First Week Highlights

Here are some highlights from the first week:

• We have an opening and closing circle time, after which the students are excused to wash their hands for breakfast and lunch. To reduce chaos at the sink, we have "excusal songs" The first one is: The Friend Song (to the tune of Skip to my Lou"

I have a friend with a _____ (red shirt on, bow in her hair, stripes on his pants, etc)
I have a friend with________
I have a friend with__________
And his/her name is_______ (insert name)
Since most of my students are native spanish speakers, it's a great language opportunity to discuss colors, stripes, buttons, etc. And it's fun to see look around to see who we are singing about. One morning we were singing about a girl with earrings, and a little boy piped up, "I have an earring, too!"

Here is the closing "excusal song"
Willaby Willaby (weather) an elephant sat on Heather (move on to next child)
I brought my large stuffed elephant from home and when I sing it to them I throw it to them, and they toss it back to me. I initally thought the elephant might be a problem, that they would hold on to it, but so far so good! I suppose throwing is more fun!

And I use a cowbell to get their attention- hopefully it is not in the same category as the bosn' whistle and Sound of Music- I try to be humane about it!

One day we had tuna fish sandwiches for lunch, and one of my native ESL boys took it apart and looked at it curiously before asking me, "What this?" I didn't know the word for "tuna fish" in Spanish, so I said, "It's pescado" (fish) Oh, OK. Smile, keep eating! Perhaps I should speak more English and less Spanish, but I such a bang out of conversing in a foreign tongue with a 4 year old. And sometimes directions in Spanish (sit down, we are not playing right now, eat your food please)- go over better in Spanish.