It’s cloudy and 81 today. It’s not really hot though, I think because the sun isn’t out…and there’s a breeze!

And with that, it’s all over…the era has ended :/. It was pretty sad; I just have to keep telling myself that I’m going home soon! That cheers me up!

I went to Marina’s 1A class and she wasn’t there; Marisa, the reg teacher, told me she was in 5A because there were several teachers gone today so the present ones had to be shuffled around a bit. We played a couple of rounds of BINGO with vocab from every unit, so it was a bit more difficult.

Second hour I went to 3B stayed only for a short while; I talked with the class for a bit and then said goodbye. From there I went to 2B. It wasn’t Analen’s hour, so I interrupted the class only for a bit. They all converged on me and gave me a ginormous hug…for like ten minutes! They just kept hugging and hugging and were like “Don’t go!” It was hard to leave that class :(. I had planned on going to another, but I didn’t know which one, so I just went to the Sala de Profes for a bit instead.

Third I went to five-years A like always. We sang the usual songs and I read them a story about Max and Poppy who were packing for a holiday (quite fitting, I thought!). I left at “breakfast time” and went to see Marilu in 6A. I hung out and they asked me questions about what I’m gonna do when I get back home, and stuff like that.

Said goodbye to Rocío (who had to go somewhere) and a few others during the break and talked with Mari some more. Analen gave me her email, which I was really surprised about, because normally we don’t “shoot the breeze” (that’s a saying, right?) like I do with Ana and Mari.

Fourth said goodbye to 4B and we took a class photo (Analen brought her camera…I totally didn’t even think about bringing one…STUPID!). From there I went to 6B, hung out and said “gb”. They all wanted my autograph and email…got a little tired after writing that 23 times! I should have put my email on the board…oh, hindsight!

Last hour I went to Luismi’s to say goodbye to 3B. They started giving me pencils and crayons as souvenirs! After that, it was 2A with Ana. Stayed there for a bit and ended with Mari in 6C…again, more autos and emails!

Walked home, for the last time. I think part of me still hasn’t quite grasped that that’s it; I mean it could just be like a long weekend or something. Actually it is for them, because tomorrow is Castilla-La Mancha Day, so EVERYTHING will be closed and the schools extended it to Friday, for an extra day/long weekend.

Now: More packing and other going home preparations.

Xoxo,

Court

This afternoon it’s a pretty cloudy 80 degrees; there’s a nice breeze too, so it’s not hot!

Well, it was my last Tuesday…sigh. Rocío’s classes showed me their dances for the end of the year festival and we sang the songs too—one by Rihanna and the other by a South or Central American singer, not sure which. Technically, I didn’t sing the latter with them, just kinda be-bopped my head!

I didn’t have class with Marina today (1B or 5A) because she was correcting the standardized-ish tests they gave last week. So I had two free hours…which was nice because it was second and fourth hours, so I was off every other hour!

We did a worksheet in Analen’s class where they had to unscramble some words and then count all the food items in the garden and color only what was written. For example, it would say something like “color 19 tomatoes” and there would be like 23. I explained the worksheet and that was it. As we were leaving for recreo they all ran up and gave me hugs and were like “Don’t go…why do you have to go?” That was sad, but tomorrow is going to be brutal!!

Tomorrow…it all ends; two years coming to a close. I think I’m going to Marina’s class as usual, but I told the others I was going to float around and say goodbye to everyone…so very little real class. I don’t know how it’s gonna go; hoping for the best, preparing for the worst. Yes…I have extra tissues.

SIX days.

Xoxo,

Court

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!!!

This afternoon it’s 82 with a few clouds; there’s a nice breeze as well, so it’s not bad at all!

Well, it was my last Monday…sigh. This week is both happy and sad; it’s the end of an era. I’m happy to be going home…but I will miss everyone, and Spain!

6A had to do some bookwork because they’re behind the other classes, so we stayed inside and Marilu passed back exams and then came various activities. 6C is all caught up so we went outside in honor of my last day! I can’t think of what this game is called, but we put their chairs in a circle, with one person standing in the middle and then the middle person would call out “All those wearing _______, (socks/a red shirt/glasses/etc) change!” (To practice their clothes vocab). So we had to run and find a new seat…yes, I played with them!

