Teaching and Learning

School is going GREAT! While reflecting back on the first week, I realize that there are many interesting events that have taken place...

#1 Charades: One student of mine is Russian and he is only able to say "okay" and "toilet" in English. He is so cute and very sharp. We communicate using pictures, pointing, and occasionally an online translator that can speak to him... because he is in the first grade and cannot read Russian, let alone any English. Explaining to him how to add three plus three was surprisingly simple, but asking him, "What is your favorite sport" was a different story. When we (or the online translator) asked him this, he started circling his arms and stomping his feet like a horse. It look a while to guess what he was acting out, and the more we guessed wrong, the more he did the motions.... Polo?... Rugby?... Oh it's Bicycling! It was so funny!

#2 Nurse: So at Pinewoods, there is a very basic amount of teachers and staff. They cover all their basis, but do not have a hired nurse... actually no certified nurse at all (PE teachers are certified for major emergencies). Because of this, I have doctored one split open toe, one busted lip, a scraped knee, and a bloody nose all in one week. 

#3 Singing: I take for granted that students in America usually share the same culture. During Library hour, I read a story to the students that combined all nursery rhymes together. When I read the first part about Humpty-Dumpty, they had no clue what I was talking about. But, by the end of story hour, I taught them the song and they were hooked. All the kids walked out of the Library singing either "The Itsy-Bitsy-Spider", "Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall", or "Three Blind Mice"... it was awesome! 

 

It is amazing to me though, despite the language barrier, how much the kids communicate with one another. Even if they share no common verbal form of communication, they still find a way to relate... whether it be in a game of tag or laughing at the teacher holding a book upside down. On Tuesday during reading time, one of my girl students that only speaks Italian was holding the hand of another girl that knows no Italian as the teacher read a story about making new friends... it was a very sweet moment! Thanks for reading!

"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good spirit lead me on level ground." -Psalm 143:10