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Post by con's fly is open on Mar 17, 2006 17:55:19 GMT 7
I'll tell you on Monday. Tonight I'm Irish.
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Post by cheekygal on Mar 17, 2006 23:22:43 GMT 7
God Bless lol
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Post by Mark FJ on Mar 18, 2006 16:21:37 GMT 7
to answer for con -yes our school has winzip. the instructions are beyond my chinese- but the secretary helped me when i had some files in that. i've been doing the kindie gig for two years now and after my original horry stories I love it. And our school has great resources and books with ideas that have taught me along with the horry classes that taught me how not to teach! i agree with most posts - i like to have three or four routine lesson structures (with varying content and games). thus children get structure, diversity and challenges. i think structures and enjoyable routines help childrens attention spans, and too many phases/games just play to the lowest attention span.
my next tasks are- --- to increase 'compulsary and optional' lessons. for classes that have varying levels some kids arent being challenged, others are being drowned. ---to decorate the classroom in a more interactive manner, where children are drawn to and learn from the posters. any ideas?
PS con please, please stop using the kids real names!
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Post by cheekygal on Mar 18, 2006 23:08:14 GMT 7
Why not?
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Post by Mark FJ on Mar 19, 2006 8:12:04 GMT 7
the children are of expat parentage- this being a site for expats. how would i feel if i read things about my son/daughter on here? how would i feel if my neighbour told me things the teacher had written on here?
i just feel it isnt really professional to use children's names in a place where their family/neighbours might see. i have asked con not to do this- and he agreed not too. it was only a polite request...
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Post by Raoul Duke on Mar 19, 2006 13:12:44 GMT 7
It's a good point, Mark...in general real names are not such a good idea here.
Probably no worries in this case. Kids in that school come from expat families with lots of money, which is not exactly a major demographic here at the Saloon
I hadn't caught this before because I saw the word "kindergarten" in the thread title and I ran like hell. I'm led to understand that Mark is genuinely gifted in teaching this group. I, uh, am not...
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Post by con's fly is open on Mar 20, 2006 22:38:00 GMT 7
Yeah, yeah, he is. I've gotten a ton of good advice from him along the way, which is a big reason I lasted as long as I did.
Okay, going back to drop some fig leaves in place...
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Post by Mark FJ on Mar 23, 2006 20:29:50 GMT 7
ah guys your embaressing me... im all red now.
'time is a great teacher' (i believe Confusious)
kindergarten is not easy cos those teaching decisions come thick and fast- personally i love but i completely understand how people hate it. strangely this week ive been crap.
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Post by con's fly is open on Mar 23, 2006 21:26:23 GMT 7
What exactly did you get up to in Hangzhou last Friday? I have a sneaking feeling that I might miss the intensity of kindergarten, not least for the profound amount the little beggars soak in. If I saw through to getting more courses, I might take another kick at the can.
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Post by Mark FJ on Mar 26, 2006 14:36:57 GMT 7
in hangzhou i am called a 'trainer' but really i teach classes, answer the teachers questions and give vague 'instructions' on how to teach the courses/improve their displays. it not that exciting.
hangzhou seems to be a big city that has a lake and not much else. the 'express development' period probably came to early for the city, thus the planning and quality of development dont seem to have been managed that well. 'urban sprawl' is probably closer. whereas our lovely suzhou developed later and thus got wider roads, newer buidlings and, most importantly, is still developing new areas not 'brown field' re-developments that cost more money.
so i love suzhou more.
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Post by con's fly is open on Mar 26, 2006 18:47:46 GMT 7
YOu heard it here: Hangzhou blows, Suzhou rocks. Har de har.
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woza17
SuperDuperBarfly!
Posts: 2,203
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Post by woza17 on Mar 27, 2006 19:12:40 GMT 7
Genki english has some great stuff I would love to buy all of it if someone would lend me their credit card. The fishing game is a hoot I had forgotten about that one. You put all the flashcards on the table give a cheap childrens fishing rod to one chidl you can buy them everywhere in China and they come with real plastic fish put a metal paper clip on each fiash card and ask where is the whatever you are teaching. The kids love it but I am thinking it's a little slow and I will go out and buy more fishing rods do a competition thing. Also today in class the kids were learning how to say blocks and their B sound was very weak so off the top of my head I made the bb sound repeatedly and got them to repeat it untiil their lips were a bit tingly well mine were and the sounds came out so clear with this revelation under my belt I tried it on the other sounds with great success. I think I will try this on all my students I got to teach them my old favourite I'm a little teapot I wonder where that came from.
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Post by con's fly is open on Mar 27, 2006 20:08:15 GMT 7
Genki English, huh? I'll keep an eye out for it. The best game we have is Dr Seuss Kindergarten. It uses all the famous characters: the Cat in the Hat narrates, and young Gerald McGrew travels around the land looking for exotic animals for his zoo. the various games teach the alphabet, spelling, pattern recognition, addition equations, memory matching (a staple of kid's games), and a couple I haven't even seen yet. The whole thing is brilliantly coloured, runs smoothly, and the central theme is both simple and compelling.
