Last Official Day of Teaching at San Ramon

It's absurd to think that yesterday was our last official day of teaching at San Ramon: especially because it was also the first day that I actually taught in my 2nd grade class!  

The morning started way too early for my liking with the van leaving By the Sea at 6:45am for our 45 minute commute to Dinalupihan.  Even after my full night's sleep, I was feeling wiped out and unexcited about the 2 lessons I had prepared for my classes.

We got to San Ramon Elementary and I headed to my first classroom: "Grade 3, SPED Fast".  As usual, I was greeted by the entire class in unison, "Good Morning, Ma'am Melissa! A blessed day to you! Mabuhay!"  Seeing all those smiling faces put me in a better mood immediately!  

I watched my co-teacher, Ma'am Khey, teach the first part of our lesson as I sat in the back, mentally going through my part.  When it was my turn, all the kids got jittery and turned their excited faces back to me in anticipation.  (They're very excited by visitors; especially, it seems, Americans).

As soon as I got to the front and set up my visuals I started feeling much more "in the zone".  It's amazing that teaching can induce the same feeling that takes over me in my art studio and makes me go for hours at a time.  The kids were very attentive and involved all the way through the lesson; we practiced using prefixes to create new words and played language games to drive it home.  

After the lesson, it was time for recess and merienda!  I ate some pansit and Pepsi!  Before I left, as per Filipino habit, we had to take pictures!

My co-teacher, Ma'am Khey!

Swarmed by Grade 3, SPED Fast!

 Some classes were taking advantage of the warm, sunny day to dry out some books and papers still soaked from the flood (which was  17 days earlier).

When I got to my next class, my co-teacher was still at the canteen finishing up her merienda, and the kids were in the room being a little crazy.  As soon as I walked in, one student came up and handed me a piece of paper.  That opened the floodgates (maybe too soon for that idiom?) and soon I had 40+ kids running at me and giving me hand-written notes!

Since they were all crowded into the back of the classroom watching me read the notes (and it was at least 95 degrees) I tried to think of something for them to do so they wouldn't be on top of me.  

Picture taking!!

The lesson went really well even though I was nervous about their attention spans.  When I observed them, they were very talkative and distracted.  During my lesson, it seemed like I had their attention (mostly) the whole time.  I taught them the difference between commands and requests by showing them different signs like "No Loading and Unloading" compared to "Please, Do Not Litter".  I had them repeat them in different voices: a nice, polite voice and an overbearing, commanding voice.  They had a lot of fun with it and they definitely learned the objectives!  Overall, it was a great lesson and I had a lot of fun with the kids! My co-teacher also seemed to enjoy it and told me the kids really loved it.

Grade 2 boys posing behind the huge pile of notes from the kids!

I'll have to do a separate post about the notes they gave me after I take pictures of them!  They're definitely a must-see!