Cowboy Day

The apparel of the students today was clearly western in celebration of what has become the school's annual Cowboy Day (a fundraiser). Excitement ran high as instead of futbol, gunfights filled the air. It was strikingly similar to a Western Day back home, with one key difference--students are allowed to bring toy guns here. Several times today--usually when I had toy guns pointed at me--I had to chuckle at the vast difference between the paranoid laws we've had to enforce in the U.S. and the freedom here. I toted my camera around to each class, figuring it was a perfect opportunity to snap some cute photos. My favorite? The third graders waving their hats and shooting their guns at me. I'll try to upload it another time.

Vaquero Day started full force a little after three o'clock. Each grade had nominated a cowgirl and cowboy from their class, and the class that had raised the most money won the competition. Then, parents and children could play ball, eat, throw darts at balloons, or play bingo. I was holed up in the bingo room, where a very capable fifth grader ran the show. Afterwards, my friend Linda was finishing up her nail-painting station, so I had my nails done, too. She reminds quite a bit of my sister Sarah.

School story for the day--well, two, actually. My fifth graders, helping get ready for today, told me there was no English class when I arrived. A little skeptical, considering there was no teacher in sight, I decided we needed to do something. We played the vocab game I had planned, and, as is apt to happen with me on a frequent basis, a song popped into my head: The Hokey Pokey. Quite logical, really, since to put is one of their words for the week. I sang three rounds of Hokey Pokey before class was over. Come on, it's a great review of body parts, too. :)

My second grader story for the day--I tried to plan more kinesthetic activities since I assumed the students would be silly with excitement. After twenty minutes of clapping my hands, saying, "If you can hear me, raise your hand," I decided kinesthetic ideas were not the best gameplan. Book work it would be. Surprisingly, the kids were much more attentive than usual, leading me to the conclusion that allowing 3-5 minutes of craziness each class will probably be more beneficial in the long run.