HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!!!! And Happy Retirement, too! (yesterday) This year is extra special! I hope you’re having an awesome continued celebration! Enjoy watching some March Madness basketball tonight!

It’s a gorgeous 68 degrees today! Even now, at twenty to nine with the sun almost set, it’s like, still 65! I could get used to days like this!

So far my Easter break as been very relaxing…yesterday I didn’t even leave the house! I had planned on getting together with Carmen in the morning, but she got busy with exams to grade, and then Maribel last night, but sometimes her work schedule keeps her tied up, so I stayed in. Not that I’m complaining in the least—it was like another Sunday…and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Sundays!

Sleeping in has basically been number one on my list for the past two days (and will continue to be pretty high up there this coming week!). I got up at 11:30 today and had a slow afternoon.

I just got home from mass a little while ago; since we “sprang forward” so did the mass time, it’s now at 7:30 instead of 6:30—the summer schedule, they call it. I completely forgot this weekend is Palm Sunday (though we didn’t get any palms, which was different). It was interesting because we were seated for the majority of the reading of The Passion; we stood for about the first two minutes, then the priest said we could be seated and then we stood right before Jesus “died”. I don’t think I’ve ever been seated for a Gospel reading before, except for perhaps last year, but I don’t remember last Palm Sunday.

I can’t believe it’s the last day of March; time is really flying by now…two months from now I will no longer work in Socuéllamos!

Xoxo,

Court

YAY FOR EASTER BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!

According to my weather thing it’s 54 degrees at almost three o’ clock; I think it’s wrong because it feels so much warmer than that!

Due to the strike and Ana not being at school, I had a free morning! I still got up fairly early, 7:30, so I could take advantage of the extra time! I went to the bank and deposited my check, then went to the post office to send some money home and inquired about sending a box home and after that I went to the store. When I got there I discovered I’d forgotten my list (bummer!) but when I got home I saw that I’d still remembered everything! Score!

I went to my only class today, 6B with Marilu, at 1:10. They were finishing up an exam when I got there. Afterwards, I went around and checked homework and corrected those activities so Mari and the regular teacher could finish up something.

I have class at 4:30 with Javi but my school Easter vacation has officially started!!!! We don’t have to go back until Tuesday, the 10^th! Why can’t Easter break at home be like this?

Xoxo,

Court

It’s currently 64 and cloudless! The only downside is it’s SUPER windy…when I got home and looked in the mirror I thought I could give Albert Einstein a run for his money!

After the usual review with 1A first hour we played a “game” to practice/review numbers 1-40. We went around in a circle and each said a number…if you said the wrong one or took too long, you were out! We then went backwards from 40-1. Later on we did this worksheet about a baby tiger (they’re on the mammals unit) and they had to answer true or false questions about the paragraph.

Second, fourth and last hours I was in the video room with Luis Miguel’s 3A/B and Analen’s 4B talking about Easter. We looked at the flashcards—I said a word and they repeated—and then at the symbols/traditions PowerPoint.

Third hour five-years B finished their Easter egg hunt worksheet from the other day, in which they had to find 10 eggs and color the garden picture. Afterwards, since there was a little time before “breakfast” Ana put some videos on her computer; for the most part they were the ones we watched with the three-year-olds on Monday. They loved the Disney bunny one and wanted to watch it over and over again!

No class this afternoon…it’s my free day! Also, tomorrow there is a general education strike all across Spain! Ana told me she wasn’t coming tomorrow so I don’t have her classes (the first four of five!) I believe Marilu is going so I just have class at one o’clock and then my vacation commences! I got paid today—Aurora won’t be there tomorrow either—so I’m happy! Oh! And I just realized that I’ve been here for six months now…two to go!!!

Xoxo,

Court

This afternoon it’s partly cloudy and 63 degrees; the wind is making its presence known, also!

Since Tuesday = fifth year day, I had a pretty easy day! With Rocío’s classes we finished up the PowerPoint from last week and that was followed by an Easter vocab definition worksheet. We ended the classes with a couple of NYC Easter Parade YouTube videos. In Marina’s we discussed healthy habits and then they took a survey about how many hours of sleep they get, how many times they brush their teeth, how much water they drink…

I reviewed a whole bunch of flashcards with 1B and then Marina wanted me to explain their worksheet to them like I would to American kids (minus the talking fast/normal). They got the general idea and some of the understood the descriptions of the photos I gave (I think!) so that was good!

