My FoOtprints left behind in MeXiCo: ALL My Children!!

I realize that I came to Mexico to teach English, and you're probably asking, "Well why haven't you blogged about the children and your awesome experiences teaching!?" Well honestly, A LOT of it was so very enjoyable, but MOST of it was challenging. I will also say that ALL of it was a blessing. I taught at two schools, one at 9:25 in the morning, and one at 4 in the evening. This blog post will be about my 9:25 class. They are in the 1st grade, so about 6 or 7 years old.

*September 19th- On this night I had a dream that my head teacher came up to me that day, and told me, "There is no Discovery on Friday because it is Grandparents Day." I woke up kinda sad that it wasn't true...only to find out that it was true...weird experience if I do say so myself. Well I love teaching, but a day off at Discovery is always welcome. Why you ask? Well I will tell you. Right. Now.

Our relationship went as follows:

September 20th- Today was my third day of teaching at Discovery. It seems to get harder and harder, and the children seem like they don't want to learn anything. We made fishing poles, and played "You Caught a What?" which was a huge hit in the states...here not so much. One child thought it appropriate to take the fishing pole out of my hands, and tear it apart. The same thing happened yesterday with the binoculars. On the way to class one child yelled, "No me gusta Ingles!" Which is, "I don't like English!" in Spanish. I felt kinda pointless at that point. If they don't like it, then they won't learn it right? Is that why they choose to jump on the desks, hide under the desks, climb the bookshelf, and lay in the backpacks on the floor? And it has to be why they mock you, make fun of you, make faces at you, stick their tongues out at you, and make ridiculous noises that disrupt the class? What ever the reason I know that I need to do something different. I find myself becoming angry, which makes me even more angry because I know I cannot do that anymore. Teaching English is hard, but teaching English to children who have problems beyond what WE understand is even harder.

September 24th- Last night I spent a whole 2 hours preparing materials to make our opening a little more interesting for the children. I made a magic bag, to make our routine a little less predictable and exciting. The kids had to draw a piece of paper out of the bag which had a sticker (Buzz Lightyear, a fish, a castle which was really a temple sticker :p) and other colorful stickers on them. They then had to match the sticker to the chart I made, to see what we had to do next. The children absolutely LOVE stickers here. My plan worked for some of the children, and I am beyond happy with that. Expecting all the children to become engaged would have been a horrible guesstimate, and one that I was not expecting to happen. The children still saw it fit before our whole opening to get on top of the desks, and roar like dinosaurs. One teacher who stepped in the room for a second told me, "Why! They do have a lot of energy today!" Woman, they have this kind of energy EVERY DAY! So after our half successful opening, we started our maraca activity. It went surprising well. Overall, today was a success and am excited to see what the rest of this week has to offer. :-)

September 25th- Our opening exercises went much better! I am not sure if this was due to the stern teacher who talked to them for a good 5 minutes before class about how the, "Classroom is NOT a playground," or if it was due to awesome teaching skills. Whatever the reason I know it wasn't the last option! I have 2 groups at discovery , and the last one is the more rowdy of the bunch. However, today they did remarkably well. The child that broke my binoculars, and my fishing pole gave me the most awesome hug today. Two of them actually! He didn't break my slingshot because he was really interested in shooting the target. ;) I am so very proud of his improvement that I saw today. One thing that I really admire about teaching is how unpredictable it is. Some days go well, while others can go downhill faster than Jack and Jill got there. It's what makes it fun. I have found a new admiration for the children making me think on my toes. They know how to make me a better person, than I could do by myself.

October 1st- Today was a Monday. Enough said.

October 3rd- As I am sitting here at night writing a dear friend, and telling him about my Discovery bunch, I realize that 2/3's of the things I said about them was positive. I have an overwhelming feeling of love in my heart for them. I must tell you what's on my mind with this certain unique group. The first thing that comes to mind, is how giving they are. Even though they may want everything, and anything you have in your bag for the day's activity, they are the most giving children I have ever seen. After classes are out, it is time for the children to eat their lunch. So I dismiss them, and they grab their lunches and go eat. The cafeteria is outside, so I walk by the eating area to leave the school. Almost everyday I leave, I am approached by children with chips, or whatever their mamas packed that day, and they offer the "teacher" some of it. I never would turn down a chip, so this is especially awesome when you are starving yourself. They also like to wave bye, and some of them even give you hugs before you leave. They really are loving, and amazing in their own special way. I also had a child offer me some money before he left class once. This I am not entirely sure why, but the thought was super sweet! He is just one loving, energetic child. Today, two of the children got into a little pickle, and one boy started crying. He put his head down on the table, while I explained to the other child that it is hurtful when we hit our friends. While I was explaining this to him, one girl got up and gave the crying child a hug. I was touched. Needless to say, everyone left happy and friends again. This is why I love children. They are so forgiving, and giving. One day, I would like to be just like them. :)

October 6- Today was Miss Amanda's last day!! How sad we were to see her leave! Every 6 weeks we change schedules, and her 6 weeks was unfortunately up. She taught those children amazing things, and I know that they will miss her and her spirit. As a surprise, I had my class make her "I will miss you cards," and they just did so well. I really, really, REALLY enjoyed teaching them today. Little Emir stayed awake, and asked for all of his materials, and Alejandro wrote a whole poem to Miss Amanda. That was a miracle in and of itself!! :p It amazes me how caring children are, and how willing they are to do things for others. When we were finished with the cards, we went next door and made a circle around it. It was really cute because I told them it was a surprise, so they tiptoed all the way to the door. I didn't think they had such abilities as tiptoeing! They were really quiet too, which was really weird considering I have never heard them quiet without feeling like pulling teeth. When we got to the door, I told them to yell surprise when I opened it, and they did! I think it was a surprise for sure, Miss Amanda sure deserved it!

They gave her hugs :)

And their cards :)

And she gave them cookies!!
(I never really thought that I would see them stand in such a straight line before. :p...also the orange things on their heads are crowns that Amanda made with her group. The tape on their noses was of their own doings, so I promise they're not all broken. ;p)

It is really crazy to think that my time with these young ones is coming to a close as well. I only have 3 more weeks...and I am already sad! I will do my best to continue to teach these wonderful spirits, and give them as much knowledge as a teacher can. I feel they have already grown in their unique ways, and have learned some English too! :) As I was reading back to the first post that I wrote, I wrote that a day off at Discovery was always welcome. While this is still true, the reason for it has changed. I love teaching these children, and will continue to do so as long as needed, whenever I am needed. These children will always be my children, no matter how far away in the world I may be.

These are the only pics I have taken of them thus far...I will get more I can promise you that!!!