Dearest readers,
I've finally finished my video project documenting my time here in Boruca. It's set to 'Love' by Sugarland, which has been one of my songs of the year. I had it on my mp3 player when I flew to Central America, and I plan to listen to it on my way out, too.
Here's the video:
Enjoy!
R
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Life is Good, and I Have Photographic Proof!
Dear everyone,
Happy October!
The leaves are not turning, the winter is not coming, the wind does not promise snow anytime soon. But the Costa Rican rains have arrived in force, lulling me to sleep, sometimes pulling me awake, drowning out lessons, seeping into houses and classrooms and supposedly sealed shoes, and leaving the roads and paths an oozingly fertile mess of mud and grass and gravel. As I write this, in fact, curled up under a blanket with my belly full of tea and fresh pineapple, the rain is roaring down on the roof above me.
Life is good, and for many reasons.
My after-school girls' group has become the thing I'm most proud of from all of my time here in Costa Rica. It's for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade girls, once a week after school (though I might make it twice a week if they want to.) I lead them in physical games, brain games, and activities designed to make them think about themselves, their agency, and their futures. Last week, for example, I had them draw a person and then all the characteristics they like about themselves--first, on the inside of the figure, everything they like about their personalities and hearts, and then, on the outside, all of the things they like about their bodies (an activity i learned in austria, actually). Then, we did a 'group juggling' activity in a circle with beanbags, and afterwards we made an obstacle course out of the classroom using chairs, desks,and string and the girls had to help each other across it in pairs (one blindfolded but still able to speak, the other able to see but not speak.) Another time, we wrote stories together as a group and read them aloud. Here are some pictures of the girls reading the stories aloud and cracking up:
... moral of the story, with my girls' group I feel like I'm truly helping these kids. I'm giving them not only something productive and fun to do after school, but helping them hone skills like working in a team and being kind or at least a bit more positive to themselves (hopefully!) ... so many of them spend so much time in front of TVs when they're not in school, and I think we all benefit from being together in a relaxed, fun, cooperative environment. Plus, this is a very patriarchial society, so it's important for young women to have a place they can feel safe to be themselves. ....it's worth noting that some of my male students have since started asking me when we can have an all boys' group!...but as I am not a boy, that would be a bit more difficult.
I recently videotaped myself teaching one of my first-grade classes as homework for the TEFL certificate I'm completing. I loved the results and wanted to share some stills with all of you so that you can imagine what my classroom is like down here in Central America. Here's circle time:
(we're singing 'one little, two little,three little airplanes')
...then, practicing the body parts with the hokey pokey (you put your HEAD in, you put your HEAD out...):
The next picture cracks me up. After circle time, we move to the corner and do the date and the weather. In this picture, I've just asked 'who wants to write...' to see who wants to help me with the day, month, and number of the day on the chalkboard. The kids LOVE to write on the board, as you can tell by all the hands that shot into the air!
Here's a more 'classic' picture of me at the blackboard:
aaand last but not least, a picture of us playing a movement game to practice the shapes they've been learning (I LOVE this picture!)
....soooo there you have it! In closing, I'd like to share with you a status update that I posted to my facebook page recently:
I love my students. I love my classroom. I love that it is recess and there are second graders and fifth graders playing with magnets and tangrams and reading books and eating and singing along to the music I've put on in the background. I love my colored chalk. I love the past tense. I love the present tense. I love the present. I love my life
:)
besitos!
Raquelita
Happy October!
The leaves are not turning, the winter is not coming, the wind does not promise snow anytime soon. But the Costa Rican rains have arrived in force, lulling me to sleep, sometimes pulling me awake, drowning out lessons, seeping into houses and classrooms and supposedly sealed shoes, and leaving the roads and paths an oozingly fertile mess of mud and grass and gravel. As I write this, in fact, curled up under a blanket with my belly full of tea and fresh pineapple, the rain is roaring down on the roof above me.
Life is good, and for many reasons.
My after-school girls' group has become the thing I'm most proud of from all of my time here in Costa Rica. It's for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade girls, once a week after school (though I might make it twice a week if they want to.) I lead them in physical games, brain games, and activities designed to make them think about themselves, their agency, and their futures. Last week, for example, I had them draw a person and then all the characteristics they like about themselves--first, on the inside of the figure, everything they like about their personalities and hearts, and then, on the outside, all of the things they like about their bodies (an activity i learned in austria, actually). Then, we did a 'group juggling' activity in a circle with beanbags, and afterwards we made an obstacle course out of the classroom using chairs, desks,and string and the girls had to help each other across it in pairs (one blindfolded but still able to speak, the other able to see but not speak.) Another time, we wrote stories together as a group and read them aloud. Here are some pictures of the girls reading the stories aloud and cracking up:
... moral of the story, with my girls' group I feel like I'm truly helping these kids. I'm giving them not only something productive and fun to do after school, but helping them hone skills like working in a team and being kind or at least a bit more positive to themselves (hopefully!) ... so many of them spend so much time in front of TVs when they're not in school, and I think we all benefit from being together in a relaxed, fun, cooperative environment. Plus, this is a very patriarchial society, so it's important for young women to have a place they can feel safe to be themselves. ....it's worth noting that some of my male students have since started asking me when we can have an all boys' group!...but as I am not a boy, that would be a bit more difficult.
I recently videotaped myself teaching one of my first-grade classes as homework for the TEFL certificate I'm completing. I loved the results and wanted to share some stills with all of you so that you can imagine what my classroom is like down here in Central America. Here's circle time:
...then, practicing the body parts with the hokey pokey (you put your HEAD in, you put your HEAD out...):
The next picture cracks me up. After circle time, we move to the corner and do the date and the weather. In this picture, I've just asked 'who wants to write...' to see who wants to help me with the day, month, and number of the day on the chalkboard. The kids LOVE to write on the board, as you can tell by all the hands that shot into the air!
Here's a more 'classic' picture of me at the blackboard:
aaand last but not least, a picture of us playing a movement game to practice the shapes they've been learning (I LOVE this picture!)
....soooo there you have it! In closing, I'd like to share with you a status update that I posted to my facebook page recently:
I love my students. I love my classroom. I love that it is recess and there are second graders and fifth graders playing with magnets and tangrams and reading books and eating and singing along to the music I've put on in the background. I love my colored chalk. I love the past tense. I love the present tense. I love the present. I love my life
:)
besitos!
Raquelita
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