Spanglish Lessons begin

Wow, I feel like Im Flying!!
Thursday we gave our first class alone totally in Spanish teaching Ecology to the toughest of audiences..... thirty 11yr olds kids. It was a bit like dying a slow and painful death, we had a guide line of what we needed to say but I couldnt think on my feet quick enough for them. I didnt really understand the English Version totally so the Spanish was tough. I had been asured that I would just be an assistant and that I didnt need to give the class but this was a big fat lie, and from a charity organisation too!!!! I looked around the class at one point at lots of little hands waving in the air and I had a moment where it sounded like they had all decided to speak in German as I joke, I just didnt understand a word they were saying!!

Deep breath!! Friday however, was a different story all together.
I decided to take matters into my own hands and if I was to be the teacher delivering the lesson I needed to be prepared. So I needed everything I would want to ask the kids translated, including my introduction if i got stuck as well as every animal I could think of so I would have them to hand.
After 4 long hours I emerged from my bedroom my head in a spin and I gathered my family togther in the kitchen. They were to be.... my test audience. They sat at the kitchen table listening as I explained Ecology, Ecosystems and Habitats and pretended to write on the black board and ask them questions, Antonio the father thought It was hilarious when I told him he would have to wait outside the class if he kept talking to his wife while I was speaking.
I had to make a few changes of course but on the whole they understood and thought it was great especially my over enthusiastic animal impressions.
So on Friday morning when the bell went at 7.30am myself and Anna the other volunteer marched into our new classroom with purpose, my globe and torch in hand!!

It went fantastically, what a reaction, they even understood my explaination and demonstration of the world spinning and the fact that when its the day in Guatemala its night in India, for this I used my globe and the big new heavy mag light Id bought in London to double up as a self defense wepon if needed.
I did the whole thing in Spaninsh and it felt amazing. The director of the school Samual who is in his 70's and was in retirement until our school was half destroyed came to watch the class aswell. I think one of the teachers had let slip that we were a bit rubish the day before so he came to witness our humiliation for himself.

Of course I felt under even more pressure when he was there so I didnt let on that I had no idea what the kids were saying back to me. We were playing a game where I throw the ball and when they catch it they have to name an animal, where its lives and what it would eat. As I said I had looked up all the animals but of course those little overactive imaginations thought up new ones for us that I had no Idea about. So with no other option, I congratulated them, repeated the word with enthusiasm and said Y donde Vibe ese animal, y que come ese animal my bien muy bien. They could have been naming a hoover or egg timer for all I knew but It sounded right and they went along with it.
It was all so much fun, Ive thought about nothing else all weekend and I cant wait till Tuesday Morning for our next class. It will be the 3rd time we give the same lesson but to another class and so we will be very well practised by then.



This is the second part of the 4hr class when each group chooses a habitat and we all get to colour in for 2hrs, ah what a relief!!!! Am so much better with colouring pencils and a bit of glitter!!



and thse are the kids with my little globe!!

I have definately found the thing that I soooooooooo love doing that I have decided to give myself a further challenge by training up next week to teach Dylexia Mind Gym. This will be a weeks training but at the end of it I will be able to be....

... an English Dyslexic teacher teaching Spainsh Dyslexic kids about the world!!!!!

You couldn't make this stuff up!!!!!