Kindie Profiles on a Tuesday
I swear, I am forever playing catch-up on this blog! Technology has a way of doing that, doesn't it? Marketing itself as making life easier when in actuality it just gives you an easier way to do the things you wouldn't need to do if it weren't for the technology in the first place, but here I am whining about blogging and the wonders of the interweb when we all know I love it, so I'll just get down to the meat of this post...
The week! Documentation of last Monday-Friday will be an abridged version of what actually transpired (as always) and mainly told via digital storytelling (aka the pictures from my phone, as always) as my memory isn't getting any sharper. So, to satisfy my overly-ordered preferences, let's begin with Monday.
Monday 3/30:
And this about sums it up >.<
But really, I never though 'dusty' was a weather type until moving to Seoul! For the most part the pollution isn't noticeable to me, but on days where the air is particularly clear, I can see the difference, mainly, I can see Bonghwasan Mt much more clearly and always think 'wow that's really close/beautiful/bright' which on most days never crosses my mind. The first picture from above is from my phone's weather app, the second is from a student's writing.
Besides dusty air and cute practice book entries, Monday was a typical day. Classes were good, kids were great (mostly) though the more the Kindies like you, the more fun (aka a wrestling match) the class is, and the easier it is to just play with them for 35 minutes and forget to actually attempt to teach them anything. The elementary classes are fun- wild, but fun -and I often find myself wondering how one is supposed to control 12 screaming 10 year olds. Then 45 minutes later I find myself wondering how I managed to control 12 screaming 10 year olds. I truly hope when I put 'English teacher in South Korea' on my resume it holds the amount of weight I believe it should.
As far as post-work goes, as per the Collard House Official Korean Tradition, Taylor and I had pizza from Pizza School around the corner for dinner and then enjoyed a lazy evening in. Below is the proof of the 'lazy evening in'. Korea loves handing out free cosmetics/washes/moisturizers/ect. And yes, you only get the small, low-resolution pictures because I hear face masks aren't incredibly in this season...
Tuesday 3/31:
It's hard to wake up to this and not know you are about to have a great day :D And it was an accurate assumption! Tuesday was the song-and-dance competition at DOCS, as well as the day that Taylor, myself, and Danella went to a 'friendlies' soccer ('football') match in Seoul's World Cup Stadium, and wow was that a blast!! Here's the visual rundown;
Here are my Kindie kids (I work with a couple other classes too, but I have the above 'Desert Foxes' every glorious day :D and I am one of their homeroom teachers). In the order in which they appear; top left is Lily, a cutie who doesn't just raise her hand or call for me when she needs assistance, oh no, she yells "Teacher help me, HELP ME, HEEELP MEEE!" as if she is drowning, its pretty adorable, and she is incredibly bright. Next is Eun-ho (his Korean name, he never picked an English one) who is also incredibly smart, which means he burns through his workbook and then gets bored, and boy does that kid have energy and a set of vocal cords on him! I carry him around the room quite often because it is a way to control his antics, and because he sees it as a fun ride.
Switching to the next photo, at the top is Hopey (like Hope-E) who was born to be a teacher one day, as she always helps the class understand my instructions, will open everyone's book to the correct page and even parade around the room with her book open, displaying to the kids what the answers are or what the pictures/letters should look like. She often skoots her chair to be right by my legs and will mimic what I do (if I have a book showing to the class and am reading or doing a dance/motions to go with the words, she will hold up her book and do the same or point to the words we are on), again, its pretty stinkin' cute. The next photo is Pinkie who, as her name suggests, wears pink almost every day and colors almost exclusively in pink. She is quite quiet in the class and just a tiny little thing, but although she is more subdued than the rest of the rambunctious class, she is learning just as well, and she loves to sing! She sings all of our book songs (we are on 'Five Little Monkeys' this month) at the top of her little lungs.
Next up we have Amber who started the class being very quiet also. Well, she's gotten over that and is now practically one of the boys. She sits near Eun-ho and is entertained by him quite often when he finishes his work early...now if only she would finish hers too, or stay in her seat. It's like herding cats sometimes, but when she buckles down (or when I stand behind her and redirect her each time she turns to Eun-ho) she can finish her work super quick as well! Kevin, the little cutie 'rolling his eyes' is one of the top four kiddos that are attached to me in the class (the other three being Ha-Kyoung, Edward and Hopey) and out of those four, he probably likes me the most. When the kids joke with me or pretend to not know my name he often comes to the rescue and chastises them in Korean or reminds them (loudly and repeatedly) of my name. He also somehow manages to always be the first kid to make it to my lap during movie times and fends off any others who may try to take my attention away from him. Overall, its pretty fun to be liked.
The smiley mustache-d one in the bottom left of the picture is James, who often matches the energy of Eun-ho or Edward but is somewhat of an independent soul, that is, until he finishes his workbook (which he rarely wants/needs help on) and decides that clinging to my leg is the best course of action. He actually does it quite well and gets a nice little vice-grip with both his arms and legs so I can continue to walk around the class fairly normally as I help other students. It's sort of just like having a 40 pound weight perfectly balanced around one ankle. When given the opportunity, he often will try to climb up to my shoulders too, which is a feat for him, but somehow within his skill set as a 5 year old boy.