With 2B third hour I did a dictation/spelling test with their job vocab words. Then some of them had to finish up another exam, but not everyone, so I just kinda sat there and chilled for the remaining time.

As usual I have class at 4:30 and then also at 7:00 with Marina and Ana from school (who are preparing to take English exams in June). We were supposed to meet last Tuesday, but that’s when the weather was horrible and it snowed, so today’s our first meeting. I think they just want to focus on writing and speaking, so it should be easy!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s clear, windy and 64 today; however the windy is a bit chilly so it seems cooler than that, but overall, it’s not bad!

Easter discussions are in full swing this week…we talked about it in every class…even with the three-year-olds! With the sixth levels we focused more on the religious side of things and continued our discussion from last week about the Easter Story (basically Jesus’ last days as man). We also played the “game” where they had to answer questions about the PowerPoint (well, 6C replayed it but they didn’t mind!) and they got really into it!

We went to the video room third hour with 4A and took a look at the PowerPoint we’re doing for Rocío’s class (symbols/traditions). That class wasn’t too bad but I think their level of comprehension is pretty low so I don’t know what they understood.

We went to the infantil video room with the little three-year-olds and I showed them the Easter flashcards I have. The idea was for them to repeat the words (bunny, Easter egg hunt, chocolate, etc) but that proved to be quite difficult for them! Afterwards we watched two short Disney Easter clips.

Class with Javi is in about half an hour and then I’m free!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s currently 64 degrees at almost eight o’clock in the evening—I’d say it’s been a lovely day!

This weekend has been fairly uneventful. I ran the usual errands Friday morning and had class with Maribel later that afternoon. I was feeling pretty lazy most of the day, so I put myself to work on Saturday and cleaned the apartment…there’s something about having a clean house; it just makes you feel good! I went to mass last night like always, too. We “sprang” ahead this morning, so I really slept until 12:30 when I thought it was only 11:30! I also learned my phone does not change automatically. Today has been even more of a lazy than Friday. I took a nap a like four o ‘clock and have been lounging in bed ever since.  I’m liking the longer days already—it’s five to eight and still light out!

Four more days until Easter break!!!

Xoxo,

Court

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMMM!!!!!!! Hope you have a fabulous day!!!

It feels WAY more like spring today! The sky is cloudless and it’s 52 degrees, although it feels so much warmer than that!

Most of the classes were rambunctious, which was a bit annoying! With five-years A I talked a very little bit about Lincoln/Nebraska/US and I showed a video and some pictures and they kept asking “Where are you?” especially in the video. Then they wanted to see my house so I found a random picture and was like “Here it is!”

We listened to the story about Duck and the Rainy Day on CD in four-years B and then Ana had them do a worksheet in which they had to draw and color a sun, clouds and rain. Whilst they were doing that I looked for a few more Easter activities to talk about with 2A—Ana wanted to go to the video room. Due to the constant lack of time with four-years A in the afternoon, we only reviewed the weather flashcards and then played a quick memory game.

I got everything set up and waited for like 25 minutes for 2A to come! I don’t know what the holdup was but the only thing we had time for was talking about some flashcards. I think the plan is to continue the discussion next week.

In 6B we discussed the Easter/Stations of the Cross PowerPoint and I learned that many of them don’t know a lot about either (and yes, they’re all catholic—I asked Marilu). So that took the entire class and I didn’t think it would; it didn’t in the other.

Javi just stopped by real quick and said he can’t make it today, so no class—I don’t mind either way. HAPPY WEEKEND TO ME!!!! One more week before break…I can’t wait to see what the kids are like next week in anticipation for a week off. Actually that’s a lie¸ I can!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a bit nicer today; 43…but it still seems more like a blustery winter day, with gray skies and strong winds, than a spring one! It was sort of misting on the way to school and it rained for a bit this morning but it had stopped by like 11ish—thank goodness!

We reviewed quite a bit in 1A, because the worksheet was really easy and took all of about three minutes. Since spring “started” yesterday, we talked about the seasons—they had to trace the words then decide which sentence went with which season.

