After several requests from many people to continue to write, I’ve decided to force myself to do it. It is exhausting keeping up with everything. Sometimes I feel like I’m living in two different worlds. Oh wait! I am. I love being here and living life here. I don’t want to miss anything. It’s hard to make myself sit down and just write or journal or e-mail. I have kept up with e-mails pretty well, but other than that, it’s been a little more effort. I’ll get off my “soap box,” as Christa would say.
I think I will take you on a little journey in the day of my life in China. How shall I start? Once upon a time… nah! When I get up in the morning… (TMI) (This is why I don’t enjoy writing. I struggle sometimes!) Well, most days I get up around 5:45 when the sun is just arriving in Japan (or thereabouts). Then I hop in the shower and get myself pumped up for the day. This part is a necessity, because I am with 6 -8 year-olds all day! After pumpin’ it up, I walk my 4 minute walk to school and go visit the mail room. Usually there is nothing in my box in the morning. Nobody else is at school at 7:30 (because school starts at 8:30), but I like to have time to sit in the classroom and review my lesson plans before I jump into “teacher mode.” Martha, my mentor, friend and co-teacher that I share a classroom with usually gets to school around the same time. We get to share, encourage and bounce ideas off each other. Without her, I’m pretty sure I would have no creative juices flowing in this now short-haired head of mine! Usually there is a meeting in the morning (except for Tuesdays), so I attend that. Occasionally I have before and after school duty. Duties are no fun! I mean, I guess they’re alright, but I just hate watching over 100 kids by myself! Too much liability!
2nd grade is the first class I get to go into in the mornings. I teach reading for an hour to the mid-level reading group. I have a few ELL (English Language Learners), and a few native English speakers. It sure is a fun group…ALL BOYS! It’s a little rowdy at times, but they sure do say some funny stuff. I get a break after the first hour of teaching, while the kids go to their special area and morning recess.
I head into 1st grade next to facilitate reading groups 4 and 5 (out of 6). I love the kids in my groups. They say some of the funniest things! Lunch and recess is my intermission between 1st grade reading and 1st grade writing. It’s really such a blessing to see children progress so much in their writing. I now only have to remind them every once in awhile to put the period at the end. AND they can identify the “naming” part of the sentence (or subject) and the “telling” part of the sentence (or predicate).
My afternoons are a bit crazy. I go straight from 1st grade writing to 2nd grade CLS (Content Language Support), which is where I pull the 7 ELL students out and work with them for 30 minutes. It’s really such a short time. It’s hard to get much done. I find that the days when I just focus on one skill, is the day when I feel most productive with the kids. There’s just too much to cover though! I have to remember to have fun and enjoy teaching the little things. If I cover them more extensively, they’ll be more likely to retain the information in the future. After CLS, I take the 2nd grade ELL’s back to 2nd grade and I help Lisa with writing. Finally, at 2:20, my day is finished and I have planning until 3:30. However, most teachers know that “planning” never means that you get to actually sit down and plan. NOPE! I end up covering for other teachers, testing children, pulling them out again to work on something, etc.
That’s my fun, exhaustive day at school (while the students are still there). AFTER the students leave I grade papers, talk to other teachers, attend meetings, go to Chinese class, plan my lessons, write e-mails, clean up the classroom, go through some files and talk to parents.
Usually after I leave school, which ends up being around 5:30 or 6 (but has gone until 7…once), I go eat dinner with some of the young female teachers here. It’s nice to get on my bike at the end of the day and just ride for a half hour for food! Haha. I get to enjoy that same ride back after I’m fed and satisfied too. It’s a great way to end the day. That is primarily why I don’t get on my computer every night, and especially why I don’t write! Actually, I haven’t even read much. I love to read. What’s wrong with me? I did get to finish a book over the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. That was an accomplishment.
Okay…I’ve written enough for today…especially since I’m writing at school. I knew I wouldn’t do it when I went home, so I decided that I would type here and then publish it later. I’m sure I’ll get more writing done this way. I’ll make it part of my job.
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