Day One in Year One

Finally I am getting to what I came here for; teaching! Today was so much fun and so overwhelming all at the same time, but who says you can’t be overwhelmed with fun? There was so much to take in and think about all at once. Theres the teaching, the students, the different curriculum, and just different ways of doing things. I have only spent one day with my students and I already love them! One of the first students came in today and already knew who I was. Right when he walked through the door he told me, “you need to know about cockle bay? Me.” (pointing to himself) “You need to find the library? Me.” “You need to get anywhere? Me.” He was determined to help me out and be sure I knew where to go!

Students are broken up into reading groups here, much like the ones I have experienced in the US. My year ones (kindergarteners) have specific activities that they can do during this time. They do not rotate through or have a specific time spent on each activity, but move freely throughout except for when they are called over to meet with a teacher. When they meet with a teacher, I saw that it was quite similar to my experiences with it at home. I was able to sit in on a few groups, then take one individual child to work with on my own, and one group after that.

We also did a lesson on NZ coins today. I enjoyed the lesson because I was able to hear about the images on each coin, as well as the significance of those images. The lowest coin is 10¢, the highest is $2.00.

The class:

There are so many English language learners in the school! You can truly see what it means to differentiate when you look at the activities my teacher does in the classroom. Two of the children are ELLs (English language learners), one speaks Chines and the other Afrikaans. I really enjoy seeing the way the teacher engages them in meaningful activities at their level, as other students do different activities.  While the other children write multiple sentences about a story, those children are given the opportunity to paint a picture and dictate a sentence. Another thing I have seen her do is have them make words with play dough.

Things that they do differently:

One difference that I noticed today is that the children eat lunch outside. If it is raining they eat their lunches in the classroom. One of the children asked me where students in America eat their lunches. I love how the children think so openly about differences and do not just assume everything is the same. They know that they do things one way, but other people might do them another.

* C l a r i f i c a t i o n *

I also wanted to clarify. You can, in fact, get coffee here in NZ. I get some in the morning before school, as well as during school at morning tea or lunch. What I was talking about in a previous post is that it seems impossible to get, what I now know is called "filter coffee" out at any coffee shops! I spoke with some Kiwis and they informed me that it is not common to get out at a coffee shop and that you must make it yourself if you want that kind. Thankfully I do get to start my morning out with coffee :) I just can't go get coffee like I sometimes do at home. That is okay though, because everyone is always offering tea and warm drinks everywhere I have been!