With 3A/B we talked about Lincoln/Nebraska. First hour we went to the old computer room (emphasis on the OLD) near their class to discuss the things I’d prepared. Only prob was the computers are from like 1995 so there was no place to put my flash drive, which is where I keep everything. Luis Miguel said I could just look things up; which I did but in the process I wasted a lot of time because I could remember where I’d found everything. I asked if we could go to the video room with the other class so that class went much smoother and I was well prepared!

We watched a bunch of short videos with five-years B before they ate their “breakfast”. They were all rowdy and it was hard to get them lined up to go outside for recreo; I think because they had to stay inside yesterday due to the rain.

I went to 4B and Analen told me they had a science exam so I could leave if I wanted. I decided to go make sure I had everything perfect for 3B (since the morning class pretty much bombed!) and I looked up a couple more pages. I tried to find a Nebraska PowerPoint, like facts/symbols or something like that but I didn’t find anything.

No class today! LOVE my Wednesdays—it’s the only day I don’t have class and can relax/siesta/do whatever tranquilly!

Xoxo,

Court

HAPPY SPRING!!! Or is it…today is possibly the most unlike first day of spring ever! Definitely spoke too soon when I said spring was here several days ago. Seven days ago it was sunny, clear and 70 degrees…now it’s half that! Seriously; it’s 36 degrees, raining and cold. What the heck? Did spring not get the memo? It’s evening snowing in Albacete and other parts of the country—no joke!

In Rocío’s classes we talked about Easter, surprise, surprise! I found this symbol and traditions PowerPoint that we started going over, but’ll have to finish up next week, because it’s a bit long and she wanted to leave time for other things.

In Marina’s I looked up (or tried to) the cost of shipping a box home (because I’d told her about that earlier in the day) whilst she corrected some activities. UPS is outrageously expensive, unless I put the info in wrong (which is entirely possible, but something tells me I didn’t!) so I think I’m gonna send it via the post office. I’d like to have an idea of the cost per kilo and I have a few more questions, so Marina graciously volunteered to go with me one day to ask.

In 1B second hour they labeled and colored a worksheet about the parts of the body. Later on I reviewed a bunch of vocab—rooms of the house, transportation and toys.

I was kind of in a daze third hour in 2B. When they have nothing for me to do/don’t ask me to do anything and I just sit there, I tend to space out. Analen let them play one round of BINGO though (because I kept hearing her say “If you guys don’t be quiet, we’re not going to play BINGO!” And you can see how long that lasted.) She also had them draw eight pictures from their job vocab.

No class with Javi today; he had something else to do but I don’t remember what. I do have a class with infantil Ana and Marina though at six! They’re preparing to take an English exam in June and want some help. I think the plan is to meet every Tuesday. And bless them, they said to make it easier for me we could meet here so I wouldn’t have to leave—which on a day like today I’m SUPER grateful for!

Xoxo,

Court

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!!! (Spain) Hope you have a great day, Dad…only ten days left!

It’s a pretty nice day; sunny with a few clouds and 55.

I basically ran Marilu’s classes this morning, whilst she went around and checked activities and helped some students. We talked about Easter. With 6A first hour we read a section from the book (that we did last week with the other class) and talked about Holy Week and Easter customs/traditions and compared those to Spain. In 6C we looked at this PowerPoint…essentially it was the Stations of the Cross and not Easter per sé. Later we played this game/took a quiz and answered questions about the PP.

I introduced some new vocab to 4A; modes of transportation, I guess you could call it—boat, helicopter, train, motorbike. That was it. They then copied the vocab in their notebooks several times.

Both three-year-old classes were a bit obnoxious today…loud, not paying attention, not listening, etc. I read them a story about Ellie and her Hat and the first class did a quick coloring worksheet (last hour didn’t have time) and then it was time to go—both Ana and I were glad to leave!

I’ve got class in about an hour with Javi and I’m not sure if Maribel and I are meeting tonight. I asked her Friday when I met with her son if we were and she said she’d call me and that hasn’t happened yet, so we’ll see. Oh and my Oatmeal Scotchies were well received today also!

Xoxo,

Court

This afternoon it’s partly cloudy and 57 degrees.

