First Day of School

Well, I survived the first day of school. :-) The last few days have been busy, especially today. My Cooperating Teacher assessed the English skills of several new kindergarten students while I sat in and observed. I had the chance to talk with a two of these--a Somali girl who was pretty quiet but started chatting with me and a very active boy from Burundi. He seemed to like to sit on the floor, so I directed him to the carpeted area where there were more toys and books (since he had trouble sitting in the chair at the table). I also met several families--Bosnians, two Somali families, a few Vietnamese grandmothers, and the mother of the boy from Burundi. I started taking down her information for the emergency contact form.

I also spent a while this morning watching/playing with several African preschoolers (younger siblings of the Somali kindergarteners). They were all really cute. One boy especially charmed me. He started out quite shy, hanging back and watching the baby crawl around and explore. Eventually he started playing with a toy and clearly enjoyed himself. He would play a little and then look at me with the most winning smile possible. Later he sat at a small table and "helped" his older sister do a puzzle. I think I taught him the word, "Yay" when he correctly put the pieces in. So then he started lifting up his hands and saying, "Yay, yay!" A lot, smiling happily. Maybe you had to be there, but it was really adorable.

I haven't met the older children yet--the ones I'll actually teach--but if they're anything like the ones I met today, I'm going to love them.