ETC Card Reader Installed!

Woke up at 7:10am, had cereal for breakfast, then set off for school. My car still hasn’t come back from the dealer yet, so I’m still using the cute replacement car. It was super cute during 1st period, because the 1st and 2nd graders were doing an orientation-like thing around school, so they were all coming in their little groups to the staffroom. They’re all so adorable – the 2nd graders were holding the 1st graders hands, and when they all saw me they were calling softly (since they’re in the staffroom) “Jaimeeeee-senseeeeeeei” and crowding around my desk to see me working haha. Had class with 1-1 in period 2, and it was super cute, because they couldn't understand the game at all today. They did the songs extremely well though, singing so loud that they drowned out the CD and sang slower than the song haha. It was too adorable, their teacher and I had to hold in our laughter. 1-1 is a very well behaved class. Even though they didn’t understand the game, they were still trying to play along very quietly. Their teacher helped suggest different ways to play the game. As we were playing it, she slowly remembered how they played it last year. Doing any group/teamwork activities in 1st grade is still a bit too early, as they’re not used to discussing opinions and deciding stuff with each other yet. Found 1-2’s teacher in the 15 minute break and told her about the change in how we do the game.

The lesson ended up being perfect in 1-2 because of the game method change. We played concentration instead, and the kids got so excited and happy whenever they got a match. They were all focusing and trying so hard, I think we all felt a little tired towards the end of the lesson! 5-2 in period 4 and it was a super great lesson. They all seem to have so much passion for learning English (just eager in all aspects?) and they seem to have a lot of fun too, so I’m always really happy whenever I’m teaching 5-2. Lunch with them again today too, and we had chicken curry and rice, and French salad. The kids I was sitting with today were hilarious – the two boys sitting next to me immediately started wolfing their food down, as soon as いただきます was said. They then each managed to get second helpings at least 3 times each. Amazing. 5-1 in period 5 and it was a really good lesson. We played the pointing game, and the missing game, and everyone was really participative. It was great to see everyone putting their hands up and trying. We had one glitch with the computer not working, so we had to skip watching the videos about different festivals/events around the world. We started on the alphabet writing worksheets instead, and it was good because I got to properly teach the kids the stroke order (the way some kids write their letters here is just hilariously adorable). The computer finally decided to start working in the last 5 minutes of class, so we got to watch one video clip (Brazil’s one). Spent the rest of the afternoon doing a little work, and then reading. The season of not being able to focus because of the warm temperatures has come! Got off work at 16:00. My car was returned to me today with the ETC card reader installed and all good to go!