First Day of School!

My backpack had been ready for two days...bathing suit-check, goggles-check, name tag-check, khaki pants pressed-check....:-) Chris helped me plan my subway timing so I would not be rushed. I headed out at 8:00am, walked to the subway and arrived around 8:50...perfect. I was excited but a little nervous since I wasn't sure what to expect. When I arrived, the fellow that is the primary 'Sports' coordinator met me at the door, showed me where to put my back pack and shoes (next time I need to take a pair of my almost 'Burberry' slippers). I was assigned to the "Monkey" age group. That would be 5 years old in Korean time and 4 (or a little younger) for us. ( When a Korean child is born...the day of birth he/she is already 1. ) I greeted the children/parents in the entrance and started helping the kids find their little locker, doff their jacket/cute back packs, console a few frightened/tearful little ones...and started playing! I didn't realize that today would actually be a 1/2 day with no swimming class -that will start next time. So the morning was less structured and more for getting the kids comfortable with their surroundings and their new teachers. Just observing these kids was so interesting. Some of them would just march right in...find their labeled locker...put their personals away and grab a drawing board or toy...other kids would stand with their arms outstretched for you to remove their jacket and guide them to the play tables. Thankfully, there were two other Korean teachers so they were able to introduce me to the kids in Korean...then they wanted me to introduce/greet the children in English. The kids kept looking at my name tag (written in both languages) and showing me their name or some would write on their eraser board . The most popular drawings were : buses, cars, trucks, airplanes, me :-), their home, etc. It was something to hear 21 little ones yelling "Song Sang Nim!"...which means "Teacher"...they all wanted to show me things or serve me various fruits/food items on a tray. One little girl fixed a perfect Korean tray with little bowls..everything...I was sitting on the floor ...she brought it to me....bowed and seemed so pleased as I sampled her food and bowed back! Of course then one of the boys wanted to get into the action and threw a plastic group of grapes and bananas at me...I need to learn in Korean...."We don't throw things at the teacher"...:-) Several of the little boys made a fairly large 'fort' with simulated bricks...then of course a few other boys came over and completely leveled it...there were a few little 'scuffles' but nothing major. I just thought to myself...kids are similar everywhere you go...it was really something to see. I was probably the most amazed when it came time for 'clean-up'...I started putting items away...and I would say a majority of the kids just automatically started helping straighten the room. We worked a lot on 'you're welcome' 'good morning' and 'thank you' today...they loved it. After about 40 minutes the kids started getting a bit restless...so we were doing some group activities...making a train/bus with chairs...things like that. They kept asking me "Where are we going?" in Korean (the other teacher told me"...then they would giggle and say "We're back". You could tell that some of the children had been exposed to English and for others it was their first experience. I asked one child "What is your name?" (We were encouraged to start working on this), he didn't understand me....but his little friend did and told him in Korean what I was asking....it was nice to see him help his pal.

After about an hour they decided to move me to the "Bear" group (Age 7/6) to meet the kids and help with 'snack-time'. This group was very excited to see me. I helped pass out the snacks with the Korean teacher for that age. We had what looked like an Apple turnover....but with a tasty mixture (I have no idea what it was) on the inside and Strawberry Yogurt. They were so orderly and waited for me to pass their snack...they took a seat and seemed to enjoy every bite! I sat at a table with 5 little boys who had the giggles...and kept asking me questions in Korean (I'm sure they quickly realized I didn't know what they were saying"...:-) I told them to finish their snack (in English) and they just laughed and laughed....then the real fun began. After a orderly snack clean-up I was instructed to 'Sing some English songs' from the Korean teacher. I have many songs filed away in my brain...but for a moment was at a loss. I finally got going with "Old MacDonald", "Eyes, Shoulders, knees, toes...did I leave something out?" "ABC" (with body/arm movements) and one of my favorites "You put your right leg in..." They loved singing (even if I didn't have all of my words exactly). The only time we had a deafening silence was when I decided to break into 'Are You Sleeping/Frere Jacques"...I immediately realized my error and went to "Itsy Bitsy Spider"....does anyone realize how long it has been since I sang these songs?? :-) I started to lose their attention and decided to call for a volunteer to lead the group in a little song. The little girl in the front, that kept trying to tickle my feet (they all seemed to enjoy trying to tickle me) , volunteered with enthusiasm! She stood straight as a soldier at attention and belted out in a clear/loud/confident voice..."Doe a Deer a female Deer".....the entire group joined right in...and we sang a rousing version of this one! I thought "I have got to remember this for the blog!"

After my time with the 'Bears' I was requested back into the 'Monkey' room...it appeared things were getting a little 'crazy' in there...so extra hands were needed. Since we had already gone through our "Goodbyes" the group seemed a little surprised to see me again...but we quickly reconnected and started playing, singing songs, making English fun with play.... then one of the younger kids had a little 'accident'...the teacher was so kind to him and had him back into action in no time....but the kids sensed that for a moment there would only be 'one' of me and '21' of them...they started standing on their little chairs, jumping across tables, and 'not sharing' their toys as we had gone over in the earlier part of the morning...:-) I did notice that both the male and female Korean teachers were so kind/gentle with the children. They would raise their voice occasionally but usually with a kind expression. I also noticed if they had to pull a child aside for a 'talk' they would finish the correction with a little 'pinky finger hook'...I think they were promising to be good...not sure. It was cute to see. No injuries noted after the momentary free-for-all... and we quickly calmed things down with some more singing....then it was time for everyone to get their coats, scarves, hats and backpacks back on. I'm not sure how....but there appeared to be a pick-up system where about 5 kids were redressed and their parents came to pick them up (ON TIME!) I received a lot of hugs and 'high-fives' at the end of the day...and I'm happy to say...there were a lot of smiles...me included.

A side note...the cute little girl in this photo was our youngest 'Monkey" she does not speak at all (the teacher had met with her parents earlier in the week) Korean (or English for that matter) but appears to understand Korean very well...she was a real sweetie and observed everything that was going on. I believe she is very bright and I look forward to hearing her speak someday. Her eyes look like she has something really clever to express. I asked permission (and was granted) to take a few photos because I wasn't sure...but then I remembered 'this is Korea...they love pictures/cameras/posing' so I took a few at the end of the day.

I had to file a little lesson plan for next week....I'm thinking 'counting' and 'alphabet' to start...they love to count and guess the letters in the alphabet. I plan to get plenty of rest before my next day...I need to be in top form! It was a great day....:-)