Back to the Grind!

Oh it feels so good to be back at ECA! I missed my students so much! However, I think they forgot most of the procedures I had in place! Matt had this great idea to divide all the students into Bulldog Lines (the school's mascot is the Bulldog). That is a super easy way to go through attendance, it gives the students a specific spot to stand when they come into the gym, and it is a great way to divide teams, all you have to do is say Bulldog lines 1 and 2 over here and 3 and 4 over there. Then they know exactly where they are suppose to go. When the students stand in their BDL, they are suppose to keep their hands to themselves and be quiet so they can listen to instructions and I can take attendance. The last few classes this week it has taken upwards of 15 minutes to get them to settle down. So we had to practice standing in our BDL.

I find it fascinating how I can reason with some of the kids. One class period the third graders had a really rough time getting along and there was/is a lot of blame going around. So I actually sat them all down and gave them a chance to express what they were thinking and feeling. We did not get to be very active but this was more important. The students were given a chance to actually work out their issues. Yes, we still have a lot of blaming going on but they seem to deal with it quicker. I love that each class is different. My third graders are very logical. Last class I told them all to look at the clock and I said we got to play our warm up game till the clock said 12:00. When it got to that time, I stopped the game and had them clean up. They were complaining that it wasn't fair and they didn't get much time to play. I asked them to repeat the time I said we could play till and asked them what time it was. When they remembered what I had said, there was not any more complaining. I also mentioned that if they argue less then they get to play more.

Recently I experienced my first major complaint. I just started a unit of volleyball with 3rd and 4th grades. I had a third grader come up to me and tell me that he did not like volleyball and that it was boring. I asked him why he thought it was boring and that I do not allow the word boring in my gym classes. He thought it was not fun because all we are doing is passing the ball back and forth. So I tried to reason with him by saying we need to practice the skills before we can play games with the skills. He said, well what kind of games and I tried volleyball once and I didn't like it. 'Well go try it again.' 'I did and I didn't like it.' So I asked him what sports he liked to play. His response was swimming and baseball but only when he's the batter. Oish! So he asked to sit out. I told him that we were going to be doing volleyball for the next three weeks and he cannot sit out for the whole unit. Plus, what was he going to do for the rest of the classes when we are doing other sports he doesn't like? His answer was to sit out. No way! So I talked to him about how if he didn't practice then his partner wouldn't have anyone to pass with either. Anyways, this took almost 20 minutes. He was so persistent. Wow! Actually almost the whole class was groaning when I told them we were going to play volleyball for the next three weeks. Thankfully by the second class period with them, they seemed to really enjoy it! This particular student in the next class kept holding his neck when we played dodgeball (they ask to play almost every day). I had other students come up to me to say that they thought something was wrong with him. I said if it really hurts, he'll come tell me. Naturally right after we were finished with dodgeball and we started volleyball, he came up to me and said his neck hurt. I told him if it was okay enough to play dodgeball then it was okay enough to play volleyball... 'yeah but I just tried my best'... 'okay so you can try your best at volleyball'. And that was the end of it. The third class period I had them, he didn't complain at all! Praise the Lord!

