Renacuajos and a Convert

Today was a good day at the early childhood center. I finally managed to convert the only Maestra Jenna-hater into a Maestra Jenna-lover (well, maybe not love but at least he somewhat likes me now). This one little boy has been getting under my skin since day 1. He's pretty unintelligible and he uses some random English phrases and also likes to say mean things to me in taunt-y ways. One day he said (in English): you are so dumb. The other day he said something about "chica fea" (ugly girl). Usually I can't tell what exactly he's saying but I know he's insulting me. We finally had a little chat today when he said something mean to me. I told him that I want to be his friend and I'm sad when he uses bad words towards me and that he needs to be respectful (good thing he's young because I explained my hurt feelings in pretty basic Spanish since I didn't typically have these conversations in Spain to know the appropriate vocabulary and verb tenses). After that, he perked up and became a much nicer kid. Later in the day he even addressed me and said something nice. My goal before the end of the semester was to win him over - check!

In the Spanish classroom they have been learning about growing; first seeds, then baby chicks, and now frogs. Today they had tadpoles (AKA renacuajos - seriously, my Spanish vocabulary is growing exponentially) that were already being converted into frogs. When the kids went to centers, I went straight to the science center to have a look. These renacuajos were sweet - they were mostly these long swimmy things but then, bam, it has 2 legs, too. I have never seen this marvel before so I was just as intrigued as the kids. I hope those things are still around on Monday so I can check them out again and see if more legs or frog-like characteristics have sprouted.

Early 90's TV Has a Permanent Home in My Brain

I was watching an episode of Boy Meets World today (thanks for suggesting that, TiVo) when I heard a familiar-ish sounding voice. I looked up to see a woman playing a teacher on the show. She was tall, skinny, and had voluminous dark hair. After hearing a few more sentences, I thought, Hmm, she sounds and looks like Nurse Jennifer from Saved by the Bell. My curiosity (and lack of report-writing motivation) enticed me to see if it was the same actress (Nancy Valen) and it was. Then I thought about how amazing (and a bit sad) it was that I could immediately place her as being on Saved by the Bell (best show ever) and that I knew the name of the character she appeared as only ONCE in a single episode. No wonder my brain has no more capacity for useful information

Praxis Prep

During the first half of the semester, when I didn't really have class, my friend Katherine and I would go to lunch every Thursday. After eating, we headed to Legends to study for our last certification exam (Praxis) and to throw back a couple $2 drafts. Many of the bartenders know us and we both have our preferred drinks. Since starting our internships, we haven't been able to do this so tonight we decided to revive our Thursday study session at Legends. Our corner study booth was taken and we didn't want to sit next to each other awkwardly at a table to look at the books, so we sat at the bar to study. We reminisced about how much we enjoyed our Legends Luncheons and were happy to have one last cram session at our favorite study place. That is one thing I will definitely miss about college: being able to study...in a bar...and have a couple beers in the middle of the day.

Anecdotes From My Amigitos

As my last post was somewhat negative, I wanted to point out some positive things about my internships, particularly the ones that involve Spanish-speaking kids. Two days a week I am at an early childhood center for children ages 3-4 where I only work with kids in the Spanish class. One day a week I am at an elementary school and work with bilingual kids. Let me just say that Spanish kids are adorable. Some of the things they do I would consider annoying or bratty but because they're being annoying and bratty while speaking Spanish, it's cute...most of the time. Here are some of my recent stories/highlights:

• My Spanish has improved EXPONENTIALLY. More than I thought possible. I really feel like I'm at the same level I was when I left Spain and that's saying something considering I studied abroad 3 years ago. The kids understand me and I understand them.*
• *One of my first days we had this kid and for the life of me I could not understand what he was saying except for a word or so in a long string of words. Then I found out that he speaks jargon most of the time. Mystery solved and self-confidence boosted.
  
• Today, I went over the goals I wrote for a child's IEP (individualized education plan for you non-education folks) and I did it in Spanish.
• Today I worked with a little girl on her initial /s/ sound and /l/ blends. /s/ is super hard for her and I made her work hard. Her /l/ blends were coming along nicely and I asked her if she had fun when I walked her back to her class. Her response: "lo encante!" = I loved it! Score one for maestra Jenna.
• I love that I can be called by my first name at these schools. I get called a myriad of things: Jenna, Seniorita Jenna, maestra (teacher), and maestra Jenna.
• The kids think I'm funny. I know I'm goofy with kids but I'm glad it translates across languages. They were quite amused by my fireman voice and telling of The 3 Little Pigs. I was also told that I was crazy.
  
• I have one kid that I just adore (there are plenty I love, but this kid especially) - he has a cute little faux hawk and doesn't have many words but for some reason, he responds really well to me and seems to like me. He usually tries to get me to play with him or sit by him when we come into the classroom.
  
• Last week, I was working on categorization with a little boy and I asked him where parrots live thinking he would say in the rain forest or in the jungle. Instead he responded with something unintelligible ending in "barco" which is boat. So I'm thinking, what the heck is this kid talking about and he kept telling me that parrots live on boats. Then I heard the word for pirate and realized that he was right. Apparently I'm not up on my pirate knowledge.
• Today, a kid was going on and on (in Spanish) about how sharks live in the water and they eat fish and people. The other kid looked afraid but it was an entertaining tale of all things sharks.
• Last but not least, I was in the classroom today playing with a child when another one looked at me weird and said "porque hablas espanol?" (Why do you speak Spanish?) I was wondering when one of these kids would point out that I was white. Not knowing what to say, I asked him why he spoke Spanish and then the SLP asked him if he asked me this question because I have lighter hair and skin. He said no but I think he lied.
  

The Early Bird Gets...Tired

I have recently started my school internship which is basically student teaching. This means that I have to wake up at 6:30 am. I don't want to be all complain-y about it, but I blame college. College takes people who have been in the school routine for 13 years and ruins them. In college, you can take naps in the middle of the day, you have constant access to email/internet even in class, and you can eat snacks whenever you want. Now, I am forced to get up before the sun, pack my lunch and only eat it at the specified time, and not check my 22 new emails a day until I get home. For the first half of the semester, I got up at 8 or 9 every day, laid around a lot, did some occasional school work, hung out with my friends all the time, and went to bed around midnight. Now, I am extremely tired when I get home from school and try to go to bed before 11 but my body clock does its best to resist these attempts at an early bed time. I have a feeling this "early to bed, early to rise" situation will get better with time, but for now, I look forward to the days (like today) that I have off when I sleep til 10 just because I can. I have new-found respect for people who have jobs that require them to get up early. Kudos to you, please teach me your tricks.