Analen was gone with 2B on a fieldtrip and when I got to 4A José Carlos (the reg teacher) was like “you’re giving class today”. Apparently Analen had assigned activities and told José Carlos to have me facilitate them. It wasn’t hard, but I was just annoyed because she said NOTHING to me about this last week! So they worked and I basically answered their questions…for the last time!

To the three-year-olds I read a new story about Ellie, who was too big to jump rope and play with a car with Dog, Cat and Mouse. In the end though, when their ball got stuck in a tree she was able to help them and all was right in the world! Afterwards we did a worksheet in which they had to put on stickers of Cat and Mouse and color in the dog whatever color they fancied! Yeah, there were lots of purple, green and blue dogs!

Javier called a little while ago and said he couldn’t come today, so that pretty much clears my schedule for more packing…woohoo.

SEVEN days to go…this time next week, I’ll be USA bound!

Xoxo,

Court

This afternoon it’s 79 and completely clear! There’s very little wind, so it’s actually quite warm if you have to be outside for a while!

It was another easy day! I didn’t have class first or third hours because Marina and Ana were helping with the fourth level exams (standardized tests, basically). Second and last hours Luis Miguel and I took the kids outside to play baseball again (hence it being warm if you have to be outside for a while!)…so those hours were basically nothing.

The only real “work” was in 4B with Analen’s class…imagine that! I reviewed some vocab with them and read them a Little Red Riding Hood-type of story. I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again…it’s really sad (and annoying!) that first level knows more than they do. I was trying to ask them questions about the story and they just didn’t understand!

I just have tomorrow and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday next week and that’s it for school! I told all the teachers today that I’m going to go around next Wednesday to all the classes and say “bye”, so I won’t be in their classes officially, but just pop in. I’m kinda happy there’s no real class with 4B again…

This afternoon I’m writing my end of the year letter for the program/tweaking the one from last year…yeah, more so the latter! Afterwards, it’s on to more apps!

Xoxo,

Court

Currently it’s 68 and totally sunny! Now if it could just stay like this! No colder, no hotter (well, maybe a little hotter!)

Yesterday my computer decided it didn’t want to start up. Like, it turned on just fine and then the screen stayed black/gray. It’s done that a few times before and has always started up within the hour…don’t know if it’s updating or what…but not this time! I turned it on a little before 2:30 when a got home and I woke up this morning and the screen was still gray (with the computery humming noise that tells you it’s on).

Perhaps since I’ve been such a job application Nazi lately that was God’s way of ensuring I took a break.  I started to get worried and didn’t really know what I was gonna do! I even borrowed a computer from school and brought it home with me today…I mean, my computer is, like, my life, especially here!

Thanks to the Good Lord above, though, the screen was black when I got home a little while ago, meaning everything had loaded and gone to sleep from inactivity. I was (and am!) so incredibly happy, you would’ve thought I’d been offered a job in Lincoln!

Today could have possibly been the easiest day in my two years here: Rocío had to proctor an exam first hour, so no class. Today there was also a general education strike, so many teachers and students didn’t come.

Marina was there but the 1B regular teacher and like 2/3rds of the kids weren’t…so no class second hour. Analen there today, along with nine students, so we went to the video room and watched Scooby Doo videos. Fourth hour Marina had to fill in for one of the sixth levels because Marilu and someone else wasn’t there…so no class with her fifth.

So the only real class I had was Rocío’s last hour. They’ve started to prepare their song/dance for the end of the year festival (Rihanna’s We Found Love) so I helped with the pronunciation, we sang it and watched a music video. That was my day…pretty relaxing. With all my free time I was able to google tech support and tried to find a computer solution…but I don’t need it now!

Class at 4:30 and 7:30 and in between…more applications. Thanks for the break yesterday, God!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s not as hot as it’s been the last few days; it’s 78 and cloudy…and the wind isn’t hot, so that makes it feel cooler!

After the usual activities first hour with five-years A, we…wait for it…played memory (with TEN flashcards {animals} this time!) Ana gave out some stickers and that was it!