And finally, Edward and Ha-Kyoung (another Korean name, she didn't pick an English one) and yes, they are both just as adorable as they appear. Edward has such a big personality its almost difficult to write about, but basically he has the energy level of a nuclear plant and emanates heat at a comparable rate. I don't believe I have ever gotten a hug from him, or brushed his hair back without feeling a prominent layer of sweat, but then again I can't remember the last time I saw him sitting still for more than 15 seconds either. His mother told our Korean teacher (Hannah) who told Aaron teacher (the other homeroom teacher for Desert Foxes) who told me that Edward wakes up early each day and badgers his mom to leave so that he wont be late for DOCS because he loves it so much, and though he sometimes has trouble focusing on his work (or staying in his seat, in the room, off the tables, or off of me) he is an absolute joy in the class! And he has gotten past the 'scribble-on-everything-no-matter-what-the-instructions-or-teacher-says' phase, so I see bright things in his future, like marathon running.
And next to him is one of the other biggest personalities in the class; Ha-Kyoung. She is a strong, energetic, happy kid who lends me her hair bows and ties and barrets on a daily basis. I initially tried to put them back in her hair, but she wouldn't have any of that, so usually I walk into Desert Foxes with one bow in (my own) and leave with three, (one from Ha-Kyoung and one from Hopey), then I ambush them sometime before it's home-time and re-do their hairs, it's something of a tradition now.
Whew! So much for an abridged version! Let's speed things up a bit, shall we? It's just so hard to shorten the kids' descriptions as there is so much I want to say about each! But mainly, they all have their own little strengths and personalities and I adore each one of them :D
Tuesday was the song and dance competition at Docs, which is where each Kindie class can show the dance they have worked on for the past month, I could describe the cuteness for ages, but here are a few of the pictures I snapped.
First, here is Taylor being Mr Popular :)
And here is James from Desert Foxes who snuck over to me when Kevin wasn't looking and stole his spot on my lap :P
And here are the Sassy Squirrels who I get to teach twice a week. They performed "I'm a Little Tea Pot".
Here are the Jungle Cats doing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" aw aww
And here are the Foxes getting set up to perform "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" :)
And the break down dance at the end with Edward and Eun-ho (my class is the cutest, I know). There are other classes too, but these are the best pictures I got from the morning, where you can see more than kid-sized blurs.
And here is a little clip of the Foxes performance! I hope it uploads correctly!
Now after work on Tuesday, Danella, Taylor and I immediately rushed home and hoped on the Subway towards Seoul World Cup Stadium, we arrived juuust after the match began. I forgot how much I love soccer! And watching it last Tuesday was an awesome experience I will not soon forget, and hopefully I can go to more games this year! The match was SK vs NZ (which is where Danella is from, so it was a great match-up to watch). Again, here are some pictures!
The game was a nail-biter, with South Korea's footwork and stamina giving them a definite edge, but they couldn't finish! At one point each team 'scored' but had the goal taken away (for a foul and offside) but in the last four minutes...Korea scored! Making it a 1-0 win for SK over NZ :) Hearing the crowds chants and songs and the enthusiasm for a 'friendlies' match, meaning the game does nothing for your standing, ect, was pretty awe-inspiring!
And a poorly taken panorama shot because iPhone :S
Selca's after the game
Also, it started to rain during the match, however our seats were juuust far enough under the overhead in the stadium to avoid any and all water, while still giving us an awesome view! It was the perfect match in the perfect spot to end a perfect day :)
The week! Documentation of last Monday-Friday will be an abridged version of what actually transpired (as always) and mainly told via digital storytelling (aka the pictures from my phone, as always) as my memory isn't getting any sharper. So, to satisfy my overly-ordered preferences, let's begin with Monday.
Monday 3/30:
But really, I never though 'dusty' was a weather type until moving to Seoul! For the most part the pollution isn't noticeable to me, but on days where the air is particularly clear, I can see the difference, mainly, I can see Bonghwasan Mt much more clearly and always think 'wow that's really close/beautiful/bright' which on most days never crosses my mind. The first picture from above is from my phone's weather app, the second is from a student's writing.
Besides dusty air and cute practice book entries, Monday was a typical day. Classes were good, kids were great (mostly) though the more the Kindies like you, the more fun (aka a wrestling match) the class is, and the easier it is to just play with them for 35 minutes and forget to actually attempt to teach them anything. The elementary classes are fun- wild, but fun -and I often find myself wondering how one is supposed to control 12 screaming 10 year olds. Then 45 minutes later I find myself wondering how I managed to control 12 screaming 10 year olds. I truly hope when I put 'English teacher in South Korea' on my resume it holds the amount of weight I believe it should.
As far as post-work goes, as per the Collard House Official Korean Tradition, Taylor and I had pizza from Pizza School around the corner for dinner and then enjoyed a lazy evening in. Below is the proof of the 'lazy evening in'. Korea loves handing out free cosmetics/washes/moisturizers/ect. And yes, you only get the small, low-resolution pictures because I hear face masks aren't incredibly in this season...
