The Life of Morning Kindergarten

8:30 a.m. The children come in, we play for a minute and attempt to have them each sit on their own mat. Wait, we are actually thinking that they are going to sit down? Yeah, funny thought. We get to sing lovely songs in which the children are either not singing, or singing so loudly that I can't hear my own thoughts or begin to understand what they are singing.

After 20 minutes we split the 26 (or more) children into four groups and go to our own rooms. This is where the we are SUPPOSED to teach them English.... We have a things BMC's ( I can't even remember what it stands for) but they are Target Language Needs and they are specific things that we have chosen to work on for the day. This is what a lesson might sound like...

Me- "This is pink pig. What is this?"

Child- "P.. Pig."
Me- "Yes, this is a pink pig"

As I do this for EVERY child in the group until they have all said what I wanted them to say. It often turns into...

Child- "I want. I want" Me- "What do you want?"

Child- "a;lsdkfjasl;kdjf" Me- "Are you speaking English?"

Me- "Who is sitting nicely?" Child- "I am sitting nicely" (which they are NOT!)

The last few weeks I have had the "Story and Drama" rotation so my children are now very good at saying, "Little pig, Little pig. Can I come in? NO! NO! NO! You can not come in!" I think they say that just about every time we see a door.

This is us acting out Cinderella. You would not believe the fun we had putting on and taking off a yellow dress!

This is Shayla. She used to have really cute hair until she got hold of the scissors and decided to give herself a hair cut... whoops!

After the day is over, we count our tokens (yes, they get a token every time they say something correctly) and head back to the group for closing.

Closing is usually a time of utter chaos.... The children don't want to sit there, us teachers are tired and our voices hurt. We attempt at some more singing and language practice and then we do our beloved "Rain Song". For some reason the children love this song and will sit quietly on their mat doing a little dance and we have 3 minutes of peaceful singing.. It is really cute! Often times Oscar will fall asleep while sitting there, Owen will be rubbing my leg (he loves the feel of smooth legs), and Cooper will be dancing like crazy.

Finally, Kindergarten has come to a close. I clock out, grab my stuff and leave the Old School with 27 children yelling "Good Bye" in English and Spanish. By this point I am exhausted and I have no voice. I hop on my bike and ride back over the the New School (where I live) in the blazing sun and cloudy skies to eat lunch and get ready for my next class :)

Taipei Temple Trip

Taipei Temple Trip

Saturday August 30th, 2008

I had my fist experience with a Branch Temple Trip! We met at the Feng Yuen chapel and rode a bus up to Taipei with members from our branch. On way up we watched Johnny Lingo and watched the beautiful scenery pass by.

The temple was SO beautiful! We were just driving around and then, there it was.. right on a normal street. The grounds were beautiful and very well taken care of. I think it was the best looking block I have seen since being here. We walked inside the temple and I was shocked at the clean, white surroundings. I have only been in Taiwan just over two months, but I think I forgot how amazing it feels and how peaceful it is in the temple. The baptismal font was the smallest I have ever seen, but it was amazing to hear the baptisms in Chinese and yet still be able to feel the spirit and know that those words were so important, even if I couldn't understand them.

Taipei 101… One of the World’s Tallest Buildings

After the temple, we went to Taipei 101. At the moment it is the Words tallest building. There is another building being built that is taller, but it is not finished yet. We went on this elevator that goes up 89 stories in just 44 seconds! From the top we had a great view of Taipei. You know, as impressive as it was, it was not my favorite view I have ever seen. For some reason it just wasn't as magical as other views I have seen. But, I am glad I got to see it, it is a HUGE city!

I looked very excited in this picture- someone told me I actually almost look Asian :) The other picture is us eathing at Subway... The first lunch meat I have had in 2 months!!! It was SO good! Well, this trip was a great adventure and i had so much fun. Taipei, I will be back soon!