Wow, it's been a long time since I last wrote! Got back in January and got so crazy busy with life! Being back in Kuwait since Christmas has been good. I enjoyed coming back to a familiar place and it didn't seem so lonely this time after seeing my family and friends over the winter holiday!
School's been an asbolute basket case since January, especially with report cards. I'm not sure if every teacher despises them as much as I do, but writing them to parents who 1) don't care about their chíld's progress and 2) yell at you is all the more stressful! In any case, got those done and Í really felt proud of them afterwards. It was like being back in University when I had a very long and tedious paper to write... and the moment I finished the last sentence and hit save was like heaven. THAT'S how I felt about these reports!
On to more exciting things! The thing I liked best in high schoo was always International Week, and so I was so happy when we did it at our school! Each class picked a country and had to do a little something-something for other classes who would visit, be it bake food, sing a song, or teach them how to count to 10 in another language! My kids have an obsession with soccer and so they chose Brazil. I won't lie, I was a little stressed trying to get things organized but with the help of an amazing EA and fantastic parents, our class was transformed into the Amazon Rainfoest, complete with trees painted on the walls, vines hanging from the ceiling, and paper parrots flying around the class. We even had stuffed jungle animals! The kids loved it! We decided to do a presentation with facts about the Amazon and about Brazil, with each kid saying a part. I was suprised at how great they were! I'm a little biased because I'm their teacher (of course!) but the kids learned to dance the samba, learned to say some things in Portugese, AND remember their lines! I used to despise my kids for being loud and not afraid to say anything, but it definitely paid off during their moments to shine when other classes came in. The best part? The kids were proud of themselves! Obrigado (thank you) Grade 1s for making Ms. Krista so happy to be your teacher!
We went on our FIRST field trip yesterday to the Kuwait Zoo! Again, my kids did nothing but surprise me! The Kuwait Zoo, as one can imagine, is pretty brutal. The animals were going nuts, you could tell, and the pens were not big enough for these wild animals! But the kids were great. We talked briefly about rules to follow while at the zoo, expecting them to say things like "No hitting, no leaving your teacher," etc. (you know, basic safety) but they went further to discuss rules when interacting with the animals. "If you shout" one Grade 1 said, "the lion will wake up! He will be scared and roar and bite your head off!" Of course, the lion will not actually bite their heads off, but if it'll make them listen, all the better! I was worried that the kids would run off and that one of the kids would actually somehow get into the lion cage (it wouldn't surprise me the slightest!) but they actually stayed with me the whole time. They were fascinated by the animals and asked intelligent questions, and some great responses! The peacocks were showing off like they do at most zoos, and after explaining to them that the pretty ones are actually the boys and that the brown ones were girls, one little girl says "Boys always get the nice things. But they need to look pretty so people will like them. That's why it's okay if girls wear the abaya! We're better!" Smart little girl, that one!
I have one student in particular who, since the first day of school, I have been unable to control. He is disrespectful in every way possible (think it, and he's done it!) and is so defiant that he has not completed a single page of work in seven months! I was definitely considering not taking him on this trip because I was SURE he'd get us kicked out of the zoo. In order not to lose my little wandering students, I paired each of them up. I paired above-mentioned boy (let's call him Bobby.. obviously not his name in this culture) with a space-case boy (let's call him Mikey) who is so low he should not be in Grade 1 right now. I knew something here wasn't going to go well, but what are you going to do when you promised all the other kids could pair up with whomever they wanted? However, I was shocked. Bobby took Mikey under his wing and made sure he didn't wander off to get into any danger. I have never been more proud of Bobby in all the months I have been his teacher. He definitely got a happy face on his behaviour chart that day!
Alright people, I'm getting tired. Bronchitis and a fever will do that to you! Sigh.
School's been an asbolute basket case since January, especially with report cards. I'm not sure if every teacher despises them as much as I do, but writing them to parents who 1) don't care about their chíld's progress and 2) yell at you is all the more stressful! In any case, got those done and Í really felt proud of them afterwards. It was like being back in University when I had a very long and tedious paper to write... and the moment I finished the last sentence and hit save was like heaven. THAT'S how I felt about these reports!
On to more exciting things! The thing I liked best in high schoo was always International Week, and so I was so happy when we did it at our school! Each class picked a country and had to do a little something-something for other classes who would visit, be it bake food, sing a song, or teach them how to count to 10 in another language! My kids have an obsession with soccer and so they chose Brazil. I won't lie, I was a little stressed trying to get things organized but with the help of an amazing EA and fantastic parents, our class was transformed into the Amazon Rainfoest, complete with trees painted on the walls, vines hanging from the ceiling, and paper parrots flying around the class. We even had stuffed jungle animals! The kids loved it! We decided to do a presentation with facts about the Amazon and about Brazil, with each kid saying a part. I was suprised at how great they were! I'm a little biased because I'm their teacher (of course!) but the kids learned to dance the samba, learned to say some things in Portugese, AND remember their lines! I used to despise my kids for being loud and not afraid to say anything, but it definitely paid off during their moments to shine when other classes came in. The best part? The kids were proud of themselves! Obrigado (thank you) Grade 1s for making Ms. Krista so happy to be your teacher!
We went on our FIRST field trip yesterday to the Kuwait Zoo! Again, my kids did nothing but surprise me! The Kuwait Zoo, as one can imagine, is pretty brutal. The animals were going nuts, you could tell, and the pens were not big enough for these wild animals! But the kids were great. We talked briefly about rules to follow while at the zoo, expecting them to say things like "No hitting, no leaving your teacher," etc. (you know, basic safety) but they went further to discuss rules when interacting with the animals. "If you shout" one Grade 1 said, "the lion will wake up! He will be scared and roar and bite your head off!" Of course, the lion will not actually bite their heads off, but if it'll make them listen, all the better! I was worried that the kids would run off and that one of the kids would actually somehow get into the lion cage (it wouldn't surprise me the slightest!) but they actually stayed with me the whole time. They were fascinated by the animals and asked intelligent questions, and some great responses! The peacocks were showing off like they do at most zoos, and after explaining to them that the pretty ones are actually the boys and that the brown ones were girls, one little girl says "Boys always get the nice things. But they need to look pretty so people will like them. That's why it's okay if girls wear the abaya! We're better!" Smart little girl, that one!
I have one student in particular who, since the first day of school, I have been unable to control. He is disrespectful in every way possible (think it, and he's done it!) and is so defiant that he has not completed a single page of work in seven months! I was definitely considering not taking him on this trip because I was SURE he'd get us kicked out of the zoo. In order not to lose my little wandering students, I paired each of them up. I paired above-mentioned boy (let's call him Bobby.. obviously not his name in this culture) with a space-case boy (let's call him Mikey) who is so low he should not be in Grade 1 right now. I knew something here wasn't going to go well, but what are you going to do when you promised all the other kids could pair up with whomever they wanted? However, I was shocked. Bobby took Mikey under his wing and made sure he didn't wander off to get into any danger. I have never been more proud of Bobby in all the months I have been his teacher. He definitely got a happy face on his behaviour chart that day!
Alright people, I'm getting tired. Bronchitis and a fever will do that to you! Sigh.
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