Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I guess it's a little late in the season for baseball, but the game was the theme of the 5th graders' skit in our English Expo.  All of the students--from kindergarten through junior high--did a fantastic job presenting.  The Prepa class (kindergarten) won best song with their Fruit of the Spirit song Jo taught them, and 5th graders won best skit.

The teachers liked the Prepa performance so much that the kids performed it at graduation, too.

 A brief scene from the 5th graders' Take Me Out to the Ball Game Director Skit (sad version)

School ended last Thursday.  I also moved out of my house and back into La Senda on Sunday.  Thus, the past couple of weeks have been quite busy.  Besides the English Expo, though, here are a few other highlights:

Graduation.  Last Friday, La Senda graduated 12 sixth graders and 15 kindergarteners.

 6th Grade

 Prepa

 Teachers

Rosita's Presentation.  I've been teaching freshman English to Rosita this year, and she did a fantastic job presenting an overview of what she's learned to Pam and Steve and the home kids.

 Going over grammar

 Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth's love chart

Hangout Time with Dorcas and Mimi.  We went to Antigua together and tried out an Italian restaurant and had dessert at Cenicienta (Cinderella).

 Dinner with the girls

with happy ending desserts

Goodbyes.  Since I moved out of the house, I also made my rounds to say goodbye to the neighbors.  It has been a blessing to live there with them.

 Last pila washing...it has been a place of thinking and reflection

 Some of my neighbors

 Astrid sang a song for me

Jo Is Moving On.  I took Jo to the airport on Monday morning.  She leaves for Krgystan in 2 weeks.

 Me and Jo

 Hanging out with some of the teachers

Plane Ticket.  It's official.  I will be returning to the States in early November.

In the mean time?  I'll be hanging out with the La Senda kids and taking Spanish classes here--I'm hoping to be able to use Spanish wherever I end up next.

Refaccion

Jo and I invited the teachers over for an after school snack.  Though we teach together, we don't often get together as a group outside of school.  We enjoyed hanging out together, snacking on cinnamon bread and somsas (Jo knows how to make these from living in Uzbekistan), drinking coffee, and playing Uno.  I hope we can plan one or two more teacher afternoons before the year is up.

 The spread

Teachers and Me

Teachers and Me

 Learning to play Uno

Humpty Dumpty

At English club, we've been reading a couple of nursery rhymes each week, for the listening skills, a little vocab, a little culture, and a little rhythm.  The boys loved Humpty Dumpty because of the sound; they nixed Hickory Dickory Dock, Jack and Jill, and Little Boy Blue, but they LOVED Three Blind Mice.  Why? Because the farmer's wife cut off their tails with a carving knife...

I think boys will be boys everywhere.

Check It Off

Friday we had a half day since it was the last Friday of the month. This means that the kids have a patriotic act and that teachers usually have a professional development time after the kiddos go home.

I had the opportunity to present the professional development.  I am thankful that I could do so because it was one of those things that I had been meaning to do but had not yet gotten around to it...until this week.  The topic was using videos in the classroom to support learning, particularly with reading comprehension.  I got to share a couple of my favorite strategies, including the KWL chart and Somebody Wanted But So (I think I may have learned both from Kylene Beers). 

The kicker?  I did it all in Spanish!  Praise God!  Anita helped me fix up my handout so the phrasing actually made sense.  It was exciting to be able to communicate ideas without needing a translator.  And, it was exciting to check it off my list of Things to Do Before the Next Stage of My Life Ensues.

Teaching Math on a Friday Afternoon

After the third time of warning the boys to stop talking to each other and threatening to make them write "I won't talk while the teacher is talking" one hundred times--a discipline measure I am fully NOT in support of because I don't want to turn kids against writing but used as an empty threat (another bad practice) because nothing else came to mind at the moment--I finally sent one student out into the hallway.