It’s been a mostly lazy Sunday! I did make me some Oatmeal Scotchies (well, technically they’re not for me but that’s neither here nor there) though! I made them really big and only baked them for about nine minutes so they’re very gooey and chewy…my favorite kind of cookies! Hopefully everyone at school likes them; I think butterscotch it a foreign concept here, so we’ll see!

Note to self: The next time you are making cookies/baking in general don’t leave the butter on the heater for too long! (Our microwave doesn’t work anymore so I have been known to find a sunny spot or utilize a heater for a bit. It’s ok though, because I was right there and only had to wipe up a tiny puddle of butter! And I know one might say “why don’t you just leave it out overnight?” I DID! But when you have to mix everything up by hand, you need all the help you can get!)

Anyway, they turned out really well and I was able to get 32 rather large ones out of the batch…it says it’s supposed to yield 48, but really does anyone ever make them THAT small?

Xoxo,

Court

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!!!!! Some corned beef and cabbage sounds downright tasty at the moment—and I wouldn’t say no to a green beer, either... *sigh*…next year!

It’s not as warm as it’s been lately; it’s only 60. Monday and Tuesday say it’s gonna be in the 50s even. Apparently we are regressing; this morning Tuesday showed rain and 52, and now it’s showing SNOW and 55…REALLY?? Wouldn’t that be a fun way to ring in spring!?!?

I didn’t go to the last English Club meeting last night because Maribel called yesterday morning to ask if I could have a class with her son Félix, who’s 15. Eloy texted me yesterday to let me know what movie it’d be (Selena, which I’ve seen countless times already, so I cared a little less that I wasn’t going) and I just texted back and said I couldn’t go. I know I made a commitment and everything (and call me selfish if you want) but if I have the opportunity to make some money on an hour’s “work”, I’m totally gonna take that over sitting in classroom for 2+ hours not making anything.  

Today I’m looking for more Nebraska stuff for Luis Miguel’s classes on Wednesday. After that I need to hit the Easter stuff because I believe Rocío wants to start those discussions this coming Tuesday and continue them through the 27^th.

Xoxo and ERIN GO BRAGH!

Court

Today is a lovely 70 degree day; there are some clouds in the sky and the sun is quite warm…everyone kept saying “Qué calor, Qué calor!”. Me? I think it’s perfect!

Either the classes were antsy today because of the beautiful weather or because there’s no school tomorrow, (for Día de la Enseñanza…aka Education Day) or perhaps a little of both, but every hour was rambunctious and not really feeling “the learn”!

We talked about Saint Patrick’s Day with all of Ana’s classes. She was scrolling through photos of shamrocks and leprechauns and pots of gold whilst I explained a few things to five-years A and we ended that early for lack of paying attention. Instead she reviewed the well known clothes vocab flashcards and later I read them an Ellie story. She ended up giving out very few shamrock stickers this morning.

The four-year-olds were just as antsy; both classes were not in the mood to listen. I talked a little (a very little) about SPD and then they colored a big shamrock. While they were working, Ana asked me to look for one of two SPD things to show 2A the following hour. Luckily I’d already completed my SPD search so I pretty much had everything ready to go. Ana didn’t give out many stickers to those classes either…

We were in the video room with 2A. We talked about some flashcards I’d found the previous hour and that took longer than expected, so all we had time for afterwards was a short word search (we had wanted to play with online game as well).

6B had an exam last hour so there was nothing for me to do. Marilu was trying to get a few things done as well so essentially I sat there and twiddled my thumbs!

Class this afternoon is at 5:30 instead of 4:30. Marina told me that Javi has an exam at 4:30 and asked if I was able, if he could just come afterwards, prolly about 5:30ish. HAPPY WEEKEND TO ME!!!

And isn’t today like the Ides of March or something or am I making that up??

Xoxo,

Court  

It’s 73 today!!!!! I’d say spring is unofficially here!

After reviewing for like half the class first hour with 1A, we started a new section about the parts of a plant (roots, stem and leaves) and then they had to label and color a picture in their books.

With 3A/B we reviewed what we talked about last week: daily school schedules. That turned in to Luis Miguel asking me about my city and state, which morphed into talking about other states and then cities with Spanish names. There’s a Madrid, Nebraska, right? I hope I didn’t just make that up! He wants to talk more in-depth about Nebraska and Lincoln next week, so I need to look online for a few things. Thanks to Rocío though (wow, I never thought I’d say that not sarcastically!) I already have a sizeable Nebraska file!

