Magic.

I did a dreadful class with year one, I need to stand back and think again especially while my colleague is off. She was bereaved on Friday, her mother buried according to tradition straight away at the weekend and she is now off work in mourning. Apparently we will visit tomorrow, for which I am pleased as it would be good to see her.  Anyway  so I knew today I would be alone and had a sort of strategy and it sort of worked (giving each group something to play with whilst I worked my way round,) but I feel that it is very same old same old  and that those who put themselves forward are moving forward but that I never get the chance to do what I saw the Kyrgyz teacher do later and just stand in front of them get their attention and give them the  information they need and then get the chance to go round to each of them, or that I get to do anything more interesting with them.

Luckily the music teacher popped in to give them their words for the festival but seeing their slightly unruly behaviour with me, yelled at them and told them why it was important that they behave and practice. ,So though I have tried saying to them this is why we are practising over and over, I think his words got through to most of them them who having realised that they did not know their words then made an effort to remember them. One or two includes including the newly bereaved  grand-daughter,  were very good.  Practice over we went back to trying to get to grips with furniture words and in, on, under. However, I was disappointed that when I showed the two boys a related book neither of them were interested, all that they wanted to do was do another page and keep going.

The kids here love paper work, there may be some learning in it, it is like being given a giant quiz book and just being unleashed with it, but I am trying to install some of the underlying language so that they are actually answering things correctly. . So being half way through their book I split the year 0 kids into two groups one doing a worksheet from another more advanced book and one working with me, separating the letters into groups. Some of the girls were good at the latter, but one boy went into a complete strop until I awapped the activities around and gave them their work sheet. That I was able to get two tables sat down doing two different activities though is huge progress at the beginning of the month this is the kind of thing that caused a riot.   And after followed a lovely lovely moment. I have finally got a copy of The Snowman to show the children the story that they are doing in miniature. I could not stay to watch the whole thing with them but the 10 minutes I did watch them was absolutely magical. It has no language so it is perfect for them.  And they laughed in understanding.  The boy who used to have a lot of behavioural issues imitated the making of The Snowman just as we are doing in our play. One girl  sat just finishing her page was stopped mesmerized, another little boy, who is often very quiet, was even quieter he was so transfixed.   They were engrossed as I tip toed out and later when I saw their teacher, I could tell that even she had been affected by its magic.

I saw her later as it turned out today we got round to celebrating her birthday and the birthday of the woman who helps out in the kitchen and with the cleaning.(Their actual birthday was late November)  So I have yet again had a vodka fueled afternoon. I am beginning to like this tradition of toasting the birthday person as I was able to acknowledge how much my being there puts onto the year 0 teacher, but that sometimes like today working together is magical.