We moved his desk and his chair out along the railing.  It really is a nice view from there--a volcano in the distance, rolling mountains, fields.  I fretted a little bit that this probably meant the afternoon was lost for him, but at least these last fifteen minutes would not be lost to the other students.

Back in the classroom, I started going over the practice problem on the board.  We were drawing a comparative bar graph of student quiz scores.

"Where should we put the students' names?" I asked.  "On the x- or the y-axis?"  The students, now working quietly, were nonresponsive or mumbled their answers.

"The x-axis!" a now small voice called out from the hallway.

"Yes," I said, pursing my lips to contain a chuckle as I wrote the names along the x-axis.  "What score did Lana get on Quiz 1?"

"Seven!" he cried, in unison now with two of the top girls in class. 

And so the lesson continued, me asking the questions, my ornery student and a few of the others answering.  Thus, learning was done, even on a warm Friday afternoon.

Comfort in Friends and Family

I've been so thankful for this time that Mom has been with me!  We have kept busy, and she has been a huge help with the English department at La Senda as we wrap up 3rd quarter.  We definitely missed Katie the first three days of the week since both Mom and I had to substitute in the preschool and kindergarten classes.  Small ones learning English is really not the best fit for me...the 5th graders felt like a refuge!  The tykes are cute and fun to play with and help, but a much different challenge when they need to be taught.  Little Mynor, all of 4, looked at me yesterday and, with pity in his voice, said, "No habla mucho espanol, verdad?"  (You don't speak much Spanish, do you?).  I think the little ones feel like we are at a great disadvantage for not speaking their language.  Little do they know this is many times how I feel when I try to teach them!

Thankfully, Jo arrived yesterday from Ohio to teach the little guys during fourth quarter.  She jumped right in today.  We are so excited she is here!  She is an elementary teacher and has taught at various schools all around the world.

On Saturday, I take Mom to the airport and pick up my very good friends Matt and Carly Braun.  Can't wait for these new visitors!  I'm ready to show them Guatemala linda and share with them the ministry I've been seeing firsthand here.

Headed into Rest Week...

Mom arrived last Tuesday, and it has been fantastic having her here in Guatemala with me.  She substituted one day for me so I could observe Katie.  She's also run errands with me (including a 6-hour jaunt at the DMV), helped me cook and clean house, and just been great to talk to.

Every last Friday of the month we have Acto Civico, or Civic Act, at school.  Since we celebrate Independence Day in July, La Senda held an English Civic Act.  We showed and explained four tableaus key in American history.

Tableau 1: Our version of Washington crossing the Delaware

Tableau 3: Women's Rights

This month's fundraiser was sponsored by third grade: Hawaiian Day.  Lots of leis, hula, limbo, and fruit!

 The preschool fashion participants

 Los gringos

La Senda Family, Estilo Hawaiana

Katie and I wrapped up a 5-week VBS stint.  It was small, but I enjoyed spending time with the neighborhood girls who came.  We focused on who Jesus is via Bible accounts of his miracles, ending with He is our Savior and sharing the gospel with the girls.

Me, Astrid, Katie, and Yennifer

We have a week off from school.  Besides taking care of business and trying to plan a bit for fourth quarter, we have some time to relax!

The proof:  Mom is here with me!  Here, we're in the park in Antigua 

 Katie's been craving nachos.  No better place to go in Guatemala for those than Monoloco.

 Mid-water war meeting.  We enjoyed playing water balloon capture the flag and then all-out water wars afterwards with the La Senda kids.

 Walking down the highway to breakfast...

...at Cafe Cacao 

Mama and Me :)

Of Pizza Making, Boat Racing, and Shopping

Last weekend Katie and I enjoyed a sleepover with all the La Senda girls.

We made homemade pizzas.  Yum yum!

5th graders ready for boat racing. 

The USS Give God the Glory (Mimi and Almendra's) won at 17 seconds, followed by the USS Killer (Abraham and Victor's) at 24 seconds.

