....I got a package!
And I didn't even have to go to the Post Office near the center to pick it up as it was small enough to come straight to me! Woo Hoo! Can you tell I was excited? Plus, this package arrive in 5 days! That is pretty much insane compared to previous experiences with mail here in Bulgaria. My amazing friend Miss Elyn DeCook sent me a package of amazing goodies. She knows me so well and I love her for it. THANKS AGAIN EL!
Then Seventh hour came (1:10) and I was unsure as to whether my teacher English group would show I as didn't have class last week due to being sick. They didn't show which was just fine as this week started Monday afternoons with the 11th graders (and my want to condense my English classes into one which is just on Monday nights). My counterpart was told last week she needs to start having four extra English classes each week with the 11th graders. Though I have no idea why exactly, I told her I'd rearrange my Mondays so I could help out. It should be fun as our 1:00 - 3:30 time slot has no Ministry enforced curriculum and we are able to cater it to the students. Every week we're even going to watch a Modern Family episode as our peek into American culture, listening comprehension, and slang. I'm hoping to bring a lot of projects into this time slot as there seems to be a whole lot of lecture and structure here and a lack of student centered projects. Project one, which we began today, is each 11th grader translating an American English children's book into Bulgarian. The students will translate each page, then create comprehension questions (English and Bulgarian), and finally a vocabulary list to accompany the book. I figured it was a great way to get donated English books into the hands of students and other English teachers. They seemed remotely excited which I figured was pretty great being they're all high schoolers and hard to read at times.
After 11th grade I had first grade. This week I changed things up (with the approval of my Director and the 1st grade teachers) to combine my two classes into one and only take half the kids. These are kids who are at school from 8:00 to 5:00. All factors are pretty much pointing against them learning English at 4:00 in the afternoon which as led to my classes being utter chaos. The problem is, the parents were choosing whether their kids should be in my group or not and some of these kids just aren't ready/don't have the attention span to learn English at this time of day. Therefore, I've taken 6 kids from each group to form a solid group of 12. I also told all the kids that just because they are in English this week does not mean they will be there next week hoping for a behavior change and it seemed to work! Today we got through everything I had planned, and it went well. I must say I think this is the most pleased I've been with my first grade lessons! We read the book, Old McDonald (which they loved because they got to help me with the E I E I O and animal sounds), did a coloring activity (there were about 25 animals on a sheet of paper and they had to color the ones that were in the book), and then did the Hokey Pokey. Now I've gotta get my hands on some more preschool/young elementary focused books. Repetition is very key to these kids picking up anything in English.
Then, my school day ended with teacher English. Only one teacher showed up though so we chatted for a bit and then left early.
The 11th graders working with English Children's Literature:
The first graders coloring "Old McDonald" animals:
I love engaged students:
And it may be a bit late but here are my 5th and 6th graders' Valentine Hearts:
So that's about all to February 21st, 2011. An all around great day!
Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless curiosity.
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