Hi everyone!
Sorry these posts have been farther and farther apart...but don't fear! Here are some stories from your favorite blondie in South America.
Things are wrapping up here at the school in Lima. My co-op and I have been making the exams for the kids. Yes. You read that right. My 1st and 2nd grade students take exams at the end of the year. They study all the material and go to school for their tests in each subject. I was SHOCKED. The fact that 7 and 8 year old kids have the stamina to study at home then come and take a test blew me away.
Granted, their tests had a lot of coloring, connecting definitions, and finishing sentences on them. But still! That's a lot of hard work for such a young age.
In order to prepare for the tests, I have been doing a lot of reviewing with the kids. We talk about the important aspects in science, history, math, and religion. However, I wanted to make it fun for them. SO we played some games. I taught them how to play "Heads up 7 up" but in the form of a review game. Also, since there are only 8 kids in the class, we actually played "heads up 1 up" but anyway...
I had one student select another students thumb or "pulgar" and whoever they selected had to answer a question about our review. They LOVED it. It was so simple yet so intriguing and different for them. My co-op loved it too.
We also played a version of "silent ball." For all of you "Montini Weenies" out there, you know this game was the bomb.com in middle school. Also *Shoutout to SLT 8th graders and summer camp kids back home - would you prefer to add some review questions to the game? Haha. Again, the kids loved playing catch silently then when someone dropped the ball or had a bad throw they had to answer a question.
During these games in particular, I felt so proud that I was able to plan and come up with them so my kids would stay focused and find themselves prepared for their exams.
*I was so proud of this review! I asked the kids to find how many articles of clothing (listed on the left) were in the classroom. We then made a bar graph and answered questions about it. I was so happy that I was able to write so fluently on the board.
Explaining review games!
Just showing off my pulgar or thumb.
In addition, a lot of time these two weeks has been spent wrapping up their books. Time is set aside each day for the students to complete their textbook at their own pace. Whatever they do not complete at school needs to get done at home. That was interesting to me because in the states, if we do not get to something in the class, no homework is assigned for it. Here, the students go and complete it on their own. I was also BLOWN AWAY because the 2nd graders here are not only doing long division, but also are doing algebra....what? *Shoutout to Dad - how would you have liked to correct this homework when all of us kids were younger?
My school is DECKED OUT for Christmas. Navidad is at the center of everyone's minds and the teachers love decorating their classrooms as well. I helped decorate and suffered through cutting out letters *shoutout to all my fellow lefties out there - you know what I'm talking about. We also are preparing for our Christmas Celebration on Friday and my kids are able to sing their hearts out to Joy to the World. I choked back tears today as they were proudly singing and dancing to the song.
In addition, the classrooms and basically everywhere in Peru has these twinkling lights. But, they're not just any twinkling lights. No Sir. These lights sing christmas songs. But, every string of lights SINGS THE SAME SONGS IN THE SAME ORDER. Literally there's like one brand of lights or something because I am not kidding you they're all the same. My classroom, our house, other houses near us, and even the "Plaza del Armas" in Lima. Everyone. Has. These. Singing. Lights.
*Manger in my classroom
*Singing lights above the shops by the Plaza del Armas
I wanted to buy some lights to bring home, but just as I was about to pay 30 soles for them, I remembered the US doesn't have the same voltage as Peru. That would be a silly purchase because I would plug them in and instead of singing lights they would be exploding lights. Tragic.
This past weekend we spent with the family becasue it was my host dad's birthday! Saturday we celebrated with our school and also opened a new outlet for our school. This one had a field on the roof so naturally I took a photo.
Sunday, we went about an hour north of Lima and went out to eat. Lima has these "get away" restaurants where you can eat, play sports, and just spend the day away from the hustle and bustle of the city. So, my cup of tea. We all bonded, I played with the younger members of the family, and we got to dance Peruvian style. Our host dad was so happy and so were we. He also loved the festive crown we made him that said "Es mi Cumpleanos" or "It's my birthday!"
*The pachamanca that Maeve and I shared. Yes it came in this bowl and had 3 different types of meat. Yes, we put a HUGE dent in it..somehow.
Alright folks, there's about one week left of this experience for me. This weekend, Maeve and I are going to Ica and Paracas, then spending the last week at school wrapping things up with our teachers.
Ask me how I feel about it.......
....just as confused as ever.
Wondering where the time went,
Lauren