First week of school!

Last week we had 3 half days which were pretty laid back and went by quickly. But I must say, the actual first day of school was terrible. I usually consider myself I pretty strong person and capable of handling most situations, but I was miserable on Monday. I felt completely out of control with 18 little people under me for almost 8 hours.
One of my biggest challenges is the fact that I do not speak Spanish. Because the majority of my students do not think in English, their minds easily wander. And being six years old, their minds can only stay focused for a few minutes anyway. Once these little guys get distracted, they talk (of course) or just get up and start walking around. I would love a class of 10 students, where I could give a lot more individual attention to each.
Each day has been progressively better - I really do think this year is going to be great! I can't describe how satisfying it is to already see progress in students (even just to learn how to write a 2 or learn to capitalize in sentences).
I'm also very impressed with the level of intelligence in many of the first graders - Draven said to me this morning as he was finishing writing 'The cat ran.' - "Ms. Jessica, can I write and exclamation point at the end instead of a period? Because what if the boy was really excited that his cat was running?" I was just wondering- what boy....? and How does he even know what an exclamation point is? The day before we learned about the period.

do I look like a teacher?












my classroom -decorated

























First graders!

West Bay

Last week was the big futbol game - Honduras against Costa Rica. Honduras won 4-0.
On Sunday we went to the beach... swimming, snorkeling, and relaxing - pretty nice.
Also, Wednesday was the first day of school. My first graders are great! They know a lot more than I expected, which is good. I think the hardest thing will be communicating with a few of the students who do not understand English. So far, I have 18 students and most likely more will be registering next week. (pictures soon)

Our Apartment

Amy and I cleaned and organized our apartment the other day so we took some pictures:
(view from the front, living/dining room, kitchen, my room, Amy's room)

First few days.

On Saturday I arrived here in Honduras on the beautiful island of Roatan! I can see perfectly why so many people have spent vacations here - the water is gorgeous, the people are friendly, the food is delicious, and there is always scuba diving and snorkeling.
I share an apartment with another teacher, Amy, who teaches high school English at the school. The other American teachers also live in our building. I'll post some pictures of our place later. Last night we bought about 5 pounds of fresh shrimp and sautéed it in butter, garlic, and onions - so good.
We began orientation at Children's Palace Bilingual School on Monday. So far, I'm very impressed with the school all around. It is run by Hondurans, and is incredibly well organized. In just a week (Wednesday) is the first day of school! I need to finish decorating the room and preparing for the school year.