School Starts!

Hello Everyone!
This is the first week of school with the kids! The days go by so much faster with the kids! I just love it! Now I remember why I am here. When I'm in the classroom I feel at home. The classroom is my comfort zone. Sometimes as I'm teaching I forget that I am thousands of miles away from everyone. That's how I know I am meant to be here.

The kids are wonderful! All of them are Kindergarten. I have three girls: Princess, Allegra, and Kalista (all Indonesian) and one boy: Jeremy (he is Thai). They all were in the Pre-K class here last year and they all speak pretty fluent English. They are sweet and well behaved kids. (Kay - they are not extremely affectionate, like the kids back at home. But they may become more later on in the year.)

They are only here from 7:30 am until 12noon. They gradually will move to full day Kindergarten by January. They have so many specialists here for the kids. They have: Swimming, Computers, Bahasa, P.E., Music, Choir, Art, and Library. They have Two forty minutes sessions of each class every six days. So that usually means I have two or three specialists a day. I barely ever see my kids! It will be better when they are full day, though.

There are high demands on us here in an International school. I have a Reading, Language Arts, Writing, Spelling, Math, Science, and Social Studies Curriculums. For you teachers... Can you imagine having 7 teacher manuals for Kindergarten! Think of how my planning books! It is extremely intense.

My classrooms has all the supplies I would ever need. Two classrooms were filled with Kindergarten Curriculum not just one. I had to go through all the old stuff and throw out what I didn't want, because they needed to use the other room for Manderin Class. I have four kids computers... one per kid (Ha!). The things we are teaching them are very similar to what the states teach. Actually the reading program we use for Kindergarten is Rigby. (Evergreen teachers... I gueses Indonesia is just one step behind you.)

I'm so grateful that I had so many wonderful teachers in my life to help me out last year at Evergreen in Kindergarten, because I'm sure that is what will get my through this year on my own in Indonesia.

The staff here is like a family. They do everything together. I guess you kind of have to in a different culture away from your own family. We all went out to dinner on Saturday to celebrate the beginning of the year. Yesterday, Teresa Cook (the principal's wife, who is also a teacher here) invited me to coffee. Then I spent the evening in her hot tub and ate dinner with her and her husband. They both are from Washington as well. They have taken such good care of me.

Its just the first week and already I am getting a cold. I have no voice and I wake up in the night coughing. Well... that's being around kids, for ya. I don't think you can get away from it no matter where you are if you are a teacher. I'm trying to rest when I can.

Next weekend they are sending me to Singapore to get my visa. So I will be taking Friday off and traveling around over the weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I hope things are going well back at home.
I miss you all.
Take Care,
Becky