Tuesday 3/31:
Switching to the next photo, at the top is Hopey (like Hope-E) who was born to be a teacher one day, as she always helps the class understand my instructions, will open everyone's book to the correct page and even parade around the room with her book open, displaying to the kids what the answers are or what the pictures/letters should look like. She often skoots her chair to be right by my legs and will mimic what I do (if I have a book showing to the class and am reading or doing a dance/motions to go with the words, she will hold up her book and do the same or point to the words we are on), again, its pretty stinkin' cute. The next photo is Pinkie who, as her name suggests, wears pink almost every day and colors almost exclusively in pink. She is quite quiet in the class and just a tiny little thing, but although she is more subdued than the rest of the rambunctious class, she is learning just as well, and she loves to sing! She sings all of our book songs (we are on 'Five Little Monkeys' this month) at the top of her little lungs.
Next up we have Amber who started the class being very quiet also. Well, she's gotten over that and is now practically one of the boys. She sits near Eun-ho and is entertained by him quite often when he finishes his work early...now if only she would finish hers too, or stay in her seat. It's like herding cats sometimes, but when she buckles down (or when I stand behind her and redirect her each time she turns to Eun-ho) she can finish her work super quick as well! Kevin, the little cutie 'rolling his eyes' is one of the top four kiddos that are attached to me in the class (the other three being Ha-Kyoung, Edward and Hopey) and out of those four, he probably likes me the most. When the kids joke with me or pretend to not know my name he often comes to the rescue and chastises them in Korean or reminds them (loudly and repeatedly) of my name. He also somehow manages to always be the first kid to make it to my lap during movie times and fends off any others who may try to take my attention away from him. Overall, its pretty fun to be liked.
The smiley mustache-d one in the bottom left of the picture is James, who often matches the energy of Eun-ho or Edward but is somewhat of an independent soul, that is, until he finishes his workbook (which he rarely wants/needs help on) and decides that clinging to my leg is the best course of action. He actually does it quite well and gets a nice little vice-grip with both his arms and legs so I can continue to walk around the class fairly normally as I help other students. It's sort of just like having a 40 pound weight perfectly balanced around one ankle. When given the opportunity, he often will try to climb up to my shoulders too, which is a feat for him, but somehow within his skill set as a 5 year old boy.
And finally, Edward and Ha-Kyoung (another Korean name, she didn't pick an English one) and yes, they are both just as adorable as they appear. Edward has such a big personality its almost difficult to write about, but basically he has the energy level of a nuclear plant and emanates heat at a comparable rate. I don't believe I have ever gotten a hug from him, or brushed his hair back without feeling a prominent layer of sweat, but then again I can't remember the last time I saw him sitting still for more than 15 seconds either. His mother told our Korean teacher (Hannah) who told Aaron teacher (the other homeroom teacher for Desert Foxes) who told me that Edward wakes up early each day and badgers his mom to leave so that he wont be late for DOCS because he loves it so much, and though he sometimes has trouble focusing on his work (or staying in his seat, in the room, off the tables, or off of me) he is an absolute joy in the class! And he has gotten past the 'scribble-on-everything-no-matter-what-the-instructions-or-teacher-says' phase, so I see bright things in his future, like marathon running.
And next to him is one of the other biggest personalities in the class; Ha-Kyoung. She is a strong, energetic, happy kid who lends me her hair bows and ties and barrets on a daily basis. I initially tried to put them back in her hair, but she wouldn't have any of that, so usually I walk into Desert Foxes with one bow in (my own) and leave with three, (one from Ha-Kyoung and one from Hopey), then I ambush them sometime before it's home-time and re-do their hairs, it's something of a tradition now.
Whew! So much for an abridged version! Let's speed things up a bit, shall we? It's just so hard to shorten the kids' descriptions as there is so much I want to say about each! But mainly, they all have their own little strengths and personalities and I adore each one of them :D
Tuesday was the song and dance competition at Docs, which is where each Kindie class can show the dance they have worked on for the past month, I could describe the cuteness for ages, but here are a few of the pictures I snapped.
Here are the Gorgeous Giraffe class, dancing to "Land of a Thousand Dances", they are Taylor's class and he taught them the dances :)
Now after work on Tuesday, Danella, Taylor and I immediately rushed home and hoped on the Subway towards Seoul World Cup Stadium, we arrived juuust after the match began. I forgot how much I love soccer! And watching it last Tuesday was an awesome experience I will not soon forget, and hopefully I can go to more games this year! The match was SK vs NZ (which is where Danella is from, so it was a great match-up to watch). Again, here are some pictures!
Our first glance of the glorious stadium!
Drum roll please!!
And we're in!
Aand then the subway ride home, people for as far as the eye can see, but we're used to that by now haha.
I will post more about Wed-this current weekend tomorrow, however I have a Skype date in the morning I don't want to be late for (Hi mom and dad!) so I need to sleep.
All of my love,
Tea
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