To the morning four-year-olds I reread the story of Poppy’s Hat (for the last time, according to Ana!) Poppy looks everywhere for it and in the end Ellie’s got it! On the worksheet they had to circle all the hats they could find, which were half hidden by certain objects and then on the back they had to draw a picture of her hat (it’s red with yellow stars). We played memory instead with the afternoon littles and later watched a few videos.

We took 2A to the video room third hour and we tried to watch/read a YouTube video of the story “The Little Red Hen” but the signal there is horrible, so it kept stopping! In the end Ana put on a video of Wallace and Gromit, which she’d already downloaded and had saved on her computer.

6B was finishing talking about some history stuff when I arrived. They were watching and reading about Franco. For the English portion of the class we reviewed their vocab (Our Planet/things to do on vacation) and then I asked them “where do you go on holiday? What do you do there?”

I’ve got class at 5:30 and 7:30…Happy Weekend to Me!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a very sunshiny 81 today! The heat makes me tired…everyday this week when I’ve gotten home I haven’t had any energy…

It was a very easy/relaxed day! With 1A after the usual activities, we talked a bit about the Olympics (well, a very little bit because they don’t know a whole lot yet, but apparently they’re researching it). Afterwards we started a new unit about Places around the City, i.e. park, shops, museum, and street.

We talked about baseball with Luismi’s classes (3A/B). We watched this YouTube video I found about Goofy and how to play the game. Later, we actually went out and played! Or tried to, at least! It wasn’t exactly “baseball” but they really enjoyed it and it was fun to watch them “play”! I think we’ll continue next week…

Ana wanted to go to the infantil video room to watch a few videos before “breakfast”, so that’s what we did! I don’t think she felt like doing anything else! That was totally cool, though, after being outside with 3A I was tired!

Fourth hour Analen asked me if I had an Olympics PowerPoint to show the classes and I was like “why would I?” She wanted me to look for one, but her computer is full of viruses apparently so I went to the video room. Marilu, Pilar and 6C where in there taking an exam, so I talked to them for a bit too!

No class today (thank goodness, I’m tired!). I’m going back to Carmen’s to finish our Sherlock episode at 7:30! It’s a good one; I didn’t want to stop it yesterday!

Xoxo,

Court

First of all…HAPPPPPPY ANNIVERSARYYYY, Mom and Dad!!! Thirty years is, like, forever! :D So happy and proud you guys are my parents!!!!

It’s a warm 81 degrees today…and not a cloud in the sky!

Today was pretty easy. With Rocío’s fifths I read a little excerpt from their books about the continents and then we worked a bit more with the London Olympics Project/Luis Miguel’s baby. With Marina’s fifth I did a short dictation and we followed that with some workbook pages.

First level was on a field trip today (May is always the popular month…yesterday fifth went, third and fourth are going together in two weeks and I’m not sure about the others) so there was no class second hour.

Third with 2B we sang a song (which first I read the lyrics to and had them repeat…the only thing I remember about the song is that it was rather lame). Later I explained a worksheet in which they had to color the big objects yellow and the small ones green…and I found out a lot of them don’t know what big and small mean!

Class at 4:30 and then I’m going to Carmen’s at 7:30 to watch part of a Sherlock episode (since Friday mornings are our usual meeting days and I couldn’t last week because I had to do the fax stuff). We’ll only be able to watch part of it, though, because she’s got another class at 9:00…

Xoxo,

Court

Today it’s a warm 86 degrees…sun is shining and not a cloud in the sky!

So it’s been a few days! This weekend I’ve been a busy little bee applying for more jobs! On Friday I sent my resume into Des Moines (because apparently their application isn’t internationally user-friendly!) and contacted West Des Moines, but haven’t heard anything from them yet. Then almost all Saturday I was working on an app for Overland Park; actually I applied for three positions and yesterday I applied to Topeka. I have no idea if I’ll hear anything from any of them, but it helps to ease my mind when I’m proactive!

So, on to today! With the sixth levels this morning we started a new unit about “Our Planet” which basically includes things you can do on vacation: take a picnic (yes, they say “take”), jump in the sea, look for treasure (SWEET!) and several more… They copied the vocab, we did some pronunciation practice and we ended with me asking them questions about what they did on their last holiday.

