First Day of School

Today was my first day of school at CEIP El Manantial in Bormujos. It is a school of Infantil and Primaria which means 3 year olds-12 year olds. I am in 3 second grade classrooms a week, 2 first grade classrooms a week and 2 sixth grade classrooms a week. I am assisting a lead teacher in each level to teach English and Social Science. The things that are going to be most difficult are working with the teachers, whose English isn't exactly great and working with the first graders.

First grade was the first class that I went to today. The children in first grade have only been learning English for about a month (since the beginning of the school year), so they have barely any vocabulary since their teacher says most of the English class in Spanish. They literally looked at me like I was an alien from a different planet while I was introducing myself and when I asked if anyone had questions, nobody had any questions. The teacher wasn't really helping them along either, but afterward we played Simon Says with the body parts,  which they really enjoyed. Overall, even though it will be the most difficult, I think I will see the most improvement in the first grade, which will be most rewarding.

After first grade, I went to two of my second grade classes. I really enjoyed both of them. The students had a lot more to say and were very excited to practice their English with me! They asked what my favorite color, food, drink, sport, animal and plant were. They all wanted to share their answers too. They also took a huge interest in the photos I brought in of Chicago, my family and my friends. They were very curious about everything and I think they will be a pleasure to teach.

I hope that I get to know the staff at my school better because I was kind of lonely at the break time today. My school runs from 9 am-2 pm with a break from 11:45-12:15 (recess for the kids). During the break, the teachers who do not have recess duty have a snack in the break room and chat with each other. Nobody was really making an effort to include me in conversations, even though I was right there and trying to get involved. I guess I will have to be a bit more proactive tomorrow and start talking to people.

After school, my roommates and I went to the CIEE office to have them make copies for our Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero. This is a card that will allow me to enter and leave the country after my visa expires in December. The staff at CIEE was very nice and willing to make copies for us and let us use the computers to print things. I also got a secondary job on top of my teaching while I was there. I am going to be babysitting/tutoring a 10 year old girl 2 days a week after I get back from teaching. It will be nice to have the extra income, hopefully I can use it to go on a trip or something sometime soon.