I´m such a softy

I was a goner after one day with my students. My heart doesn´t feel big enough for the love that I already have for them. It was as if in one moment I became their biggest fan. Being a superfan is exhausting though. Whew. It is becoming a habit to crawl into the hammock after school and just lay there for about a half an hour before going back to work on school stuff. It is worth it though for the laughs alone. Yesterday I gave my students some homework and to do this homework it was necessary for them to copy 5 sentences into their notebook that they would then correct (well, capitalize the first letter and add a period at the end). I thought having them copying the sentences into their notebooks about 20 minutes before school ended would be PLENTY of time. For some reason they just didn´t get it. (Well, it very well might have a huge something to do with the fact that I only speak to them in English. I´m not sure I´ve blogged about that before). I did everything to explain it in several different ways, but blank stares all around. Ok, maybe one or two students were copying down the sentences. Finally I was so frustrated that I went to the front and let off this schpiel (who knows how to spell that?) in Spanish that THIS IS THEIR HOMEWORK and they darn better start copying it down if they want to be able to do their homework! When I finished, one boy stood up and started clapping and then the rest of the class followed suit. It was hilarious. But I tried not to laugh, but to make them sit down and copy those sentences! Another funny thing from yesterday happened during recess. The tables and chairs that the students sit at tend to migrate several feet each day. I end up pushing the kids backwards because I am pinned against the whiteboard! Anyway, when trying to arrange the tables a little better, I noticed a stray chair against the wall. I have the students´ names taped to the back of their chair so I looked and it belonged to Maria Jose. I went to take it to where she sits at the table and I found HER BACKPACK CONVERTS INTO A CAMPING CHAIR! Maybe you had to be there, but I burst out laughing that I didn´t notice all morning that this girl was sitting on a camping chair :) Crazy.

So I am really enjoying teaching second grade. I am learning so much. But I´m really missing my community of friends in the States these days. It has been harder than I thought it would be. Know that you are in my thoughts often.