I've integrated it with my lessons, and with reading the Dr. Seuss books we've got on hand. I just have to say "this is a Cat in the Hat" game/story/rhyme/brand of toilet paper and my kids are all ears. Most of my kids can differentiate between 'cat', 'hat', 'rat' and 'bat'! And by copying the addition scheme of the computer game I've actually got them understanding the concept of addition: I can now put a simple, dry worksheet full of "4 + 3 =" in front of them and most can do it!
Get this game if you see it. Get all things Seuss if you can.
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woza17
SuperDuperBarfly!
Posts: 2,203
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Post by woza17 on Mar 27, 2006 20:28:37 GMT 7
Con check out genkienglish, just type in genkienglish and search. There is some good stuff there. Four years ago an ex French Foreign Legion guy put me on to it. He was a great teacher with the young kids. The military training. I met him at our my first Summer camp we were billeted together in the same room for a month. He was so bloody neat that the only bad thing I have to say about him
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Post by acjade on Mar 27, 2006 20:54:59 GMT 7
I am so...oo jealous.
Foreign Legion. Pour quois?
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woza17
SuperDuperBarfly!
Posts: 2,203
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Post by woza17 on Mar 27, 2006 21:37:34 GMT 7
He was some Limey from the south of England, it was a brother sister thing, now to share a room with any stranger from any sex is traumatic but it seemed so natural for the both of us. I am a bit blokey and he had a positive feminine side.
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Post by acjade on Mar 27, 2006 22:27:46 GMT 7
The fantasy is shattered. Now I'm getting F Troop.
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Post by cheekygal on Mar 27, 2006 22:56:59 GMT 7
Military training, eh? Now, thinking of it, I believe my training does come from military in a first place cause I was born in a military family, border forces...
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woza17
SuperDuperBarfly!
Posts: 2,203
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Post by woza17 on Mar 28, 2006 13:29:51 GMT 7
There you go, Cheekygirl just proved my point
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Post by cheekygal on Apr 7, 2006 0:59:52 GMT 7
So, as much as I tried - can't get away from kindies! 1. Started teaching a class choregraphy+english combined to 3-5 years olds. Imagine: nothing you have ever heard about! I am an innovator! YAY! 2. This kindergarten was hunting me down as crazy because one kid from previous kindy moved there and his parents been praising me. So, when I told them I can't work full time, they offered to work every morning on week day. When i said I can't afford it as I won't have days off then, they came up with three mornings a week! I went there, did a demo, they loved me, told them like the minimum I'd take per hour, they accepted and voila - tomorrow I am starting.
Keeps me wondering why I always end up teaching kindy. Perhaps I really really should consider doing my PhD in Education. Or at least write and publish my own book...
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Post by acjade on Apr 7, 2006 8:28:21 GMT 7
Go for it Cheekygal!
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Post by con's fly is open on Apr 7, 2006 19:49:09 GMT 7
Attagirl! The choreography part's the icing on the cake: getting the little beggars to move does them a ton of good. And you can practically sweep the Cute off the floor and sell it. I suspect quitting kindies will be harder than kicking cigarettes.
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Post by cheekygal on Apr 9, 2006 2:13:31 GMT 7
Thank you. I want to. I really do. I just don't know where to start! That always happens to me: when I really REALLY like something and want to write about it, I lose all my good words and thoughts...
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Post by cheekygal on Apr 11, 2006 23:26:27 GMT 7
Ok, I dont know if it is teaching kindergarten for so many years or something else. This weekend school I taught (no more!) in called me today saying parents requested to change the teacher. I have to say perhaps there is my fault. I would admit of course. But how can one in 2 months teaching only sundays for 2,5 hours each time, even the level of students to the level they are in? There were around 10-12 students of age 10 to 14, with the level of English so different from each other that I wondered WHO THE HELL PUT SOME OF THEM IN THAT CLASS??? More over they don't have general knowledge. Every free talk discussion I tried to engaged ended up by me talking and telling them things they had no idea about... Perhaps I did get carried away a bit couple of times. And I think I mentioned that one mother came in insulting me as a teacher and I confronted her with same arguments explaining to her I can't just pay attention to her daughter who is going for the 2nd time through same book (she is there because there is no other group suitable for her)... May be after all I am not that great of a teacher since I failed to manage this particular class. Which is ok - I planned to quit the school after the students finished this level. I am more upset that this class changed the previous teacher for the unknown reasons and kids end up suffering. Cause management doesnt really care for them.
Ah well. Rant's over. I did start teaching in that kindergarten I mentioned. I hope it works fine.
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Post by con's fly is open on Apr 12, 2006 20:11:00 GMT 7
Cheeky, don't beat yourself up. Well, you will anyway, as I always do in these kinds of things, but relax a bit. Just remember that you can't please everyone, and sometimes it really isn't your fault.
And have a beer. Teaching has a high burnout rate precisely because to do it well you have to give a poo. and that occasionally stings. Now have a second beer.
When you next mull this over, try to correct your mistake- most likely it was allowing someone else to do something stupid that triped you up. Keep an eye out for 'briliant' ideas from others that doom you to failure. Time for a third beer.
Your new kindie is lucky to have you. So was the last one, and they'll figure that out soon enough. Now if you can still read this, switch brands and have a fourth beer.
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