I Am an Englishee Teesher.

I think it's about time I write about what I actually do at work and who I do it with. I've been here for over 2 months now and have almost gotten the hang of things. I am not hesitant to say almost though. Things still take me by surprise and I often wonder if they're nuts or I am.........but I will have story after story from this experience.
My school, Wonderland English School, is a private English institute. All of the classes are conducted entirely in English. The kids start as young as 4 years old because A. the younger you are the quicker you learn and B. knowing English is one of your best tickets out of here. So you see these tiny little kids trottin' around with backpacks. All the preschoolers and kindergartners come in the morning. I teach all the math classes, which each class only has once a week. But then I have my own class of 5 year olds. These kids are too much. Every day I either want to pull my hair out or wet my pants from laughter.
There's Jason. He has huge cheeks and a fro of dark, curly hair. Every time I write a word on board he tells me its pizza. He puts his school clothes over his pajamas, and the kid never has his shoes on.
Then there's his partner in crime, Justin. Justin likes to go to the corner of the room and make a fort with chairs and coats in the middle of class....and steal kids' pencils. I yell at him all class and he still wants to sit in my lap and hold my hand.
Peter is the gentleman. If only he were 20 years older...............He shares all of his pencils and erasers and never hits a kid back. He also likes to swing open the door every morning and say to me "Trick or Treat!"
Gloria loves me far more than she should. God bless her. My first couple of weeks she hardly said a word to me. Now I get a hug every time I see her.
Isabell, Isabell - at least two steps behind everyone just because she's in her own little world. La La Land as one of my teachers used to say. She tries so hard though, and is the first one to rat someone else out.
Mary is just a gem. Cuter than a puppy. She's a year younger than all of them too and just gets smarter every day. She wrote me a letter last week telling me how much she loved me. I would take her home in a second.
Ellis is captain of the team - organized and prompt; always knows the answer and wants to tell everyone else what it is. If it weren't for her and Mary...........

Then in the afternoon the elementary kids come, AFTER a full day of regular school. They are there just for English speaking classes. The first class I have every afternoon is full of 8 and 9 year olds. They have been in English classes since preschool and are one of my smartest groups. I had a problem child in this class who, as of today, is no longer attending. I now like this class, because I feel like I'm actually teaching English - verb tenses, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns. My favorites are David, because he is by far the sweetest boy I have ever met(maybe with exception to Peter or Jacob Minner); Amy because she always has a story to tell me, and Sylvia because she is just a stud. This kid never fights with anyone, ALWAYS pays attention, does her homework, studies for the test, and takes notes.
My second every day class is 10 and 11 year olds. This is my smartest class. They can be rowdy, but I get to actually just talk with them. Today I gave my favorite assignment yet: pick a country to write about, make a flag and a map, and bring in pictures. That's real homework! My favorite is Alice. She wants a high five every time she answers a question........even if she's wrong. Then she curtsies. Oh man.
On Mon, Wed, and Fri I have two more afternoon classes. The first one is 7 and 8 year olds who have just started learning English. This class can be frustrating because they don't understand half of what I'm saying. I play charades a lot. My second class is about 9-11 year olds. It's mostly boys and we've had to warm up to each other, mainly becaue they don't really want to be there. I can actually get them to participate now. Both of these classes have shown me what an impossibly difficult language English can be. If it wasn't my native tongue, I'm pretty sure I couldn't have picked it up later in life. I am also realizing more and more how much I enjoy the language......how much I like to see it on paper.