I'm no Picasso

This is the latest in my long line of school art projects. My kids needed new "Captain" name tags so here they are. What do you think?

Everyday one of the students in every preschool class gets to be "Captain" for the day. Basically that means they do whatever you want them to and for some reason they LOVE this. I need water in the class, the Captain gets it. I need help bringing the lunch dishes back to the kitchen, the Captain helps. There are some perks to the position. The Captain is always first in line for the bathroom and for receiving lunch. Plus they get to wear a nifty name tag and who wouldn't want that.

Wouldn't it be nice if adults were so easy to please?

End of Month Shuffle

My title does not lie. We have been told that we write too much in our blog. All I have to say to that is... too bad :) I figure it's better to write often then to be accused of not keeping in touch. I will do my best to make this entry "skimable". (I know I probably made up that word, but now that I'm a "teacher" I feel I have earned the right!!)

As I may have already mentioned, the end of the month at SLP is a time for report cards, class syllabi, class schedule changes and phone teaching. Needless to say it has been a very busy week. Paul and I are ahead of the game and have completed everything already, but many of the teachers are scrambling to finish everything in time (or late as it were). I have never seen so many teachers stay late or hang out in the teacher's room. Computers are rare and now they are actually being used for work! Since I am finished everything I have the pleasure of sitting back and watching the mad rush. It's highly amusing. I'm trying not to laugh, because I imagine one month I will find myself in the same situation.

Today was my last "art" activity class with Glory class. Next month I have been reassigned different activity classes. I am very happy about this. Although I am an artistic person and love to draw, convincing a bunch of seven year olds to draw giraffes is not my idea of fun. Especially when four of them are boys and would much rather be drawing things exploding.

One of the teachers today said "this job is making me reconsider my love for children." I think that is sad. Before she took this job she believed she loved kids and now that she is with them 6-8 hours a day she has changed her mind. For me this experience has done the opposite. Before teaching at SLP I had no idea what to do with children. Everytime one came up to me I had no idea what to do or say. Now, after being thrown into a classroom (almost literally), I can say that I have developed a new found appreciation and love for kids (well Korean kids). So far this has been a great move for Paul and I. I am excited to see what the next 11 months will hold.

Until next time...

Another Weekend in Seoul

Tempus fugit.

I can't believe it. We've now officially been employees of SLP for one month. The August session is almost finished (one more week) and then we start the September session. Each session is four weeks long and all of the curriculum is centred around that four week period. The actual months and the sessions never quite line up so it can get confusing, but we're getting a handle on it.

Not too much is new. Work is going fairly smoothly. Paul and I are now trying to learn how to do report cards and phone teaching so we can finish up the session. I did my first batch of report cards yesterday and it was pretty easy. I love computers!! The whole system is computerized for the afternoon classes so basically you have to find you class, enter their marks, write a few comments, hit save and then you're done :)

Phone teaching is a whole new world of fun (do you sense my sarcasm??) Each month you are required to call you students at home and ask them five questions related to the topics you are discussing in class. Once you get them on the phone things go fairly smoothly, but the trick can be getting them on the phone. Nine times out of ten it is someone else who picks up the phone. And about 99% of the time that someone does not speak English. These two facts can sometimes make it difficult to get the kid on the phone, but heck, its fun trying!!

Oh I forgot to mention. As of yesterday we were no longer the newest teachers at the school. Lisa arrived from Nova Scotia Thursday night and her first day of work was Friday. I'm not sure when she will actually start teaching, but its nice not being the newest kid on the block anymore.

And one last note before I go. We finally got a webcam :) So we can now upgrade our voice chats on MSN to video chats! Woo Hoo.

Paul's Class

Not much really to say. As much as the work can be frustrating, and the hours can be long...the kids are worth it. (from left to right) Meet Mindy, Bill, Cindy, Brian, David, Dan, and Paula. This is my homeroom class. They are very smart, and can be a little tough to handle sometimes. It is hard for me to be stern with them, but it does make it easier to control the class when they know who is boss. There are times, however, to have some fun.

Correne's Class

Hello, hello! This is my homeroom class. I see them everyday from 9:40am until 11am for class and I also serve them lunch at 12:40pm.

I will introduce from the top row, left to right!

Julie, Leo, Donald, Rob, Sabina, Alice YR, Ellen and Grace.

We were missing one student today. Her name is Alice JE. I think she went camping for the weekend so she was absent today.

They are a great class and from what I hear fom other preschool teachers, I am pretty lucky. Donald is a little trouble maker and I bet you can tell that from looking at him! Julie is very sweet, but she has a lot of trouble reading. Ellen is quiet, but brilliant. Sabina is very very shy, but I'm working on it. Leo is extremely introverted and he never smiles (you can even see that in the picture). He looks miserable all the time, but whenever I ask him "how are you today?" he says that he is super happy, so I don't really know what to do. Grace is a sweet girl and her writing is great! Alice YR works hard and her printing skills are all very good.

I have a lot of fun with them. It's amazing how smart they are. They know more of two languages then I do, so for that I admire them. They are all 6 years old (Korean age... which makes them 5 in Canadian age). They are at school five days a week from 9:40 am until 2:20 pm. They spend the whole time learning English and they are not allowed to speak Korean at school at any time!

Lunch time with them is both trying and a blast. Korean table manners leave much to be desired so I spend a lot of time reminding them to chew with their mouths closed (which is not a common practice among ANY Koreans). I also work on their pleases and thank yous. But its fun to have a stress free hour in which I just enjoy my lunch with some great kids.

That's it for that class. Paul will be doing a blog sometime soon about his classes as well. I hope to update with my 11:20 am class because you will all know why I've come back home with premature grey hairs!!!

I hope this blog finds everyone well. Please email us and let us know how you are doing.

Peace and Love!

Back to Work

Well, after only one week of actual work (not training), we enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells of Seoul. All other teachers with the exception of a few went in other directions for the vacation, so we were on our own for the most part.

We took the weekend to relax and try and let all the information we have been receiving soak in. We spent Saturday night with four other teachers, and went out for a traditional Korean dinner. Correne was of course, served rice and vegetables, while the rest of us ate spicy chicken. "Paul likes spicy chicken." We also explored an artsy area of Seoul. This area is called Incedon, and has tons of galleries, shops, and places to eat. Three of those teachers were on their way to Singapore on Sunday, so we called it an early night.

The weather here is so hot, that most days were just way too hot to walk around. Not that it stopped us, but it did make it a little tough. We saw one temple, two palaces, and some tombs. Check the photo album for pictures. It is pretty cool to be able to see this stuff on your days off. We explored the temple and tombs with Andrea (from Halifax), and the palaces with Ivan (from Dublin). We had a good time, but in a way missed the school. I guess we haven't been there long enough to be dreading the first day back after vacation.

That's it for now, check out the photo album, and let us know how you are all doing.

Lates

Paul.