HOLA!!
This was a great week. We came back from a fun break and I was ready to see how teaching was going to be when we returned. School was great because my teachers and I worked together to teach the class. I teach 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
The school has adopted a method of teaching through stories available in the students' textbooks. Each story has a purpose, such as helping students understand how to use "she" and "he" or singular and plural words.
So, we teach the concept first, then read the story, and then review the concept again. The textbooks for the lower grades are good, but they are not the same ones used in other grades.
Some students are learning concepts in different grades. The principal and English teachers want to improve their program so they have asked us to make suggestions. We visited another school on Friday to observe. We are going to work on our suggestion this week so we can help them for many years to come!
I really enjoy the kids in my classes. They love giving me stickers and at the end of the day I will have a shirt full of them! In the classrooms, the resources are limited so we really are creative when we plan a lesson.
The whole school has welcomed us with open arms. The teachers that do not speak English still try and talk with us and they want to learn English as well. I am having a great time here.
Since we have breaks during the day, we gather out by the soda and talk with the kids and teachers in English. It is great fun here. I am well aware that time is slipping away.
I have become a member of my family here! They are the sweetest family and very loca (crazy)! We are always having a fun time and we are able to communicate very well. There are very few times when one of us just doesn't have a clue what the other one is saying. I am getting better at Spanish but there is much I still have to learn!
One of the teachers, Herold, took us to Cañas,a town near Nicoya. Here we visited another school, stayed at the firehouse (his second job), taught a night class in English, woke up at 5am the next morning to travel to Upala to teach another English class. Harold is very dedicated and has a warm heart!
Can´t wait to see what the next weeks have stored for us!!
