Saturday, March 24, 2012

Antics, Part 1

For verbal antics, see my previous post. For photo antics, see this one. 


Thomas' version of our ballerina art project. 


Which later became a Mickey Mouse insect ballerina. 



He was a little upset with me for putting star stickers on his cast, so I asked him if he would like Angry Birds instead. He's obviously cool now. 


I taught half a class like this. I'm a romantic French artiste!


Will likes to draw on the board. This is his demonstration of prepositions. 


For my birthday, the 10-year-olds in my class bought me a cake and compiled a box of presents, which included nail polish, chocolate, and lots of hair things. 


I'm so Korean now, with my sparkly hair bows and my peace signs!


I put all the hair bows into my hair at once. The kids thought it was hilarious. 


There was also some packaging. 


Cake toppers. The kids said that the bumblebee was Will and the butterfly was me. 


Two of the most adorable kids ever, the only two in a class that Will and I alternate teaching. They know very little English but they are so cute. 


One class requested that I dress up as a man. My name that day was "Anastasio Moustachios"[ah-nah-STAH-see-oh muh-STAH-shee-ohs]


2nd Semester - My awesome Prodigy 302 class. They LOVE to have their photos taken. 


My computer camera flips everything around, so the writing isn't actually backwards, but it IS upside down. On the first day of class, I was teaching them the names of the planets, so I wrote them on the board and then recited them. But I had already written my name on the board, so I said, "Uranus... Neptune... Anastasia!... wait..." The kids burst out laughing and said, "Anastasia is a planet! Anastasia Planet!" So then I drew a planet with a heart-shaped continent in the middle and wrote, "Will/Spider-Man, its only inhabitant." Since then the kids have taken turns drawing Anastasia Planet before class everyday. 


Upside down day. Man, that took forever. 


Will has a giggle gaggle. 


Another version of Anastasia Planet


Mrs. Will, so called (and created) by his kindergarten class. 


A spider instead of Spider-Man, and the flower is inspired by Le Petit Prince, or as Emily called it, "The Young King."


I love these kids. 


I'm a mouth monster!


Modern art. That my kids complained about for all of class. 

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Ridiculous Joys of Teaching / Korean Kidisms Part 1 (1st Semester)

Me: MY Iris.
Iris (6): No!
Me: MY Iris!
Iris: No!
Me: Well, whose then?
Iris: My mom’s!
Me: Why can’t you be mine?
Iris: You is not married!
Me: If I GET married, will you be mine?
     [Iris thinks for awhile.]
Iris: No.
Me: You like me today, I let you sing Christmas carols.
Isabel (6): [smirks] Just today.
James (7) (to Will): Tomato Teacher! (The room was a bit overheated.)
Me: So that’s more poetry! Poetry helps you describe ideas, it uses different ways of saying things so that the reader will feel different things, and my shirt is on backwards. Oh dear. Look at that, there’s the tag. I’ve been wearing it like that all day. Oh dear...
Jessica (12): Teacher, you are cute.
Ann (7): Teacher, see! My cat!
[Shows me pictures on her phone.]
Me: Oh, it’s so cute! Can I have it?
Ann: [laughs] No. 
Me: Why not?
Ann: Cat is... cat is... [slides hand across throat] Cat is die.

Speaking Tests
Me: What kind of books do you like to read and why?
Diana (9): I like to read thick books, because books are usually boring in the beginning and interesting in the middle.
Chelsea Teacher: Why don’t people live in the desert? 
Paul (10): Strawberries!
Will: Do you have any friends you don’t like?
Student (10 or 11): Yes.
Will: Why don’t you like them?
Student: Mind control.
Me: What is the hardest thing about learning English?
Diana: The hardest thing you learn in English is that you have homework.
Me: What do you want to do if you go to America? 
Lisa (12): I want to see Liberty of a Statue.
Things My Kindergarteners Half Believe
Will is Spider-Man
I am a vampire who eats homework
I have killed 5 zombies
I have a baby dinosaur in my stomach
My Kindergarteners Ideas on How to Save Endangered Animals
  1. Kill all the hunters
  2. Put all the animals in Wonderland
  3. Not eat meat or plants, only rice (So the animals can eat all the plants)
  4. Turn all pandas into Kung Fu pandas so they can fight hunters
Little Innocents
Will is teaching his 4-year-olds the sounds the letters make and getting them to say words that start with the letter.
Will: ‘F!’
Leo: Fuh... fuh... fire!
Tommy: Fuh... fuh... f@#*!
Will: Uh... fog? Very good!
Tommy: No, f@#*!
Will: ...Fog! Very good!
Will: ‘B!’
Tommy: Buh... bollock!
Will: Huh?
Tommy: Bollocks!
My kindergarteners were learning phrases you say or hear in the doctor’s office, and one of them was, “Take off your pants” (for a flu shot), and the CD had the whole class saying, “Take off your pants!” After the CD finished, Isabel turned to her cuddly “boyfriend” Jorden and said, “Take off your pants!” At which point, I said, “OKAY, turn the page!!!” 
Jorden (6): Teacher, you are foxy!
Me (a la Princess Bride): I do not think that means what you think it means.