My students are adorable. Each time I think the next thing in my life might not be a good fit for me, I find myself in a new situation that in many ways is full of blessings. Teaching preschool has been this way for me. Although I have been a "preschool teacher" since last summer, I am actually teaching 5-year-olds to speak, read, listen and interact in their second language to at least the Kindergarten-1st grade level within months. This is not preschool where you let kids run free with blocks and annoying musical toys; no, this is school where students sit and walk in rows, where their sentences are complete, and where their schedules are planned to the minute. These little minds are so young, so small, so impressionable, and each day they blow me away with their abilities.
Plus, they are so cute!
They are full of energy!
They always work so hard. Look at that coloring!
They pretend they are sleeping so I will come tickle them.
They make funny faces when they are tired of sitting in their chairs.
They are sometimes camera shy.
They are always happy and cheery!
They listen well.
They relax - a little.
They take pride in their work.
They love my camera
They make me laugh daily
In fact, this little one above blew me away with his English on the first day. He even requested his favorite song, which is of course "Pumpkin, Pumpkin." Here he is, for you, singing his song very quickly. :)
And at the end of the day they go home with little backpacks, reminding me of bubble bees.
I am so blessed to have such a lovely group of students.
The end of February in South Korea means the end of the school year. Now in the month of March, it feels funny to refer to my students as "my students from last year," and yet that is the reality.
Though I taught two preschool classes each morning, my homeroom class was my favorite, primarily because they felt like "my" students. Our classroom name was Spruce, so these students were my Spruce Class students. There were eleven adorable kiddos in this class that made my day each time I walked into the classroom.
Throughout our final week of school before graduation, I brought my camera into class and attempted to capture them in pictures and videos and much as possible. I feel as a teacher you are always looking towards the next step, or goal, and you are often too busy to look back for long. But when students shuffle through to the next grade and leave you behind, you can't help but miss them and think back.
Emily and Emma, posing for me while on a hallway scavenger hunt
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Four of my kids making faces while we waited for all the preschool classes to join us for a performance.
They had to wait a long time, so they turned into zombies.
My students, all hard at work and happy about it.
One of my dearest students was in love with our theme of world geography. For one month we learned about all the continents and many countries around the world. We made crafts, danced to world music, colored flags, and learned to identify places on a map. This is one student showing off his mad geography skills.
We were in the midst of a classroom survey, and one student wrote this all by herself. Pretty impressive for a 6-year-old.
And when they are not running around making funny faces or taking classroom surveys, they are practicing their monthly recital. Here it is for your enjoyment:
And that is my Spruce Class. I miss them already, but thankfully I still get to see their smiling, excited faces in the hallways when they come down from their Kindergarten classes. I think they still love me - I sure love them!
