Math Review Enlightenment

Turns out I'm not a bad teacher. My kids just don't read directions.

...Hooray?

"You're a Good Miss"

Week One went well, but man was it exhausting. I love my kids and feel like I've got a pretty good read on most of them (except for the two who are still on summer vacation...), but they need a lot of extra help. We had a lesson on subjects and predicates, and though the kids could lead me through the examples orally, they all totally bombed the independent practice. I retaught the lesson the next day, which was really good because now they're subject-predicate-professionals, but now we're behind in social studies. It's the same with math: as I teach and we discuss place values, they can give me the correct answers, but with the independent practice they really struggle a lot. I'm frustrated because I feel like it's my fault for not being able to explain the concepts adequately or assess my students appropriately.

The saving grace, though, came on Wednesday when one of my students who has a hard time communicating in English (and also happens to be the tiniest fifth grader ever) gave me an ENORMOUS bear hug, turned his little face up to me and said very sincerely, "You're a good Miss." (My Costa Ricans called me "Teacher," my Hondurans call me "Miss"...I just don't know how to refer to myself in the third person anymore.) Miguel's comment really meant a lot because I haven't been trying to be their friend as much as I've been demanding their obedience and respect. But let's be honest: I have a very expressive face and I tease my kids to provoke their participation, and I'm pretty sure they enjoy it.

Thursday night a group of us took an aerobic Latin dance class and I love it SO so much. Leslie, Michelle, and I plan on going regularly. The instructor is an INCREDIBLE dancer and actually sort of dance-challenged me a handful of times, which was pretty flattering, but I just laughed and tried not to encourage anything. I'm telling you, these Latins have some crazy moves. Like, Beyoncé-status crazy.

I also got a cell phone. It works with a phone card, so there's no set monthly fee, and ALL incoming calls (even international) are FREEEEE!!!!! So call me: 011-504-9500-6772.

First day of school!!!!

Surprisingly, I didn't get nervous. I was a little concerned when I found out about some of my students and how many special cases I have that need extra attention (for various reasons), but the night before and morning of the first day of school (today) I was at peace. I'm convinced it was because of your steadfast prayers and am SO grateful for them because it's making all the difference.

Today was great. I was expecting to not have enough time to get everything done (devotional, self-introduction, expectations/procedures/rules, time capsule activity, reading placement tests, reading, discussing and characterization chart on Ananzi, grammar lesson, math placement tests, and science experiments), but due to last-minute changes within our grade level I actually ended up with extra time to kill. (Not as nice as it sounds, especially on the first day.) So we went to the polideportivo (sort of like a covered blacktop area) and played a couple games to wear out some of their energy.

The kids are pretty good...we're definitely going to have to work on a few things (speaking in English, for one, and DEFINITELY spelling and phonics), but they're sweet. They were eager to please (which was nice) but still pretty disruptive, so I'm wondering how bad it will get when they don't care about impressing me anymore. But in between telling them to flip their cards (colored cards behavior management system) I can still make them laugh and engage, so hopefully we've got a good balance working out.

Biggest thing: please be praying for my students and for the dynamics of the class. I have a number of kids who need extra support for medical, emotional, and/or language comprehension issues and I can't handle it all on my own. Pero todo puedo hacerlo con la ayuda del Jesucristo.

Dios les bendiga, mis amigos.

Honduran Bible Study

The owner of our apartment (nicknamed "Apartamento Del Sol") has a granddaughter who invited Leslie and me to their Bible study tonight, and it was fantastic. We sang "Desde Mi Interior" ("From the Inside Out") which is one of my FAVORITE worship songs, and then we discussed Philippians in both Spanish and English. Leslie doesn't speak any Spanish but very much wants to learn. She and I got to know Rene (the Bible study leader), Johanna (our landlord's granddaughter), and Alberto pretty well and it was just a great time all around. Rene's going to invite us to his barbecues and Leslie and I might have Christmas with Johanna. I also had lunch with Johanna's mom today, and she's going to teach us how to make baleadas and enchiladas.

I love it here.

Overwhelmed

OK, so I'll be honest: I'm getting nervous. As new teachers, we've been thoroughly inundated with information and it's intimidating. Everything I do, ever, has to be weighted and posted on BlackBoard. Lesson plans, assignments, grades, calendar events...all that good stuff, which is super helpful for students but confusing and painful for those us who've never been on this side of it before. We had a meeting today about how to use the new Promethean Boards (essentially Education-minded SmartBoards), and though it's an awesome and CRAZY interactive tool, it's totally foreign and all of our lessons have to be taught (and saved and posted on BlackBoard) on them. By the way, I teach 8 subjects, so that's about 5 lessons each day. We're talking intensely pre-planned weeks of lessons.

Plus, I've spent the last day cleaning out my room (ok yeah, I did get excited as I was rearranging the desks) and trying to get organized, though I'm still waiting for my classroom supplies to arrive. The first grade classes have Open House tomorrow, so they're rooms are clean and decorated and look AMAZING, and I'm not even close to being half-way done. Our Open House is this Saturday, and I've got a lot left to do before then. (Outside welcome bulletin board, inside interactive bulletin board, behavior modification chart cards, name tags, word wall, welcome letter to parents, fixing fallen posters and putting up new ones...) I know it will all get done, but right now I just want to fast forward through this first month to the day when I have some idea of what is going on.

La Llegada (The Arrival)

Hey so I made it!!! I slept the whole three hours to Houston and Michelle met me when I got there. We sat together on the flight to Tegus with a college-aged Honduran guy and talked the whole flight. It was good. We arrived on time, all our bags made it (except for my two boxes of classroom supplies I had to leave with my parents because of the embargo), and we met up with the IST leaders waiting for us on the other side of Ag inspection. I met my roomie, Leslie, and we were all dropped off at our new homes. Our home, Apartamento del Sol, is amazing. It's green on the outside and a pretty cheerful yellow on the inside, and HUGE!!! We each have our own room, our kitchen has pots and pans already, and we have a washing machine, too. We showered and changed and went to the school for a Honduran culture presentation and dinner with the administration, which turned out to be a lot like our fiesta at Mr. Bimrose's in Costa Rica. Best of all, now we have a lightning storm going on, and with our great view from our mini-balcony, we couldn't ask for anything more. 

Our vista
Family room
La cocina
My cheerful (and undecorated) room 

with free bed sheets

Last night at home

Sorry, guys, this one is going to be sans pictures.

It's 1:15 AM and my family and I are leaving for the airport in just over two hours. Yikes.

I really thought it wouldn't all start to hit me until I had to say goodbye to my parents at the airport, but nope, here it is. I'm leaving again, and this is the real deal. I'm MOVING this time. Let my two suitcases and two boxes stand as evidence. That really surprised me, by the way. I honestly thought I could fit all my own stuff into one suitcase (the boxes are for school supplies), but I totally forgot about my stuff in the bathroom and shoes. Shoes take up space, man. Half of one of my suitcases is full of sneakers and boots. In my defense, I did fit all the clothes I own (minus a few shoes, a couple jackets . . . and snow pants) into my two suitcases. That's kind of impressive, right?

I'm SO excited for tomorrow and what the Lord has planned for me this year, but I still really hate goodbyes. Asi es la vida, I guess.