My Kids a Year Later

This is not part of the 30-day blog challenge, but I have other things to talk about.

I have been in Korea for a little more than a year now. This is the last week of our school year. Next week I will get a new class of 6-year olds. I have to blog about my kids and how they have changed over the year.

Starting at the top left there is Cathy. Cathy has always been a smart girl. Over the last few months she has shown herself to be very determined and opinionated. She loves to dance. Every time I play a song she gets up to dance. I think she likes to show off in front of her friends. I also teach her older brother. They are a lot alike. Thomas doesn't dance, but he likes to show off.

Beside Cathy is Daniel. Daniel has always been slow. It took him a very long time to learn the alphabet and what sounds each letter says. He has improved so much lately. He can spell some words, and he can read a little now. He has the alphabet down.

Next is Clara. She started out strong and then seemed to take a mental break for a bit. She was definately one of the lowest in the class for a long time. Nothing seemed to click for her. In the last two months everything has started to click. She read me a book in the library the other day. She is definately the most improved student this year.

Beside Clara is Alice. Alice is the perfect student. She is always happy and smiling. She listens to everything and is always nice to the other students. She is perfect, but somehow it's the ones who aren't perfect who are our favorites.

Next is Amy. Oh, Amy. She is so smart. I think she's bored a lot of the time and so she makes up things to do. She does things like pulling apart her hair ribbons or ripping pages in her book. Of course, she doesn't like to do the things that I have planned. She likes to do everything her own way and when she wants to do it.

Jamie has amazed me. When I started teaching her she wouldn't ever talk. She would only go to the bathroom if I told her to. If I didn't tell her to she would hold it all day because she would never ask to go. She did everything very slowly and never, ever said a word. Now she is incredibly different. I have to tell her to be quiet sometimes. It makes me very happy every time I have to do that. She asks to go the bathroom. She answers questions. She plays with the other kids. I love seeing it.

Sienna is very sweet. She is also pretty slow, but she is getting it at her own pace. She read part of a book today with only a little help. Her diary today said, "I ate pork. Pork comes from pig. I will enjoy. Sorry pig." I thought it was really funny.

Wyatt is still one of my favorites. He is one of the smartest kids I have ever seen. He is five years old and he is reading at a grade three level. He is always very worried to get everything done quickly. He loves reading, but hates writing and drawing. He doesn't say hi as much as he used to. I kind of miss that.

Molly is still as determined as ever that she is big. She can do everything. She told me today that she wants to be a dentist when she grows up. Molly is the one who told me that I have big nostrils. She is very curious and wants to know how to say everything. She's a great kid.

Brian is new. He came when a space opened up after Rex left. Rex moved to Japan in November. Brian is not the smartest kid. He is very happy but doesn't ever seem to know what is going on. Ask that kid about dinosaurs though, and he will talk your ear off.

The last picture is of Eric and Roy. When I started teaching here Eric was probably my least favorite student. He didn't listen to anything I said and liked to make me mad. Now he has decided that I'm okay and he can listen to me. He knows so much and he tries to talk all the time. He doesn't know enough English words to say everything, so he stops and thinks for a minute and then uses the words he knows to explain the word he doesn't know and then he tells me what he wants. He is one of my favorites. I think I will miss teaching him. Roy has had some challenges lately. He was diagnosed with diabetes in January. He just turned five in November, and so he doesn't understand at all what is going on. He know that he has to leave class three times every day so someone can poke his finger and write a number in his book. He has gotten used to it now. He reminds me when it is time for him to go. He's doing really well now. He looks much healthier than he did in January.

That was my Blue Jay Class. Next week they will move up into the kindergarten classes and I won't teach them anymore. I will get a new class. I named then Flamingo Class. I will miss my blue jays though.