Week 1

 

Well I survived the first week of school…yaaaay! I am sure that I am way more excited about this than most of you,  but on the first day I was very skeptical about everything. First of all, Monday I woke up and it was pouring in the rain…around here, everything shuts down and no one goes anywhere if it is raining out, so I was wondering if anyone would even show up to the first day of school. To my surprise, everyone showed up…I had the children who were supposed to be there Monday morning, as well as the children who were supposed to come on other days. With the rain and the parents, the first day of school ended up being a play day for the ones who showed up for the Monday morning class. Thankfully, I got all the parents attended to with paying their school fees and sorting out the schedule for each of their children. After a week of coming, I think the parents and the children are getting used to the schedule the way it has been set up.

This week I was really aiming for the children to get used to the classroom, both teachers, and each other. We tried not to get in to too much since the room was probably overwhelming enough for the children, without adding more on top of it. The biggest hit with all 4 classes is definitely the cars…we have little matchbox cars and wooden cars and between the two, the children were driving all over the classroom making car noises and bumping into one another. The driving got more intense as the week went on :o)

In one of the older classes, the girls found some puppets that look like little boy and girl dolls. The girls immediately took the dolls, put them on their backs, and looked for something to tie them on with, they luckily found some bandanas. Here, the women carry the children on their backs with a piece of fabric called a “chetange”, these girls were modeling their mother’s and later in the week, they found the food in dramatic play and began cooking for their babies. I think the babies are busier then the children at times, but they usually get some sleep in as well!!

 

In the art studio, Medis and I decide we would like to introduce the children to paint. Since we were briefly talking  about colors in one class, we though color mixing would make a good activity. We showed the children “blue” and “yellow” and then asked them what color they thought it would make if we mix them together…like everything else, I got no response, we went ahead and let them start mixing. They had no idea what color they made, but some of the children were able to point to a similar color on the rug or on someone’s shirt to identify the color “green”. They loved using the paint and paint brushes and look forward to doing it again sometime soon!!

 

Another big hit this week were the plastic animals and the Lego’s. The children learned new animal names for one’s they have never seen before and then English names for the one’s they know in Tonga…the animals grazed in the field and played with the other animals around. Then the children also loved stacking the Lego’s making really high towers…when I asked the children what they had made, they didn’t know! I am praying that as time goes on, they will be exposed to things they can purposefully make out of blocks, Lego’s crayons, etc; since now it seem some of their imaginations aren’t being challenged.

 

Additionally, the children worked on this week was how to properly read a book…ALL of the children held the books upside down and read from back to front!! Medis and I showed each child a different way to read the book, by turning it right side up and then flipping/turning the pages form right to left and reading the words and pictures. It will also take time to make sure the children turn the pages properly since most of them just grab the pages  damaging them in the process.

I am finding how many things I took for granted in the states…teaching children who already knew most of their colors, some numbers, some letters, had read books before, and always used their imaginations on everything. Here, we are starting at the most basic things and trying to build on that so that the children benefit from it all.

The children are doing great and are all receptive to the program and coming to school…I think I only have one boy who still cries for the whole time, and then a couple girls who are very quiet every now and then. Please pray these children will be comforted and come to feel that the school is a safe place for them where they are recognized and loved for who God made them to be.

My goal is to write about each week as it passes by to share with you what the children are getting into and what they are learning :o) Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments and any advice or ideas you have that support our learning! Thank you again for all your prayers and encouragement this past year…