom management, and improved Spanish skills! Professor Manuel (a cousin of the director) has offered to give me classes and I am going to take him up on that. There is a lot of vocabulary that I lack and also grammer skills as well. Thank you for your notes of encouragement, over the internet and also snail mail. I appreciate every letter, email, and message.

God be glorified in everything!

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Photos

Waiting
The boys waiting for their turn with the piñata.

2nd Grade Girls
There are 5 girls and 11 boys in 2nd grade, and I am their homeroom teacher.

Comments

[Karmen]

WHat a wonderful group of kids!!
Anna It looks like you have a great group of children to train up. It'e exciting to hear how things are falling in place for you. I will continue to pray for you and your students!

[Julie]

Nice boy to girl ratio
Wow, you'll have your hands full, but just keep going, be firm, and if one strategy doesn't work, stop, see what small thing could be modified, and go from there. Also, ask around with the teachers - if you can, go and observe the ones noted for good classroom management, and steal ideas.....one thing that is key - establish your routines and expectations NOW, and then stick to them. You'll do great!