MY CLASSROOM PHOTOS - BEFORE & AFTER

Dring May and June, I was able to do some relief work at the French International School. I was very busy. I had to wake up at 5:30 in the morning and leave for school at 6:45 to be there for 7:00. The children started arriving at 7:30 and school started at 8:00. They had a half hour break at 9:00 and another one at 11:00. Their day ended at 12:45.  Then, I had to take a "Soutene" class ( that is French for "support" - learning support) from 1-1:30, three days a week. I often did not get home for lunch until 2-2:30! Here are some photos of my classroom. It was very different to those in Australia!

Me and Brigette, my assistant. She is from Cameroon.

Moving in!

Organising everything

First week back and the children's beautiful work is on display!

Teaching in English.

Learning about seeds, gardens and life cycles.

Creating a more efficient and safe painting area.

I made a HOME CORNER for them complete with little curtains. All
of the other teachers came to see and marvel at it! The children loved it!

Our mat area for teaching, learning and playing.

My BOOK CORNER. Again, the teachers came to look!

I think I did a good job in making our room colourful, inviting,  exciting and safe!
What do you think?

PS I had to buy a lot of my own resources. So what else is new? 

My New Adventure....

Mr. O. and I are off tomorrow night on a three week holiday to Portugal and Spain. I will keep you posted on what I am doing, where I am going and what I am learning. Can't wait! I feel like a little kid at Christmas, I am sooooo excited!!!!!!

HANDA'S SURPRISE

This week, we read the story called HANDA'S SURPRISE. Brigette, my aide, showed us how to wrap the capulana around your head and how to carry a basket on top of your head without dropping it!

Wonderful Hairstyles

The young girls, teenagers and young women have the most amazing and ever changing hairstyles! Here are a few photos. Sop

hie Joe, I thought of you taking these!

Enjoying Mozambician Food

I have a driver who takes me wherever I need or want to go. His name is Paulo. Every Tuesday, he drives me to my Portuguese lessons. I have a lesson from 10-12. Just recently, I asked Paulo if he would like to better his English.  I asked would he like to take some lessons at my language school, while I was having lessons. He enthusiastically said "YES!"

Now, Paulo is  learning English,  while I am having Portuguese lessons. We talk in the car. I practise my POrtuguese and Paulo practises his English.

The other day it was his birthday. I decided to take my teacher (professor) Arcenio and Paulo to lunch. We went to a place that serves mainly Portuguese food. It was delicious (deliciso).

Birthday cake for Paulo!

Mmm! Delicioso!
(And yes, Arcenio is having pasta as he is allergic to seafood).

Mboa Camerao (Prawn mild curry)

BEEN BUSY TEACHING!

Hello all!  I have been so busy that I have not had the chance to write a post on my blog.

I have spent the last five weeks teaching English at the Ecole Francaise. I have worked four days a week teaching two classes, each with 28 five-six year olds. the children are like a mini-United Nations as they come from all over Africa and the world! They speak between 2-4 languages. Many are great little interpreters and translators and they are only five!

I have had to wake at 5:30 each morning and be leave at 6:45 to be at school for 7 o'clock. The children  start arriving at 7:30. School starts at 8 am with the first break at 9 o'clock. 15 minutes of eating and 15 minutes of play. They have one ball and no toys or sandpit to play in. They mainly play in the dirt, run around and get into fights over the ball!

The children go inside from 9:30 to 11 o'clock. This is when we do rotational activities. I called them "LEARNING LIONS". They really got to like doing these activities, much like Busy Bees, but they needed lots of training and help to learn how to work quietly, co-operatively and independently. They are now really good at doing their work.

At 11 o'clock, it's outside play again, with more dust, running, fighting and rolling in the dirt! ;0(
Afterwards we come in for some direct teaching time and then some play before tidying up and going home (!!!) at 12:45.

But, I had to stay back until 1:30 to teach "Soutene" which is a language support group for those children needing help learning English.

I was on duty every break, except one and would not get a chance for lunch until I came home at 2- 2:30! Whew! My days were exhausting. It sure feels like more than five weeks to me! The children were adorable, just so many interruptions by poor behaviour that stopped our learning. It is very frustrating as the teacher to constantly be stopping the teaching for this and the children who want to learn do not like it either! My sticker charts became very popular and my prize box even more so, if someone got 10 stickers for "doing the right thing". I know that many of the OSS children can do the right thing and be switched on and focussed for classroom learning.

So here are some pics to compare your classroom with my classroom.

Every child loves Lego!

We made a garden and learnt about many things related to plants.

We are learning to sit, cross our legs, put our hands in our laps,
keep our mouths closed and listen to the person speaking.

Teaching how to cooperate and play a game.

They loved dominoes.

Learning to line up quiety in two lines/

I read them "The Sunflower that Went FLOP!".

We counted petals on flowers

I read them "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".

The Sunflower that went flop!

Lots of stories I put on my laptop for the children to see,
 as the school did not have many stories in English.

GSA. GRande Section A.
Can you find me?

Grande Section B
Where am I now?

This is the whole school!