The Center: First days of classes

I arrived the first day of Center over a half an hour early, and kids were already lined up outside the door, waiting to come in!  When the kiddos first walked in the door, they were greeted with smiling Shelby, a Center volunteer who helps them wash their hands.  Then they all ran around, exploring The Center and playing with their Center friends from previous years.

Most of the kids knew each other from the last two years of Center, so they were immediately more comfortable with something familiar in an unfamiliar place.

4th grade

The first day of school I team taught 4th grade with Naida, one of the other Bolivian teachers on staff.  The original plan was for Naida and I to team teach my old class of third graders, but during enrollment, only 2 of my old students signed up for classes this year.  During the Sunday enrollment, we decided to open The Center up to 4th grade as well.

                                                                                Neida and I played a couple games outside with the 4th graders, practicing left and right with chalk on the patio, and played musical chairs with the ringtones on my cellphone.  The kids had a great time, enjoying the new space and getting to move around during tutoring.

After the first day of class, we opened up second 3rd grade class, primarily with my old students, which meant I got to work with my kids again.  It also meant I didn't have a classroom, as we only had 2 classrooms and 1 large room available for the 5 classes.  I held class out on the patio in the middle of dogs barking, kids running around at recess, and the construction noise of the workers welding metal on the second floor.  I loved being with my kiddos again, but it was quite a challenge!

Despite all the construction supplies and rubble filling one of the bottom floor rooms, the kids still had a good time playing foosball with a small lemon for a ball.  By Friday of the first week, we were finally able to clean out all the bags of plaster, styrofoam and other materials and deep clean the floor so I could move my class into a place with 4 walls!  I still don't have a door or windows, which means noise from recess on the patio and construction still interferes, but I can finally store materials in my classroom and be a much more effective teacher.