Gracias a Dios por este dia! Can anyone guess what that means in Spanish? It means "Thank You, Lord, for this day!" I'm feeling very thankful, tonight, because my all of my students got to go out for recess, today! Usually some of them don't get to play at recess because they made bad choices during English class and I have to discipline them. Sometimes it feels like adults actually like to discipline us, doesn't it? But that's not true, at all! But when God created the world, He made consequences to help us know what to do. All of our choices always have consequences. When we make good choices, we like the consequences. When we make bad choices, the consequences aren't fun at all! Your parents and teachers hate to see you frustrated, mad, and sad because of your wrong choices. But God has given parents and teachers the job of helping kids understand how consequences work, so it's really important that sometimes they discipline you to help you learn.
It has been really hard for some of my students to obey me, this week, so they haven't gotten to play outside at recess very much. Since my job is to help them learn English, I tell them that they can either choose to learn English during the hour of English class or during their recess. It's better if they can learn during class so that they can play soccer during recess. But if they choose not to listen, pay attention, participate, or try during English class, the consequence is that they'll miss recess. 2 of my kids had to miss recess every single day, this week, which made me very sad for them. Yesterday I decided that maybe if I played with them, during recess, they wouldn't need to get so much attention by being silly in English class.
So after school, a few of my 3rd grade boys were still waiting on their parents to come pick them up, so I ran over to get out a soccer ball, and asked them if they wanted to play with med. They were SO MUCH better than me, even though they're only 8 years old! Later that evening I was walking home from the park when I saw 2 of our boys playing basketball, so I asked if I could play. They were surprised that I wanted to play, but said yes! There wasn't a gate in the fence (yes, adults, my mind did engage in a short lived moral debate, at this point in the story), so they showed me the VERY small hole I had to climb through! Thankfully, Paraguayans don't play as much basketball as soccer, so they thought I was REALLY good. (Ah, their ignorance is my bliss). After about 30 minutes, some older high school boys came to play, so I decided it was time for me to go home. They said "adios" and "gracias por jugar!" which means "goodbye" and "thanks for playing!"
So I don't know if my little experiment worked, but today was the best day I've had with my 3rd grade class in months. Not even one of my students had to stay in from recess! So instead of staying in my room with the "castigados," which means, "people being punished," I went down to cheer for the boys playing soccer and watch the girls on their rollerblades. And they definetly were showing off for me, which made it even more fun! I think maybe some of my kids just needed a little bit more attention. Do you ever act silly, disobedient, or angry because your mom is so busy cleaning and helping your brother with homework and changing your sister's diaper that she doesn't play with you? Or do you feel jealous, at school, because you're really good at reading and the teacher always spends most of her time with the kids who need more of her help? When we feel sad, lonely, or frustrated, we should tell our teachers or parents with words, instead of making bad choices like being mean to other kids. Your teachers and parents love you so much amd they are very happy when you make good choices because they like seeing YOU happy!
It has been really hard for some of my students to obey me, this week, so they haven't gotten to play outside at recess very much. Since my job is to help them learn English, I tell them that they can either choose to learn English during the hour of English class or during their recess. It's better if they can learn during class so that they can play soccer during recess. But if they choose not to listen, pay attention, participate, or try during English class, the consequence is that they'll miss recess. 2 of my kids had to miss recess every single day, this week, which made me very sad for them. Yesterday I decided that maybe if I played with them, during recess, they wouldn't need to get so much attention by being silly in English class.
So after school, a few of my 3rd grade boys were still waiting on their parents to come pick them up, so I ran over to get out a soccer ball, and asked them if they wanted to play with med. They were SO MUCH better than me, even though they're only 8 years old! Later that evening I was walking home from the park when I saw 2 of our boys playing basketball, so I asked if I could play. They were surprised that I wanted to play, but said yes! There wasn't a gate in the fence (yes, adults, my mind did engage in a short lived moral debate, at this point in the story), so they showed me the VERY small hole I had to climb through! Thankfully, Paraguayans don't play as much basketball as soccer, so they thought I was REALLY good. (Ah, their ignorance is my bliss). After about 30 minutes, some older high school boys came to play, so I decided it was time for me to go home. They said "adios" and "gracias por jugar!" which means "goodbye" and "thanks for playing!"
So I don't know if my little experiment worked, but today was the best day I've had with my 3rd grade class in months. Not even one of my students had to stay in from recess! So instead of staying in my room with the "castigados," which means, "people being punished," I went down to cheer for the boys playing soccer and watch the girls on their rollerblades. And they definetly were showing off for me, which made it even more fun! I think maybe some of my kids just needed a little bit more attention. Do you ever act silly, disobedient, or angry because your mom is so busy cleaning and helping your brother with homework and changing your sister's diaper that she doesn't play with you? Or do you feel jealous, at school, because you're really good at reading and the teacher always spends most of her time with the kids who need more of her help? When we feel sad, lonely, or frustrated, we should tell our teachers or parents with words, instead of making bad choices like being mean to other kids. Your teachers and parents love you so much amd they are very happy when you make good choices because they like seeing YOU happy!
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