Five-years B was working on a SPD coloring sheet when I got there. I wasn’t there too long however because we had a pants pooper and I had to go tell Pilar (the reg teacher) who was in another class, that we needed a phone to call home because Ana didn’t have one. So…Pilar went to call on her phone while I stayed with the little three-year-olds.

4B was taking an exam for the majority of the hour while I sat with Raúl and helped/tried to keep him on track while he colored a rainbow, pot of gold, leprechaun and an Irish flag. Keeping him working for longer than three minutes would be quite an accomplishment…maybe one day it’ll happen!

I went to the store after school and I think I may have found cottage cheese! I’m not totally sure if it is but I’m psyched to try it later!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s even nicer today; my computer says it’s 70…what a gorgeous day!!!

We talked about Saint Patrick’s Day in the fifth levels. With Rocío’s we took a look at two PowerPoints: one about the man himself/SPD customs and another about Ireland. She also had them draw something in their notebooks. Marina’s was finishing up an exam when I got there and so we only had time to look at the customs PowerPoint. Oh, they both had worksheets too.

1B started a new unit about the body, so I reviewed “Touch your nose, hand/leg…” phrases first and later they labeled and colored the parts of the body on a drawing in their workbook.

I explained/did a couple of activities with 2B, using their job vocab. we then checked the answers on the computer (it was a listening activity). Afterwards Analen had them listen to a story and finally they had to draw a picture of whatever job they wanted and we went around the room and they said “I’m a __________.”

Why am I SO tired today; I don’t know! I’ve been sleepy all day and unfortunately I’ve got class in a little while so there’s no time to nap :(.

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a gorgeous 66 this afternoon; it’s a very spring-like day! I knew it was going to be nice when I didn’t even wear a scarf walking to school today!

I’m not really sure what was sixth year’s deal this morning, but in one class we corrected activities and it was quite slow going and many of them had the answers wrong. Marilu got mad and was like “they don’t even know what the word means, they just fill in the blank to get it done!” We talked about Easter in the other class (because they’re ahead of 6A) and it wasn’t much better. Mari started asking them really simple questions, like “Is this a picture of an Easter card? What’s on it? What is Easter? Is that when Jesus was born?” Many of them couldn’t answer the questions (even when she asked in Spanish). Yeah, those classes seemed longer than usual…

4A was working on an exam for the majority of the hour but with maybe like ten minutes left I explained an activity where they had to make their own schedule (i.e. what time they get up, eat breakfast, go to school, etc). There wasn’t a whole lot of time to work on in it class though.

Three-years A was the class of the criers today. There was this one little boy who cried and screamed for literally five minutes each time Ana reprimanded him—he cried more than not. Then I looked over at one point and this other kid who was off on his own (and whom Ana had asked to come back to the rug) was on the floor crying. A little while later, when she was giving everyone stamps, another little boy started crying because she said he’d only behaved so-so and wouldn’t get one. I was glad when that class ended! The other class was much better! We watched a few Ellie videos on the computer and that was it, since they always end early.

As usual, I’ve got class at 4:30 and then again at 7:30 with Maribel, who had to reschedule from Friday.

Xoxo,

Court

So far it’s a beautiful, sunny 54 degrees outside…and I think it’ll get warmer still as the day goes on!

I didn’t end up meeting with Maribel on Friday; I was going to though, but then she called and said she had to go out of town so we rescheduled for tomorrow at 7:30. So…I was able to go to “movie” night after all. Only it wasn’t a movie this week. Instead we watched an 80s episode of Miami Vice and then an episode of Myth Busters…WOOHOO!!! It was boring and I really could have gone without seeing those. After that, I’m kind of glad next week is the last meeting!

The big news for the weekend is that Pius has a Spanish position open for next year! I happened to check their website before English club and saw it and also that the app is due this Friday, the 16! I kinda freaked out at first because it was only a week away but luckily in this day and age, it can be submitted online! I have to fill out a short general app and then answer three questions about teaching at a faith-based school.

The three questions seem like a piece of cake, right? WRONG! Or they weren’t for me, at least. I spent the majority of yesterday doing some research, so as to answer the questions in the best possible way, thinking about what I wanted to say and then finally putting my thoughts into words. I then sent my answers to mom and she and dad looked them over and changed a few things. Oh and I had mom scan me copies of my teaching certificate and transcripts as well…thank goodness for technology!

