School

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So one day when we got to school the kids had a fire going in a cardboard box off to the side of the school. It was a cold cloudy drizzly day so it made sense to warm up but still, it's school so we weren't sure it was allowed. Only in Ecuador would we even consider that maybe it's allowed. We checked with Lucila and she said it was definitely not allowed. So we had to go break up the party. Nicole stomped on it to put it out but then the kids all ran away with it. It wasn't completely out and it quickly reignited. Of course after that they wouldn't let us get close enough to put it out so we ended up chasing them before cornering them and disposing of the box. For the rest of the day they gave us a hard time for putting out their fire. It's interesting though how stuff is different here. At home we would never even question whether a fire was allowed or not! Another day some kids had one of the big sharp knives from the kitchen to cut open an orange. 5 year olds. With a big sharp knife. But the moms who were cooking had given it to them to eat their orange with.

Last couple days with the first graders: I translated the hokie pokie into Spanish and that was a big hit with them! It's supposed to help teach right and left but it's also just fun. They also really like What Time is it Mr. Fox. One afternoon we made collages of their communities using foam paper. Only cutting stuff out and sticking it together: people, houses, trees, lakes, mountains, all kinds of stuff. With the little ones I definitely have to get them out running around at least every hour because that's as long as their attention lasts so we alternate learning with games and stories.

So my niños. This is only my 6th week teaching (8 left) and I can tell that it's going to be hard to leave! Monday March 2, when Lalita left, I switched to working with the 2nd graders. It's definitely different, more of a challenge, but also good because I'm actually teaching reading and math and some science instead of just shapes and cutting and such. The 1st grade stuff is fun, but it's also nice to mix it up a little bit after 5 weeks. On Monday my 2 first grade chicas came up to me and told me they were going to cry. I asked them what happened because I thought maybe some of the older kids had been picking on them. They said ¨you're going to teach the second graders instead of us¨. Break my heart! It was really sad! But I still see them all the time because we're in the same room. That made me realize, though, how hard it will be to leave after 4 months!

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