 Two of the girls putting their final touches on their boat

Our cheerleaders: several of the preschool students

 Lupita working very hard to send her boat down the gutter

Enma with new shoes and necklace, thanks to a friend back in the States.  She enjoyed trying on a bunch of shoes in Payless, but she admitted it was a hard decision.

Birthday Week

Celebrated a big week at La Senda--Dorcas, Pam, and Yaquelin all had birthdays.  We enjoyed celebrating the life of each one of these ladies.  Yaquelin turned 18, a big birthday here in Guatemala, just like in the States.  As this next year progresses, she will be responsible for providing for herself--food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, etc.

We also finished 2nd quarter at school.  We are looking forward to the return of one of our English teachers currently out on maternity leave, and the arrival of Katie, an Asbury student who will be working with us for the summer.  I am particularly excited to have a roommate--Katie will be living with me for the majority of her time here.

English Club

Began English Club today with six students, Chiky's, and a stack of Question of the Week cards.  Relying on my experience with helping Academic Team, the kids had to slap in to answer the question correctly.  "What is your name?" Slap. "Dara."

"Where do you study?" Slap. "I study at Colegio La Senda."

"What chores do you do at home?" Slap. "I make my bed."

The next two competitors face each other and tensely hold their hand a few inches above the desk, willing it to be the first to make contact.

"What do you like to do on the weekends?" came the next.

Slap. "Clean my room!" yelled Alvaro. 

The other five students nearly died laughing.  Eduardo laughed so hard tears streamed down his face.  Alvaro looked a little confused, until one of the others pointed out the question was about the weekend, not chores. "I guess you could like cleaning your room on the weekend," I said, making the students laugh all over again.  Alvaro shook his head and sat down, a little perturbed, but in good spirits nonetheless.

Every Thursday, starting today, I look forward to working with these students after school.  They are the ones who are below the language level of their peers and who are, I'm afraid, many times in their own little world for the English portion of the day.  Through English Club, I hope to boost their language skills by covering the basics that they have not yet mastered and help them study for their Friday quiz.  I also hope it continues to be a lot of fun.  I have found that my lowest language level students really show more of their personality when they aren't in the presence of their more intimidating, nearly fluent classmates.

When Typos Turn Gangsta

Imagine how the chapter titled "The Hot-Potato Man and Other Mothers" would play out.

I see the main character as a big round man who is known for sweating, aka The Hot-Potato Man.  In his gang along Market Street, we'd have Corn Dog Bob, the skinny and pimply street vendor; Here Boy, the short old man who grunts for his answers but comes at the shortest whistle blown just so; and, of course, Salsachup, the slick youth whose ways are as greasy as his hair.  Average, or sub-average, people during the day, terrors to the neighborhood by night with their revolvers and penchants for attempting to rob any living and moving creature.

What a twist to the The Whipping Boy's chapter titled "The Hot-Potato Man and Other Matters."

Expectation

The buses had already left.  Only a handful of students played around the principal's office, shooting marbles or running back and forth to the treehouse while waiting to be picked up.  Prof William and I sat on the cement against the office wall; Anita stood guard at the imaginary line separating the anxious students from the dangerous driveway of moving vehicles.

One little boy spotted his mom pulling up to the gate at the bottom of the hill.  He quickly picked up his lunchbox and shouldered his bookbag.  He took a forceful step forward, as if to run; then, checked by an unseen hand, stopped abruptly.  He shuffled his lunchbox in his hands and stared longingly at the white SUV just now passing through the gate and past the guard, and sighed at the delay.  His eyes, locked on the vehicle, with his thoughts surely on the person within, followed it to the top.

The three of us exchanged grins as we appreciated his intensity and unabashed anticipation.  Miss Anita extended her hand, and he eagerly rushed forward to grasp it, his ferry across the invisible line separating him from home.

Post #200: Beating Me to the Punch

One of the highlights of the day is being in charge of the hand-washing line in the preschool room prior to their morning snack.  The kids are super cute (as long as I don't have to teach them).  I've decided this is a good time to help them practice their English.

