Today I accidentally came up with a great activity for the 1st graders; rather than making them do another pointless coloring sheet, I decided to branch out. While I was looking for games online, I found "Memory." And that's what sparked the epiphany. The primary teachers had begun to introduce the concept of past tense verbs the week before, but students hadn't had much of a chance to do anything with it. And so, I decided they would write the eight most used verbs in present tense and past simple on little pieces of paper... And then they would play "Memory" with them. Um, brilliant. I wasn't sure how it would go over with the 6 year olds, but I was hopeful.
What I didn't expect was the incredible success it turned out to be! The kids got really into creating their verb cards - writing the words, checking their own spelling, cutting - and couldn't wait to play the game! I kept points of the board of how many times each student successfully completed the game, and this really sent them into a tither! Most commonly used verbs in past simple? Yeah, memorized. Booyah!!!!!!! And no, the kids had NO idea they were learning ANYTHING. To me, THAT is the true marker of success. ;) They had so much fun they begged to take it home to play, and in Laura's 1st grade class, she even assigned playing the game with their parents as their homework!
Hell. Yeah. #Iamabamf
Anyway, after school it was Nacho time. His mom was on a field trip, so it was just him and his dad (whocouldbeJuanes'identicaltwinholycrap)! His dad brought the most delicious and freshly cut Spanish ham with those baby breadsticks for Nacho's snack... And when Nacho decided he was full, his dad let me eat the rest. OM NOM NOM NOM.
I tell ya, Spanish ham is really something you gotta get accustomed to... But when you do, and when I find some really quality ham? Best. Meat. Ever. It's so flavorful and succulent and rich and oily and perfect. Damn.
After Nacho's class I was prepared to leave, but the dad told me to stay and just give him a private lesson even though the mom wasn't there. And so I got paid to just hang out and talk to about whatever.
Sometimes, my job is surreal. You simply hang out and shoot the shit with cool people... and get money when you leave. o_O Sometimes I really question if these people should even be paying me, but then I realize, the ability I have to make "classes" seem so chill and fun is precisely what makes me a great conversation teacher. And that's when I decide this is kind of the definition of a dream job: having such a great time doing it that even if you weren't to ever get paid for it again, you'd still love it and do it just as much. ^_^ Sure, there are shitty days, but on the whole I feel so lucky! <3
Patty had to cancel class, so I spent the night watching Master Chef in Spanish with Marianna. :) Hahaha. The thing with watching a movie or TV in Spanish is that you need a five or ten minute language shift period. Once you have gotten through those first few minutes of straining your brain and mass confusion and frustration, a small breakthrough happens and after you watch the movie or program, you can't even remember if it was in English or Spanish... And boy is THAT feeling weird!!!!! It's not that I understand every single thing they say, but it's I've gotten really good at gathering the general idea at all times and if I just can't understand something, my mind just moves past it without a care. It's like a linguistic superpower which takes months and months of semi-immersion to cultivate and hone.
And that was my day. :) Not bad for a Tuesday!
XOXO
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