Thankfully I got everything complied last night and have only the easy part of submitting today. Then I’ve gotta buckle down and look for some Saint Patrick’s Day activities, because I’ve sort of been slacking on those and Rocío wants to discuss it on Tuesday!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a beautiful cloudless 52 degree afternoon; it feels so much nicer than that, though!

This morning I ran the usual Friday errands—went to the market, the bank and the store. I went for cañas with Gunita and Teodora (and Jesús, who came later) at one and we just got back a little while ago.  It felt really nice to sit out in the sun for a couple of hours; I haven’t gone with them for cañas in a long time!

I’m meeting Maribel in the plaza at 7:30 and from there I think we’ll probably go to a café for our English hour. I already told Eloy I couldn’t make it tonight and if we meet next week as well, probably not then either. We’ll see though, since next week is the last movie, I may see if we could change the time just for next week!

Sitting and relaxing in the sun made me really sleepy, so I’m thinking it’s siesta time!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s super windy and 57 today! Although it says it’s clear, it’s mostly cloudy at the moment; the sun does pop out every now and then, though.

Oh my goodness, every class was super talkative and restless today. Some said it was because the weather is changing, but is that really a real reason? I don’t know…could be, I guess; it certainly would explain today’s craziness!

Five-years A was the first restless bunch. Just like last week I did the start-of-the-day activities with the class and just like last week it took forever. The only thing we did afterwards was play a couple rounds of the memory game.

The four-year-olds were probably the best behaved class today (B/the morning class anyway!).We listened to a song about triangles and drew shapes in the air to practice for the worksheet. Then for the worksheet they had to place different triangle stickers (ice cream cone, tree, rock, etc.) in their correct places with in the picture. With the afternoon classes being shorter, we skipped the worksheet and called up different students to draw either a big or little triangle on the white board.

2B played the same job vocab game that 2A played on Tuesday. I first reviewed the words and stuck them on the board as sort of a “cheat sheet” and they played for the remaining time. They’re just silly games but it never fails that some cheat or try to and that leads to the partner getting upset and tattling and arguments and name calling…

I corrected a bunch of activities with 6B while Marilu was trying to finish or do something else. That class was really talkative as well, though I don’t know if it was because it was last hour or “the weather” but I had to stop several times and wait for quiet.

Class at 4:30 and then it’s Happy Weekend to Me…I’ll be so happy tomorrow morning when I can sleep in!!!

Xoxo,

Court

It says it’s only 50 out, but it feels so much nicer than, plus there’s not a cloud in the sky!

We reviewed for about half the class in 1A (meaning I, and Marina too, ask them “How do you say…Can you tell me…And we also go around the room with flashcards). We then talked a bit about what it means to respect wild animals and we ended with a worksheet where they had to draw a happy or sad face based on pictures of animals and nature and whether or not they were being respected.

I had my first classes with Luis Miguel today (3A/B…he’s the new Noelia). The classes themselves were good; he’s pretty nice too! He’s only been here for about a week and so they kids are still trying to figure out and test how far they can push him. Usually I love third year (they’re one of my favorites) but today they were just annoying and being dumb. We talked about the Solar System a little and they kept giggling or causing interruptions. I haven’t seen them act like that before so I was surprised.

With five years B we reviewed their clothes vocab and then several of them complained about being hungry so we just did this quick worksheet in which they had to draw and color the number eight. To me that seemed pointless and silly; obviously it was a time filler, I know that, but that hour always gets overshadowed by “breakfast” and we never do anything of real value.

While 4B corrected workbook activities, I sat with Raúl (the kid with the English level of a five-year-old and apparently can’t read yet {in Spanish} either) and he worked on a sheet in which he had to trace food words and then color them. I don’t know if he’s ADD or what, but it’s so hard to get him to work: he’s forever looking around, getting up and disturbing others. I must say he’s SO much better than last year though, not nearly as bad!

No class this afternoon = Sleepy time now!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a clear and windy 54 degrees this afternoon. The wind is still a bit chilly, so I guess winter’s not ready to give way to spring yet!