We're working on answering the question, "How are you?" instead of simply repeating it.

This past week we began working on manners.  I prompt students to say, "Soap, please," when it is their turn.

On Friday, one kid finally had it figured out.  Before I even had a chance to ask him how he was, he put his little hands out together in front of him, looked up at me, and quickly said, "Fine, thank you. Soap, please."

He knows how to get things done.

On the Outskirts of Mourning

I drove down dirt roads for the first time yesterday.  Canvasing the bumps and different grades of dirt was a bit challenging, especially given my low-sitting car with all five of us inside.  Lito made a face as I scraped the bottom of my car--again--only to reverse and let him guide me through.

We asked the man who had his cows tied to the tree if we could park there, because there was no other flat space.  He said yes.

We walked from there through the little neighborhood, with its pentecostal church, tienda, visiting neighbors, and houses built from cement block with tin roofs.  We found her house up the lane.  She was sitting up in bed, watching TV.

We came, my colleagues and I, because her husband was killed this week.  My colleagues wanted to pay her a visit since she used to work with us; though I knew who she was, I was more the chauffeur. We sat all together in her room and listened to her story.  How her husband had left at the normal time.  How he hadn't returned home.  How she had decided not to worry about it. How she found out the next day of his death.  How the newspaper had picked up its story, and how her young son had rifled through the pages under pretense of looking for futbolistas only to end his search when he found the article about his father's death.

She shared that she is feeling sad, of course, but she has a sense of peace.  And these last few months had been good months in her family, having made good memories, ones they can pass on to the little one due later this year.

She is my age.  With one son and another on the way, and now a widow.

Sex Ed

In college I breathed a mental sigh of relief every time the professors alluded to the phys ed majors' resposibility to teach health--and with that, sex ed.  Glad I don't ever have to teach that in English! I thought to myself.

Well, wouldn't you know.  God has a sense of humor.

I started teaching about human reproduction today.  Okay, I don't have to get into all the nitty gritty details about sex, but as one who blushes at the name of those body parts, it's going to be an interesting three weeks.

Before we get to the science of it, we are starting off with what the Bible says about our bodies.  We are created in his image.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Some parts are designated by special modesty, as are some parts in the body of Christ.  We are the body of Christ.  And, our speech--about anything, including references to sexuality and others' bodies--should be uplifting and glorifying to God. 

With this unit, we [Pam has given me a lot of good advice] hope to give the students a healthy framework to learn this material, so not only are their educational and intellectual needs met, but also their emotional and spiritual needs, too.

Education.  Rarely a dull moment.

Finding Humor in their Mistakes

Seeing how I add almost daily to my growing list of Spanish faux pas, I don't mind chuckling at a few of my students'.  Most recently, from their quizzes:

May I go to the badroom?
Sure, but make sure you put your nose in the corner once you're there.

May I go to the batroom?
If I get to be Robin!

School Life in Full Swing

What a busy week!  One teacher quit this week to attend the university, and another of the English teachers was sick for four days.  Since our only "substitute" is also the school secretary, we all had to pull a little extra weight this week.  Hence, I'm tired.  :)

Notable notes and quotes:

