1st day of meeting the kids

Hey!!!

So just saying, I was never worried about teaching 4th graders in Guatemala. I woke up that Friday morning and was like: Let's do this. People showed a little trepidation (hehe) about teaching in Spanish, but I knew that Karen and I were prepared. We had made our packets for the little kids to use (66 of them in fact) and we had a schedule in our heads of what we were going to do... of course leaving a little flexibility. Karen and I were ready with our packets as our weapons and we were going to be great teachers whether they were ready for us or not.

Karen and I have two 4th grade classes: 4a and 4b. 4b was the first class, and we couldn't wait to see and begin the class. We even went in a little early and started with the introductions. The class was....okay. The kids were great, they even stood up when we came in and said good morning like the little soldiers they were. When they sat back down, Karen and I let them know the game plan. We handed out the packets, which some kids looked a little upset with, and told them the 4  topics we wanted to go over: Conversation, family, clothes, and body parts. We them gave them their first assignment, a little assessment (20 questions) that would see how well they knew conversation and family vocab. That's when everything got a little crazy. I guess the kids thought that it was a sheet where they need to write the words down with our help instead of an assessment, and they looked at us expectantly while we stared back confused. Finally, with a little help from their teacher, the kids understood and got to work. Everything besides that went smoothly. We even had so much extra time that we were able to start the 1st lesson in family. We even played a game with them with my new drums.

Then it was recess and the kids were on their break. Karen and I, wanting to relive our kid years, started a game of duck, duck, goose with some little ones and were running all over the playground. Oh, what good times. They are so cute and curious... I can't wait to shape their minds to help them in their futures.

 After recess came the 2nd class, 4a. Everything practically happened in the same way: we introduced, we explained rules, we gave assessment, kids confused, teacher helped, kids do it, started 1st lesson, and then played a game. Honestly though, I am really excited. I never had any sort of fear... these are just kids who wanted to learn English and were excited that they got to from Foreigners like us. Tomorrow is a new day, and we will continue with the family vocab.

Now that I am here, The 4th graders at San Pedro better watch out because Karen and I are here and we are ready to teach!!!

-Garlyn Colas