4A had an exam so Analen said I could take advantage of the time and do whatever. So I went to the office to tell Alberto the fax thing had been resolved but he wasn’t there, so I ended up talking to Mari Tere for a bit. Oh and I forgot, yesterday I also made some chocolate chip cookies and brought those in today.

To the three-year-olds I reread the story of Ellie and the Trash Bin. Then the worksheet really had nothing to do with that (they had to color the stem of a flower and put green stickers on a white section of the grass), but whatever!

Class at 4:30 and THREE WEEKS TO GO!!!!!!!!!

Xoxo,

Court

Oh m’goodness! Today it’s a super sunny 81…it feels awesome!!

I was with Ana most of the day in infantil and I gotta say the kids were quite annoying…like, all of them: they were talking, rambunctious and super antsy! They were a happy bunch today, which, don’t get me wrong, I love, but if they could have just paid a little more attention! It’s totally the weather…

We watched several videos on Ana’s computer with five-years A and she had to stop them quite a bit to wait for quiet and call them to attention!

We reviewed shapes with the four-year-olds and later with the morning class did a worksheet where they had to color the like shapes the same color. I can’t tell you how many times I saw a little with the wrong color crayon! I mean, even if they weren’t listening when I explained it, there was a legend up top for them to look at…even four-year-olds should be able to follow a simple legend, come on, now! With the afternoon class we sang a couple of songs about shapes.

Ana brought 2A to the video room and we watched the video of the story about Charlie, Lee, Monica and Ruby and the pumpkin in the school garden. I asked them questions afterwards…it’s always the same kids who raise their hands or pay attention!

6B has an exam tomorrow, so we reviewed their vocab (tidy your room, lay the table, etc). I asked them questions using the past tense and we finished with the text about three kids from around the world (France, China and Argentina) and took a look at how their lives were different. Pretty much what we did on Monday with A and C…

Happy weekend to me! Class at 5:30 and that’s it!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s getting warmer every day! Today it’s 81 and mostly sunny!

After the usual review in 1A, we talked more about seasons and how landscapes reflect each season, i.e. green grass, flowers, animals, snowy fields, frozen lakes… I read a short little paragraph from their books and then together Marina and I helped them with a worksheet—they were given two pictures and had to tell which picture showed which description…grass, flowers, snow, etc.

We continued with the video from last week and talked more about the United States with 3A and B. At one point the video says apple pie and baseball are symbols of America and that lead Luis Miguel to want to talk about baseball next week and I think play it, too! We’ll see how that goes…

I was quite late to five-years A because Luismi ALWAYS runs over in his classes! ALWAYS! So by the time I got there, they were already doing a “worksheet”…which really was just drawing a picture of a tractor.

Analen asked me to do this worksheet with Raúl whilst the rest of the class corrected some activities. The only problem was he wasn’t in the mood to work BUT he was being quiet for the most part and doing his own thing, so I just kind of let him alone…I’m not gonna try to force that kid to work; others…yes. Him…no!

No class today…just chillaxing and I think I’m gonna clean a bit!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a cloudy 73 today.

Since Luis Miguel’s come, he’s been all gung-ho about doing a project about the London Olympics with primary schools from different countries…I don’t really understand the project. So, with Rocío’s classes we took a look at a London advertisement, with the Olympic rings, and then they had to draw their symbol/emblem/whatever.

I read 2B a story about Charlie, Ruby, Monica, Lee and the school garden. They watered their pumpkin so much it grew ridiculously gigantic…and then they made pumpkin soup!I asked comprehension questions, which most understood, and we ended with some workbook pages.

Marina’s fifth was finishing a science exam (which she told me about beforehand so I showed up like 10ish minutes late, per her request). After the exam I read the story “Tilly and the Tsunami”, a true story about a tsunami in Thailand in 2004 and the British girl who helped save many peoples’ lives!

Class with Ana and Marina at 7:30.

Xoxo,

Court

Currently it’s 65 and a bit cloudy and windy too.

All yesterday and part of Saturday too, I felt like crud. :/ I slept horribly Saturday night and ended up sleeping a lot of yesterday. I don’t know what the deal was—my throat and head were acting up. My throat still feels a bit “heavy” when I swallow but I feel so much better than yesterday!