• One little 2nd grader cried in the bathroom yesterday.  I asked her what was wrong, and she said she missed her grandparents.  "Where are they?" I asked.  "With God," she sobbed.  "I just want to be with them!"  How heartbreaking!
• A 5th grader had written a note to me in her notebook, which I noticed while walking around checking homework.  My high school experience put me instantly on alert as I read: "Miss Elizabeth, I have something very important to tell you.  I know I have told you before I have something important to tell you.  But I just want to say--" the big reveal? [big intake of breath] "I love you, Miss Elizabeth!"  Whew!
• Tattling, tattling.  "Angel's chewing gum!" "Dara is eating!" "Mimi's talking!" I've got to figure out a way to prevent this.  It's amazing how interested everyone is in everyone else's business.
• I broke a little 2nd graders' pencil sharpener.  Oops.  Don't worry, I replaced it.
• I told my 6th graders that I would be running late since I had to stay with the 2nd graders.  Would they please start their handwriting when they returned from devotions?  One of the boys responded, "Don't worry, my life [an expression of affection]."  Cheeky already.
• A 5th grader was extremely surprised that after biting off the end of a red pen, he had red ink running down his tongue and on his lips.  Of course it looked like blood.  As he ran to the bathroom, I couldn't help but laugh at the memory of his expression.  Mimi chided me, "Don't laugh, Miss Elizabeth."  Me?  "Sometimes," I said, "you just have to laugh when somebody does something stupid."
• "Miss Elizabeth, he writes so slow," the girls complained of our new 5th grade student.  "Well, how fast did you write when you first started learning English?" I queried.  Props, though, to the group--they abided by the philosophy "Leave no man behind" in spite of suffering from impatience.
• Still getting used to doing the little things for the little people: putting their hair in ponytails, putting earrings back in, tying shoes, opening food containers.
• Several of the 5th grade girls make it their mission to spy on me while I'm heating their lunches up in the microwave.  Not sure what the attraction is, but they have a blast sneaking around, hiding in the bathroom and ducking below the windows when I look their way.

Glad to have some time for rest and friends this weekend. :)

Anita: The embodiment of patience and discipline

 Anita and I share a classroom.  She has patiently explained things to me in Spanish when I have questions, many times repeating herself for me.  She is also very disciplined in her work habits, which is good for me considering my New Year's resolution is to be more disciplined in various areas of my life.

We attended a birthday party for one of our students.  He turned 10.  We took four of the La Senda boys with us--evidently, it was the first off-campus birthday party for several of them.  They had a blast!

Teaching Week One...Completed!

"Good morning, dear teacher, we're all in our places with bright smiling faces."

I've already started teaching my new students this phrase, something I must confess I completely stole from my awesome Junior year history teachers, Mr. Hathaway and Mr. Maenza.  It works well to signal the kids that class is starting, and they get a kick out of it (especially when I mimic the words with them).

My favorite thing about the beginning of the year is that I get to see the best side of the students.  I think especially at this younger age.  They are so eager to please, especially the new students who do not yet know me.  I see it in their eagerness for my approval of the notebook they've selected for class, or the diligence they show in completing their handwriting practice for the day--something I've heard from other teachers can sometimes be quite the chore to get students to complete.

Some of the most energetic sixth graders from last year have moved up into the basico (junior high) program, giving that class a fresh face.  However, I am fortunate to be able to work with students on their English in small groups during the mornings when the tutor is here.  I also get to work with the group as a whole in the afternoons twice a week, which is when I look forward to helping them more with their writing and verbal communication skills--you know, those things book learning itself can't teach you.

I am thankful to be sharing a classroom with Anita.  We seem to have a similar working style, and her everlasting patience has been good for me as she sometimes has to explain things to me in Spanish multiple times.  Plus, I have my own little corner in the school now instead of being up in the fourth tower, which makes me feel more a part of things.

The grading has begun, but somehow I still don't think it will be to the same tune as Dunbar grading, though I have a fuller load this year.  We'll see. :)

On the First Day of School...

The 2011 school year officially began yesterday.  With half days every day this week, we are easing into the school year. 

Almendra's spontaneous hug with an "I love you, teacher" was certainly the highlight of day one. This, in the middle of a name game where we stood in a circle and tossed a ball around to remember each other's names. 

Today's highlight?  A little preschooler eagerly waving to me.  My only involvement in her life up to this point?  I opened up her drink and yogurt cup during snack time for her. 

I am thankful to be teaching the older students.  It is nice to already know the majority of them. We have a few new students, who have much catching up to do with their English, but who seem good natured.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!  Colegio La Senda 2011 is under way, and with an all-time high enrollment of 140 from preschool through junior high.