First off, I'm so sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while...I've been kinda busy, so now I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm going to do things a little bit out of order. Abbie and Lindsey (my 2 roommates and friends from San Diego) came to visit for a week on Oct. 13. but I'll write about that later because I'm still waiting on some pictures...*hint*hint Abbie and Linds!:) So for now I'll write about 2 other big things that have happened. 
On Thursday Oct.25 our school celebrated United Nations Day by having a parade and a huge celebration at the school with performances and food. Each classroom was assigned a different country to represent, and all the kids were supposed to wear typical clothing from their country. Sara's class had the US and my class had the Philippines. As you can imagine from previous blogs, that meant very little teaching last week, and a lot of planning for this event. 
We spent all week, making banners to hold and represent our country for the parade and practicing our song/dances to perform.
Sara's class sang "This Land is Your Land," and I taught my kids (or rather, TRIED to) the "Tinikling Dance." These other pictures show performances for Japan and Cuba (yes that boy is dressed up as Che!).
Halfway through the week I just about gave up on teaching them the dance! For one, it was more difficult than I thought to get bamboo donated, so a lot of the practicing was done using 2 broom handles (which were way too short), not to mention teaching 2nd graders a dance they've never seen performed, much less even heard of, and the fact that I've never danced it myself, nor ever tried to teach it before!! I was trying to teach the kids one small group at a time, all while trying to keep the other 20 or so kids occupied and under control, and quiet enough so we could hear the music and beats of the song coming from my little laptop with no speakers! As you can imagine it was pretty crazy and stressful in the classroom. Somehow miraculously on Wednesday, a parent came in and gave me 2 bamboo sticks (I almost cried and hugged him I was sooo thankful), and somehow my kids finally did it! I had to REALLY simplify the steps, and change my plans on trying to get all 24 kids to have some part in the dance, but the important thing is that they did learn, they had fun, and everyone enjoyed it! The electricity in the neighborhood went out right when the performances were starting, so many classes didn't get to perform because by the time they got a generator (about 2 hours later), many of the students and families had already left. Some of my students who were supposed to be a part of our dance did leave, which explains why I'm on the floor holding the bamboo, and why only one couple was able to dance. You can click on this link to see a short video of my kids' performance:
Sara's class sang "This Land is Your Land," and I taught my kids (or rather, TRIED to) the "Tinikling Dance." These other pictures show performances for Japan and Cuba (yes that boy is dressed up as Che!).
Halfway through the week I just about gave up on teaching them the dance! For one, it was more difficult than I thought to get bamboo donated, so a lot of the practicing was done using 2 broom handles (which were way too short), not to mention teaching 2nd graders a dance they've never seen performed, much less even heard of, and the fact that I've never danced it myself, nor ever tried to teach it before!! I was trying to teach the kids one small group at a time, all while trying to keep the other 20 or so kids occupied and under control, and quiet enough so we could hear the music and beats of the song coming from my little laptop with no speakers! As you can imagine it was pretty crazy and stressful in the classroom. Somehow miraculously on Wednesday, a parent came in and gave me 2 bamboo sticks (I almost cried and hugged him I was sooo thankful), and somehow my kids finally did it! I had to REALLY simplify the steps, and change my plans on trying to get all 24 kids to have some part in the dance, but the important thing is that they did learn, they had fun, and everyone enjoyed it! The electricity in the neighborhood went out right when the performances were starting, so many classes didn't get to perform because by the time they got a generator (about 2 hours later), many of the students and families had already left. Some of my students who were supposed to be a part of our dance did leave, which explains why I'm on the floor holding the bamboo, and why only one couple was able to dance. You can click on this link to see a short video of my kids' performance:
3 comments:
Good Job, Babe!
See it's not that hard.. Just think always fun and challenge. What a tough cookie I got over there..... Very proud of you...
Hey got some blood from Tatay of course... improvising always count in time of emergency. They are so cute....You did best keep it up, remember it is not going to assign to you if God is not sure that you will be able to cope with it..it there is a will and faith, there will be a way of success. We love you
from Fresno Family
It's no Tricia Faye-Maharlika routine, but I'm sure it would make her proud :) I love the video clip. I thought for sure one of the kids would get their ankles caught!
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