The Kiddies

The other day my mom says to me, "Jac, can you blog more about the kids?!" I suppose she has a point. Where to begin. I should first say that the effect these kids have on me is pretty unbelievable. I am constantly amazed by them. There are days when I wake up in a poor mood to find myself smiling and laughing in my first kindy class. There's just something about them...
Maybe it's their innocence? Maybe it's their fearlessness? Perhaps it's the fact that some of them are 5 years old and they can speak both Korean and English?! Is it their relentlessness to learn? What about the fact that they crave affection--in that every time I am near them, checking their work, assisting them with something, they will gently hold my arm, my leg, my hand, just anything to be touching me. Is it the fact that I am 28 years old and they are as young as 5 and I often feel as though I communicate better with them than with any adult in a given day? (What that says about me...I am not quite sure) Maybe it's just the fact that they're so damn cute. I mean, look at these pics. You tell me.


Now, you must know, it is not always gravy. Of course not. In fact, there are days, like today, where I am completely discouraged by my classes. There are days when I feel like all I did for most of my 35 minute class was yell, "Denny, sit in your seat!" "Chris, stop picking your nose!!" "Cindy, stop whining!" And the most famous, "NO SPEAKING KOREAN!!" Sometimes, all the kids want to do is play. They don't want to learn. They don't want to listen to this silly American teacher telling them, "Listen and Repeat: VEGETABLE." They want to shoot each other with fake guns and make fun of the teacher in Korean. Actually, sometimes they just make fun of me in plain ol English. If it gets too out of hand, I'll call in the Korean homeroom teacher. You should see their change in attitude when a Korean teacher appears in class. It's like they all become angels. But as soon as she leaves, playtime resumes. It can be really frustrating, but overall, I think, if I can try and get at least ONE new concept/idea/grammar/vocab/lesson with each class (I have 8 classes on MWF and 7 on TTH) then I think I'm on the right path. We'll see!