With Rocío’s fifth years we talked about The Lincoln Saltdogs/baseball in general (to go along with their sporting unit!). We watched some video highlights and then they worked on a baseball word search, which I read the words for. I tried to download this short little cartoon about the basics of the game, but it said it was impossible to do so. Marina’s class was just starting the unit today so I pronounced the words for them and we did a few start-of-the-chapter activities.

Second hour was Marina’s 1B. When I got there they were singing a song to review colors. We then asked questions to practice food vocab and answering “yes” or “no”. I would ask someone if they liked something and then they’d ask me. We also reviewed body parts before it was workbook time. Then for the workbook page they had to match the part of the house to the correct picture and circle the correct word, in or on, based on a picture they were given.

2B was finishing a science exam when I got there, for the first like 10 minutes. Afterwards we did some practice with job vocab, a couple of book activities and we played this game where they had to correctly pronounce a given word in order to advance on the game board. Apparently some kids were cheating (according to their opponents)…surprise, surprise!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a little bit chillier than it was last week; a sunny/windy 52 at the moment.

The weekend in Criptana was fun! We hung out with Marilu’s friends, had Friday dinner and Sunday lunch at her parents and went to see the play “La Pasión” last night. The only damper on the weekend was that it was cold and rainy for most of it. It hasn’t rained in weeks and Friday, the day I had to walk to school with all my stuff for the weekend, it rained! So I had to juggle everything plus an umbrella…that was not fun!

Today seemed like a really long day! I got up before six to get ready, so as not to disrupt Mari and Chema’s morning routine so I’m super tired now.

I stayed with Mari for the first two classes and we basically checked homework the entire time. I corrected the activities while she went around and made sure they actually had them completed. It wasn’t a busy morning.

Now that Analen doesn’t have to worry about being unemployed, she was much livelier than she has been lately; she was actually joking with the kids, which was nice to see! She really didn’t yell at all today either…big change! I just sat there whilst they corrected activities but since I didn’t have any energy that was fine with me!

I really started to feel tired after recreo and of course Monday afternoons have to be my three-year-old classes! And they’re always super hyper after recreo…SWEET! I retold them the story of Ellie and her yellow ball and then we did a quick worksheet.

I so wanna take a nap but I’ve got class in a bit, so I can’t :(. I’m totally going to bed early tonight though!

Xoxo,

Court

It is another gorgeous 63 degree day! It actually is a little warm in the sun, but with the slight breeze it’s nice (GASP! Did I just say that? Not too long ago I detested the wind and looked to the sun for refuge…oh how the weather changes!).

Also, it’s now March…SAY WHAT?!?! Where has the time gone? Soon spring’ll be here and then Easter and before I know it the year’s gonna be over and I’ll be going home—YAY!!!

I spent the majority of the day with Ana; she’s all happy and cheery again now that she knows she’s not out on the street! She’s so cute; I would have been sad if she would have left. I did the morning routine thing with five-years A while Ana looked on. By the time all that was over we only had like 15 minutes left (because we didn’t start class right away and they were also super talkative!) so we played a memory game with the clothes flashcards. We stopped with five minutes left so Ana could hand out stickers to the well behaved.

I read a new story to the four-year-olds, A Rainy Day, in which Poppy and Ellie ask Duck to come out and play in different types of weather; she refuses to play in the snow, sun and clouds, but in the rain she couldn’t get outside fast enough! The morning class, whom has more time, then did a worksheet with different weather conditions. The afternoon class skipped the worksheet and went right to watching the animated story on video.

With 2A we played Hangman using vocab from multiple units. After that we played Guess-What-Animal-I’m-Thinking-Of using flashcards and that was pretty much it!

6B had to give their science presentations about different types of energy. Marilu said she had originally planned to do them yesterday, but then there was the strike, so yeah, today it was. She said I could ask any questions I wanted but I had trouble coming up with anything because I found almost everyone super hard to understand! So I was just like “Nope, don’t have any questions. Good!”. Yeah…

Oh and I met Noelia’s replacement, Luis Miguel, today. He seems nice and can speak well! So, I’ll have my first class with him next Wednesday! Class this afternoon and then I‘m going to try to watch The Biggest Loser again…tried to yesterday and the video was so slow, it was impossible! And I’m going to Criptana this weekend to out with Mari so that should be fun!

Xoxo,

Court