There are 2 summer semesters here in Thailand, one in October and one in April. Many families travel during this time but some continue to send their kids to school. I decided to teach the summer course mainly because an extra month salary sounds pretty good to me. The hours are shorter, the curriculum easier, and you get paid the same salary. Plus, I'm tied into another month at my apartment and if I teach I get my rent paid by the school. Basically, financially, everything works out. What's also kinda cool is that I get to teach older students, which is a nice change.
I actually still teach my K1 classes in the morning. The K1 students are required to start in the summer. This gives the kids, basically just out of the womb, time to acclimate to the classroom. I see each of my 11 classes, of 36 students each, once a week in the mornings. This is way harder then I imagined because these kids are so green that they don't even parrot yet. So, it's basically me standing in front of gaggles of googling 2-3 year olds. Some are crying, some are soiling themselves, they don't understand a word I am saying, and I am probably the first white face they have seen in their lives. Its exhausting....it requires a lot of singing and clapping, which the kids love. It includes making funny faces and basically acting like a clown for a full 60 minutes. I give them a worksheet that requires tracing the letters A-F and coloring, and there might be a handful out of the near 400 students that can actually handle it.
But in the afternoons I get an hour and a half with only a handful of first graders. I see them every day, so I get to really get to know them, and them me. Because they have a basic understanding of English, we get to play games, and I can actually teach them lessons and see them grasp the concepts of when to use A vs AN or plurals vs singular and so on. This is exactly the kind of teaching I imagined myself doing when I decided to come here, and I'm happy to be getting this chance. My kids names are Nan, Graph, Pancake and Auntra. Nan is a sweetheart. She is so well behaved. Her opposite is Pancake. She is the epitome of a handful. Graph is an excellent artist and really smart. Auntra is a little slower than the rest but he tries hard and is adorable. Unfortunately he is always sick and drippy.
In the 2nd half of the month I will also take on a fourth grade class twice a week. Graph's sister is in my fourth grade class and she is smart as well.
I actually still teach my K1 classes in the morning. The K1 students are required to start in the summer. This gives the kids, basically just out of the womb, time to acclimate to the classroom. I see each of my 11 classes, of 36 students each, once a week in the mornings. This is way harder then I imagined because these kids are so green that they don't even parrot yet. So, it's basically me standing in front of gaggles of googling 2-3 year olds. Some are crying, some are soiling themselves, they don't understand a word I am saying, and I am probably the first white face they have seen in their lives. Its exhausting....it requires a lot of singing and clapping, which the kids love. It includes making funny faces and basically acting like a clown for a full 60 minutes. I give them a worksheet that requires tracing the letters A-F and coloring, and there might be a handful out of the near 400 students that can actually handle it.
But in the afternoons I get an hour and a half with only a handful of first graders. I see them every day, so I get to really get to know them, and them me. Because they have a basic understanding of English, we get to play games, and I can actually teach them lessons and see them grasp the concepts of when to use A vs AN or plurals vs singular and so on. This is exactly the kind of teaching I imagined myself doing when I decided to come here, and I'm happy to be getting this chance. My kids names are Nan, Graph, Pancake and Auntra. Nan is a sweetheart. She is so well behaved. Her opposite is Pancake. She is the epitome of a handful. Graph is an excellent artist and really smart. Auntra is a little slower than the rest but he tries hard and is adorable. Unfortunately he is always sick and drippy.
In the 2nd half of the month I will also take on a fourth grade class twice a week. Graph's sister is in my fourth grade class and she is smart as well.
 Auntra drawing S words |  Nan and Auntar |
Auntra, Nan and Graph
One day I showed them how to make paper airplanes. I did a contest where they could earn points by answering questions about the lesson. Each point gave them a throw at a bullseye on the board. They could win candy with each throw. They loved the planes and loved the game.
 Nan, Pancake and Auntra seeing whose plane would go the farthest |  Pancake |
Teacher Kristen and Auntra
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