So it wouldn't have been so treacherous, but my kids are terribly shy. For the longest time they wouldn't talk to any other teachers but me - forget other students. They actually complained when I told them we were going to an all school birthday party in the gym. "Don't you want cake? Or presents?" "No teacher!" Right. I knew I had my hands full.
I'll give you a sticker...
So I practiced like crazy with them. I got them really excited. And I bribed them. For weeks I was prepping them for "the whole school will be there - it'll be fun!" We'd go to the gym every few days so they got used to it, and I talked for weeks about when we'd go with another class to practice.
When the day came that we went to the gym with another class, things were going so well, they didn't freeze-up, and they were actually sort of having fun.
And Disaster Struck.
My kids were singing and jumping up and down, when the one little boy in class shouts "Teacher!" I looked over, and he's in the classic legs-squeezed-together-hands-over-private-area position. I rushed him to the bathroom, and he just cried. My Korean co-teacher took him in her arms to comfort him and gave him a change of clothes. He refused to smile the rest of the day, poor thing. My other kids were all looking pathetic, too. I had one week to turn this around.
Oh, and here are 2 new students.
Then, I had the extra fun thing *read with sarcasm* happen that I got 2 new students in the 2 weeks before the Song and Poem Contest. Having a new kid in class is like starting all over with classroom behavior and training and is generally pretty draining. But as far as the Song and Poem Contest goes, the 2 new students actually sort of my cause.
Lucky for me, they're pretty outgoing and their English is really good, so they caught up easily. And the new students were enough of a distraction that the rest of the class seemed to forget about the Pants Peeing Disaster.
Alls well that ends well
Finally the big day came, and 50 kindergartners and pre-schoolers crammed into the gym. For 2 hours we listened to crazy kids songs and rough English speeches so that parents know their tuition money is being well spent. My class ended up doing pretty well; some of them looked slightly tortured, but they're pretty adorable. Then they got some awesome popsicles at lunch.
Kyle teaches virtually all of the kindergardners & pre-schoolers at our school, but spends the most with the youngest kids in the school, who are all 3 years old, and generally, really young for all-day school. Everyday they cry, fight over blocks, and then Kyle comes to the class. While he mainly attempts them to get them to not hit eachother & draw proper circles, he teaches them English, and they pick up a fair amount. His Korean teacher almost never leaves the classroom, it would be pretty painful without her.
So here's of video of our students showing their adorable sides. I realized that if Kyle and I are ever strapped for cash in the future, he'd do pretty well as a birthday party clown. :) And yes, everyone is wearing slippers - no shoes allowed in our school.
We're silly and adventurous, computer geeks and yoga peeps.
July 05, 2009
kyle the husband
July 05, 2009
Susan
July 08, 2009
Kyle
July 05, 2009
Kristine
Never did I think I would see the day that Kyle would be teaching preschoolers, either... priceless.
July 10, 2009
Bessie
July 06, 2009
Rose P.
July 06, 2009
Brooke
July 10, 2009
Bessie
July 06, 2009
mumsie
July 10, 2009
Wendy
July 11, 2009
DADDIO
July 13, 2009
Linda
July 21, 2009
Samuel Peterson