On Friday, I had a surprise evaluation with my Kinder class. They are the ones that give me the biggest issues because of the language, the age and they are crazy sometimes! We have some great resources at school in various people. One lady, Glenda, has been teaching for years and years. She is also working specifically with ELL (English Language Learners) and helping integrate English Language Learning into every area of the school. Anyways, she came once before and observed my Kinder class because I had asked her for some strategies to help them learn to listen. She was going to come on Wednesday possibly but that didn't happen. So she showed up on Friday. My Friday Kinder class is only 30 minutes long, which is a much better time frame, there is usually only 5 or so minutes of chaos towards the end instead of 10+. Anyways, I wasn't super excited about my lesson plan but I was just going to do my best and take her advise openly. The first observation did not go well, the kids were running everywhere, not listening, playing with equipment when they were suppose to be listening... it was terrible, I cried after the class and a bit during my evaluation review. I was scared that if I got a poor evaluation that they would fire me. I told that to Glenda and she said if a good evaluation was all I needed to stay that she would always give me a good evaluation. So that was kind of encouraging in a strange way. Anyway, back to Friday's observation/evaluation. It was so much better. The kids listened much better! No it wasn't a perfect class but I would say they had 85% of their attention the whole class period! We practiced how we walk into the gym. We practiced responding to the whistle. We did various balance/locomotor challenges with our bean bags. If they did not listen then I took their bean bag away and if they did listen then they got it back. They practiced tossing their bean bags into hula hoops. It went really well. Yes, there was a small conflict with two boys stepping on each other's feet. So I separated them and asked them to go sit on lines on opposite sides of the basketball court. One, who gives me issues sometimes, sat on the line I told him to sit on and sat their with his hands folded in his lap and his bean bag on the line, like I taught them to when we are sitting in a circle and have bean bags. The other boy did not sit on the line at all but on the grass instead. So I followed him and repeatedly asked him to sit on the line till he obeyed and told him if he sits nicely without moving or talking then he only has to stay for 30 seconds. If he moves or makes noise then the time start over. The first boy got to come back and play while the other boy had to sit there much longer because he kept moving. It was a great example for Glenda! Plus the other kids were listening, for the most part, and continued their activity while I was dealing with the other two. When it was time for the second boy to come back and join the class, I made sure to stop him and ask him how he could honour his classmates, reminded him of what the instructions were, then reminded him again when he began to do something else. There were a couple of things I could work on but they were completely doable and applicable for sure! I need to work on getting the kids to repeat the directions. For example, if I want them to put their bean bag on their head... I would model it and have them repeat "I am putting the bean bag on my head" while they do the action. That will help them learn more English and allow me to check for clarification of the instructions. Oh, and I am starting to go into their classroom on Fridays and read them a story. It is great for me to see them in their classroom, listen to Kylie teach them and what strategies she uses that I can repeat in PE, plus they love story time so they pay attention pretty well.

Okay I really am trying to write less but apparently I have a lot to share! I mentioned how different my classes are, the same goes for middle school and high school. There is a huge difference in the 9-10 boys PE class and the 11-12 class in particular. Let's put it this way, when I help with those two classes, in the 9-10 class I fulfill more of a crowd control/teaching role whereas with the 11-12s I am a bit of a teacher but more of a participant in a way. Instead of walking around giving instructions and reminding the students what they should be doing (i.e. playing volleyball and not soccer), I am invited to join their passing circles or play on their team, even if they have enough players. The 11-12s are super sweet. They are the class that I go help out with when I need to lift my spirits! I tell Matt after almost every class that they make my heart happy! That is the best way I can think to explain it, they make my heart happy! So I baked them cookies for their class on Friday! They were stoked! Here is another example. I helped out with their class on Monday and on Tuesday a couple of them came up to me and started talking to me! What? Some of my cooking class students still ignore more in the hallways and these guys are initiating conversation! That's awesome! It also helps that Eric, the climbing senior that Matt is now officially mentoring, and a bunch of his buddies slackline at lunch. So naturally Matt and I are out there a few days a week hanging out with them. We get to know them that way. I want to encourage them to positively influence the younger grades because they are much less respectful. Wow! Such a huge difference.

I am feeling much better now! I would say about 95% healthy. I am starting to sing again, which I am so grateful for. It's been tough being in chapel and not being able to sing. :( I am still trying to be careful about how loud I am and how much I use my voice. I really do not want to lose it again. Thank you for your prayers!

Oh, we have booked our tickets to North America! We are going to be flying back to Detroit on Dec. 19th and staying in Ontario at Matt's parent's till New Years. We are leaving for Denver on Jan. 1st then on to Nebraska, where my parents will meet us for my cousin's wedding. Then heading back to Bogota on Jan. 9th! I am super excited to see everyone again. I mean I love it here and am not ready to leave for good but it'll be nice to see family again... and take a bubble bath and eat really tender beef and peanut butter M&Ms! Funny, I do not like regular M&Ms or any other kind but the peanut butter ones are probably my favourite candy... other than jelly belly jelly beans and white chocolate peppermint hershey's kisses... just in case anyone was curious! Okay, well we are getting together with some other teachers for Mexican food tonight then over to Mel's house (where we stayed the first week we were here) to make ice cream! Yum! Matt is out climbing with Eric, so I'll meet him at the Mexican restaurant... if he gets back in time. I love you all!

Living Life As A Joy-Filled Adventure!

PS: Some of the seniors are interested in going to TWU next year! That is so exciting!!!! Naturally Matt and I have been talking up our school and I am pretty sure we have one gal convinced!!! I think she would fit the school really well! :)