So…this morning with the sixth levels we reviewed some vocab about helping around the house and I asked questions practicing the past tense. For example, “Did you empty the rubbish bin on Saturday? Did you lay the table yesterday?” They weren’t paying attention at all (either that or they didn’t know the answer…or it could have been the Monday blues) and Marilu kept saying “I can’t believe this…can you believe this?”

Analen had 4A doing a lot of copying today, like verbs and such, so I just sat there. I asked her if I could go to the office to talk with Aurora for a bit and then I didn’t go back! I would have just sat there…

I read the three-year-olds a story about Ellie, Mouse and Duck and the importance of throwing rubbish in the bin and not just on the floor. Afterwards we reviewed the vocab “apple” “banana” and “pear”—from the story—and they had a worksheet where they stuck banana and pear stickers on the page and colored an apple.

Class at 4:30 today and FOUR WEEKS left!!!!!!!!!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s pretty cloudy and 65 this afternoon. They’re calling for rain today and tomorrow, though we haven’t seen any yet…I’m ok with that!

I reviewed shapes with five-years A after the first-thing business. There was square, circle, triangle, rectangle and rhombus/diamond…they must call it “rhombus” in the UK. I then called up kids to either draw a big or little shape of my choosing.

I read a new story to the four-year-olds. On the one hand I’m glad it’s a new story…on the other hand, I’m already sick of it and I’ve only read it twice! That’s not good, considering I’m gonna have to read it like ten more times! It was about Ellie, who “barrowed” Poppy’s hat and the search Poppy goes on to find it. Not sure why, but I just don’t like the story at all.

2A started a new unit “In the garden”, which includes fruit and vegetable vocab. Theyalready knew most of it but we repeated and practiced pronunciation a bit. Afterwards, I stuck the flashcards on the board and they had to draw and label them in their notebooks.

With 6B last hour we did the speaking activity I did with 6C on Monday. The one where I asked them questions in the past: “Were you at school yesterday? What did you drink at lunch on Monday? What time did you leave your house on Saturday?” It was good practice…for their exam tomorrow!

Happy Weekend to MEEE!!!! I have class 5:30 and 7:00…after that? RELAXATION!!!!

Xoxo,

Court

This afternoon it’s 66 and partly cloudy; it’s a bit breezy but not too bad! I thought I was gonna rain earlier because it got super overcast and kinda dark, but it didn’t…yay!

This morning in 1A I reviewed a boatload of flashcards with them and after that we did a worksheet about landscapes, like fields, forests and the like. We did the worksheet as a class because it was a bit difficult for them to do alone. They were given a picture and had to label things like road, snow, mountain, village, and so on. Then they had to check which activities you could do in/on a mountain: hike, ski, surf and climb. One kid actually said you could mountain surf…but this is also the kid who ALWAYS raises his hand and then doesn’t know the answer. It’s not that he gets it wrong but rather he just sits there silently and stares back at you…every time! Like, why do you raise your hand??

We talked more about the US with Luis Miguel’s classes. We were in the video room and watched this video entitled “The United States: A Basic Introduction for Kids”. It’s a pretty long video (like almost ten minutes) and I kept stopping it to make sure they understood and to ask questions, so we actually only got like halfway through it in both classes. So…next week we shall continue.

We went to the infantil video room with five-years B and watched a bit of Wallace and Gromit…not too much though because of course we had to leave time to breakfast.

While 4B worked on some translations I sat with Raúl and tried to get him to work on this math/color-by-numbers worksheet. Key word = try. He was up and around and interrupting and bothering…basically doing everything except that worksheet. He refused to answer me when I asked him questions and was coloring random things with an orange highlighter…ok, whatever.

No class this afternoon! Now I’m gonna watch The Biggest Loser finale, it was on last night and I’ve waited two weeks to see it!

Xoxo,

Court

¡¡¡Feliz Día del Trabajo/Labor Day!!! There shall not be any laboring for me today! Oh and Happy May Day, too! I know I’ve said this practically every month, but I can’t believe it’s May already! I have SEVENTEEN days left at school…WOW!

The new month has brought better weather along with it…Yay! It’s 58 and only partly sunny but hey, there’s no rain!

That is all. :)

Xoxo,

Court