New Kids on the Block

The New Kids
Don't get too excited about the title. I didn't go to a New Kids on the Block Concert. Even though that would be really cool, and  I would seriously go. But, I did recently acquire some adorable new students.  

Because Preschool Graduation occurs at the end of February, there are always big schedule changes at my school in the month of March. New preschool classes begin, old preschool classes move into higher levels, some classes are combined, and new classes are added. My schedule completely changed this month. The biggest change was my two new preschool classes.
One of the preschool classes I teach is called Kindness Class (they are the kids in the first picture). There are 6 girls and 3 boys in this class. They are just beginning the first year program, and most of them did not have any English experience. This is a big challenge, as I am trying to teach kids who have no idea what I am saying. However, I love it because they  are probably the most well behaved preschool class I have ever dealt with. They are also so smart, and eager to learn. It is amazing how quickly they are learning, and how much  English they have already picked up. And they are so darn cute...just look at them :)

One of the things I love about teaching little kids is the adorable pictures and notes I get from time to time. Here is a note that one of the little girls in my class wrote me. She also gave me a hair band as a present. It's hard to read, but you can click the picture to enlarge it.

I've also taken a couple of videos...

The ABCs


Every week, we read a new storybook with the kids. They can't really read yet, but as you can see from the next two videos, they pretty much memorize the entire book.

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed



Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See

M other  new class, Ambition Class, has actually already been at  the school for a year. There are 6 kids in the class, 4 boys and 2 girls.They completed the first year preschool program, and are beginning the second year program. I had actually taught these kids before in activity classes. To be honest with you, a few months ago, I probably would have flipped out if I would have known that I was going to be their teacher. It's not that I didn't like them, it's just that when I had them for activity, they were so difficult to control. They didn't listen, they didn't behave, and in comparison to my last preschool class, I felt like they really didn't understand much English. However, the more I time I spent with them, the more I realized that they really aren't as bad as I had originally thought. It was just a matter of getting to know them, and learning how  to work with them. Teaching them is  definitely  more challenging than my last preschool class. However, I really love them, and I feel like I now have a different  perception and understanding of each student. Here they are!

Deoksu Palace and Andy Wharhol

 A few weekends ago, I went to Deoksu Palace in Seoul. I actually had not planned on going here at all. To be honest, I had never even heard of the place. I had planned to meet my friend (a Korean whose English name just happens to be Emily) outside the City Hall Subway Station, and then head to the Seoul Mueseum of Art to see an Andy Wharhol exhibit. However, she was taking a course that got out later than expected, and I ended up having about an hour to kill. I figured I would just walk around the area, and ended up finding this palace. I'm really glad I checked it out.

I took a video of I what I think is a changing of the guards ceremony. The guards walk around the perimeter of the palace grounds after this. It is kind of funny to see traditionally dressed palace guards cruising past Dunkin Donuts.

After the palace, I met up with Emily and went to the exhibit. I wouldn't exactly describe myself as being an artsy person, and going to art museums is not something I do frequently. In fact, if I did, I would probably die of boredom. But, every once in awhile, I don't mind going and looking around. Especially if there is something that interests me. I actually really enjoyed looking at Andy Wharhol's work. He painted a lot of portraits of celebrities, which look like actual photographs; However, he uses all kinds of different colors. And of course, he is famous for all of his paintings of Campbell's soup, which I also had the opportunity to see. 

                              Outside of the Museum

Inside the Museum

                            Emily and Emily

I wasn't aloud to take pictures inside the exhibit, but here are some of the things we saw...I copied these pics from Google

                                             Marilyn Monroe

                                                  Michael Jackson

                                                     Campbell's Soup

Saint Patrick's Day
After spending the last few year at a school whose mascot is the Fighting Irish, it was weird to spend St. Patrick's Day in a country where it's not really celebrated. I decided I would try to spread some Irish love to Korea. In Ambition Class, I had the students color shamrocks as door decorations. And on Saint Patrick's Day, I wore a head band with two huge shamrocks attached to springs that said "Kiss Me, I'm Irish." Most of the students just laughed at me because they had no idea why I was wearing it. I also tried to explain the holiday to my classes. Some of the more advanced kids understood, and a few of them even knew what it was.

 Here are the door decorations. Notice that there is a picture of the Statue of Liberty on the Ambition Classroom door. I have no idea why it's there, it's been up as long as I have been at the school. But I've never taken it down because it makes me happy and reminds me of America :)