June 6, 2013. Well. So much for not having to teach anymore haha. The first and second graders don't have tests yet and the director asked me to pass out the snack and then go to second grade because Linda was going to be late. Oh boy. I passed out bread and hurried to the classroom to try and find something in some book somewhere while they were eating. The kiddos were pretty much done by the time I got there so fast thinking was on the menu but I didn't have enough money to buy.
But. I saw a box of habichuelas (dried and multi colored) and upon opening the 2nd grade math books, I saw a bar graph. That's it! So, I told them we were going to do something fun with math but they had to promise to behave and not throw the habichuelas (there is quite a few trouble makers in that class too and just about 20 of them in a cramped room). I passed out a bunch to each child. We sorted them by color, counted each group, and wrote how many we had in each in notebooks (they all had different numbers, obviously, which is what I wanted). I then drew a graph on the board and used my beans as an example. They were then to create their bar graph with their own individual numbers. It went pretty well. Not all of them really got the concept and had interesting looking graphs but they were into it, and trying. And with no plans and no real grasp on their developmental level, enthusiasm and effort were exactly what I was praying for.
We finished up and I quickly looked through their 2nd grade language book. I found a paragraph about laughing. So. First, I did the dínamica, "Honey if you love me, give me a smile." Not all participated but they all loved watching :). I then wrote the first two sentences of the paragraph on the board that said, "Something delicious is a laugh. To laugh is good for the lungs, the eyes, and the muscles of the face." The kids copied it in their notebooks and then we read it together. Except after "delicious," we rubbed our bellies and said, "mmmmm." After "a laugh" and "to laugh" we laughed obnoxiously. After "lungs" we took a super deep breath together. After "eyes" we batted our eyes. After, "muscles" we flexed our arms (their favorite part). And "face" we circled our face with our hand. They loved that lol. Then I did an activity with letters. We circled the Aas, underlined the Oos, squared the Ees, and squiggle circled the Lls. We did one at a time (them individually in their notebooks) and after each one the kids came up to the board and helped me with my sentences. Also after each letter we did a different aplausa (de lluvia, huevos fritos, and hon run) which they got a kick out of. At the end, we sung Alele because they had heard from the third graders that it was awesome lol.
No, I had no plans. They didn't completely understand the bar graph. Mini fights still broke out. They were still somewhat loud and crazy. They weren't happy with me when I didn't call on them. And they didn't always understand my Spanish.
But. They enjoyed having the habichuelas as materials to interact with. I think I taught them something new. They loved the dínamicas. Every single one of them read the paragraph with me and did the body movements (all 10 times we did it). They did an incredible job finding the letters on the board. Most listened when I said I wouldn't call on them unless they were sitting in their seat, hand raised, and silent (that's going to be something close to impossible to change since they're all able to scream repeatedly "PROFÉ" and the teacher responds- it's the norm). They had a blast with the aplausas. They understood enough of my Spanish to do what I wanted them to. The director watched a bit of the math activity and nodded and smiled. Then Linda came in the middle of the language activity and her and the director watched me from the other classroom act crazy doing dínamicas, applauses, and funny body movements and died laughing :).
When I finished that activity and we did Alele, I walked out and said, "Ya! Linda that's all I've got!" and handed her the chalk. Lol she laughed and they tried to tell me to keep going. The director asked the kids if they wanted me to keep teaching. They screamed yes... Lol but I stood my ground and said no because I had nothing left in my idea box and pointed to my head lol. Linda continued with the class. ¡Gracias a Dios! Buuut she put words on the board, told them to write sentences and walked out to sit with the director and I... Haha so much for leading by example.
The rest of the day was spent making what you see below. Lol 8 hours total so I hope it's worth it. I've just noticed that many of the kids I will have in the summer know the letters (or at least, most of them) but their penmanship isn't so hot. Linda actually went on and on about how horrible a boy was at writing today with him standing right there. He went back to the classroom completely defeated and upset. I pulled him aside, told him how smart he was, and that if he'd let me, I'd help him in any way I could... He nodded and turned up his lips just slightly. We have worksheets already made in a booklet we received but I found those pictures of the letters in a different book which I liked a lot too. And the sheets I made incorporated three separate things into one piece of paper (since I have to make copies myself..): a visual for the kids to recognize and relate to a letter, big block letters with arrows to trace with their fingers for muscle memory, and then space to practice. Say a few prayers (or cross your fingers) for success for me?
Ah, I also had a "meeting" with the teachers today. It didn't go as planned really but since none of them live in my community, I had to do something now since classes end tomorrow. I wrote questions on separate pieces of paper (What are the strengths of this school? Weaknesses? What do you need from the community to be successful? What are your visions for me as your volunteer? etc) and wanted them all to write answers for each. Instead, they were working on grades and one person took one sheet and just answered that sheet. I'm satisfied that I have something though. Since they don't think they have any weaknesses in the teaching area (the only problem is with parents), my focus will just be the students (and maybe an attempt at community involvement-though I have no ideas yet) to start off with next year. I've gotta figure out sustainability somehow but that will have to come with time...
And as soon as I got home at 5, I continued working on my sheets until 9:30pm. A day without playing cards, you say?? I know! Haha but a day without cards still gave me a good teaching day, worksheets for summer, a meeting with the teachers and... as I finished up my worksheets on the porch, Fredito came over and we chatted for a long time and about a lot of different things. It was actually wonderful because it felt like a normal, smooth-flowing conversation. I understood most of what he said and was able to answer, ask questions, and give my opinion on things too. Crazy. Lol
Now it's 10:45pm and though I'm physically tired, I don't want to go to sleep. But today was a very very good, very very needed day :) Buenas noches.
Update: So, not wanting to sleep turned into not being able to sleep. Around 1am I heard rustling of papers a bit on my floor. I figured it was a rat but felt strangely safe in my bed. About two minutes later, however, the supposed rat jump up on my bed in the corner by my head, hit my mosquito net and fell back down. I officially freaked. I scrambled to get my iPad flashlight app up and my glasses on. Which of course did nothing because the thing was under my bed at that point. I scanned around the perimeter and eventually reached out cautiously and snagged my headlamp from my bedside table. With it on, I waited to hear more. Nothing. I laid back down but curled up in a ball in the middle of my bed, headlamp clutched tight in my hand as if it was a weapon. Every noise (including the sound of concrete pieces falling from the walls which is totally normal) opened my eyes and clenched my hands ready to press the button (as if it would do anything? Apparently I just really wanted to see it since I still don't know for sure what it was). I finally got so uncomfortable that I stretched back out but laid diagonally so as not to have any extremities touching the mosquitero (after ferociously tucking the net into the mattress on all sides). All I could see when I closed my eyes was the rat jumping again but managing to jump up under and make it into my bed. And then me freaking the F out trying to get out of what now became a cage and no longer my safety net. Lol oh man.. The last time I saw the time it was 2am...
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