Monday

Woke up at 7:15am, had yesterday’s dinner leftovers for breakfast, then set off for school. Spent the spare period 1 sticking up the new English board. 3-2 in period 1 and we did an activity where they had to write down each other’s favourite things by spelling it out for each other. That way they would practice saying the alphabet, and also testing whether or not they truly know the alphabet that way. Unsurprisingly a lot of them struggled, so they were all just copying each other’s worksheets. I didn't mind too much because they were still getting in writing practice. The start was a bit rough at first and their homeroom teacher had to yell at them a few times before we could get the lesson going, but they were actually pretty good today once they got started on the activity! They also loved the “Who am I?” quiz, so that was great. We had a few minutes spare so we played the flashlight quiz at the end and they loved guessing the letters. There’s one kid who hasn't been doing any of the alphabet worksheets at all, but he put up his hand a lot for this flashlight quiz and answered correctly, so I guess he knows his stuff but just doesn’t want to participate in class normally.

3-3 was about the same, but they were SUPER enthusiastic about the quiz game, guessing the answer very passionately. They loved it so much that when the game ended they were totally like awh…While we were waiting for them to finish their review sheets, their homeroom teacher asked me what level this would be if it was overseas, and I told her how it’d be 1st grade level (simple sentences like “I like”) or even preschool level (I swear some preschools these days are just mini elementary schools). I then talked a bit about how I wish I could teach the kids how to read and write English from 1st grade, and she totally agrees with me! I think most teachers who can speak a little bit of English agree that English should be taught properly from earlier on, but I don't know why the BOE is still so stiff about that. Anyway, 3-1’s lesson was great, they were the only class who actually tried properly in spelling out the words for each other. There were still a lot of kids struggling, but the fact that they were trying was enough for me. Their homeroom teacher doesn't baby them either (in terms of English that is – for example other homeroom teachers might be like “if it’s too hard, it’s ok, you can look at each other’s sheets and copy”). Because they were trying so hard, they were really benefiting from it, and learning and proper English writing practice was actually happening. They also really enjoyed the quiz at the end, but it was hilarious because the kids would giveaway the answer by doing huge reactions when they realised it was them the hints were about – they’d just let “HEY IT’S ME” slip out (loudly), or laugh, or cover their face, or put their heads on their desk, so the answers were always way too obvious! Their teacher did a little impromptu game of his own at the end where he would spell out someone’s name, but mix up the order so that the kids had to listen and take down notes of what letters were being said, and then piece the name together. The kids loved this game too, but it was always the kids who go to cram school who got the answers the fastest.

Lunch today was seaweed rice, seaweed and egg soup, tofu and pork, and deep fried fish. I ate with 6-2 today and it was pretty cute because one kid who’s one of the quieter ones just suddenly struck up a conversation with me after I asked him a few questions, and he was like “I turned 12 today” to which I was like “AYE IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY?” and then he said that his dad will buy him a cake and has given him birthday money and stuff like that. Cute. I just found it super interesting that he burst into conversation all of a sudden. He was telling me about his family, his house, everything. I think it might be because he’s kind of a loner in the class? But he’s a sweet kid. Cleaning time was very successful today because the kids were in a bit of a partner dilemma when I got there, but I was able to sort them out so that felt great! It also helped that the usually moody girl and boy were both in good moods today – the dilemma was that they ended up being paired together, but they were like “We can’t be cleaning partners cause we’ll argue/fight” so bluntly. But I sorted it out by having them clean separately (both starting at opposite ends) and they were just like “OH YEA THAT WORKS” and cleaned quietly. I loved it. It was also really heartwarming to see a lot of kids walking by already grabbing the new English board worksheets! Once the 2nd graders had finished cleaning, they were all crowding around the board as well, and grabbing the level 3 wordfinds (meant for Grades 5 and 6) before I stepped in and pointed them towards the level 1 ones. I just love my school’s kids, they’re all so full of energy. I doubt they all knew what the words on the worksheets meant, but they all just grab it excitedly anyway. It’s like in class when they don’t know the answer they’ll still put their hands up haha.

Spent the spare 5th and 6th periods organising stuff for the new school year. I still have a ton of annual leave left that I need to use up (otherwise they’ll disappear) so I was checking the school calendar to see which days might be best to take leave. Got off work at 16:00 and popped by Daiso to get some origami paper for the 6th graders’ picture books, then went home.