Today was our first full day at Rainbow Forge Primary School. We arrived at 8:30 am (a big difference from my 7 am arrival at Julia P). We waited for the TRAM for about 10 minutes. We started to get nervous that it wouldn't show. I fell asleep on the way over, it's about a 30 minute ride and then a 10 minute walk from the TRAM stop. Luckily I woke up before I had to get off. My classroom is the biggest classroom in the school, and my teacher's name is Mr. Tingle. There is also a teacher's assistant (like a paraprofessional) named Ms. Wright.
This week is Art Week at school. and the children literally did art projects all day. No academic work at all. I was absolutely stunned. I made a bottle top mosaic of a flower with the students. It is about as tall as my shoulders! They all painted a huge canvas of a giraffe and then did individual paintings. All the art work will be displayed on Friday at the school assembly. They have a school assembly ever day which is very interesting. This was devoted to a reception student (Pre-K) named Tyler, and it was his birthday, so naturally we sang to him.
The students get 15 minutes of playtime (recess) in the morning, an hour for lunch and play time, and then another 15 minutes of playtime in the afternoon. The teacher get an entire hour for lunch. All the Georgia student teachers scarfed down their lunch in about 20 minutes...then we realized we had 40 minutes to relax...we didn't know what to do with ourselves! The teachers pause to make hot tea often, which as a coffee and tea lover, I absolutely love!
After work, we rode the TRAM back to West Street and then got some terrible Chinese buffet food. Luckily we made up for the terrible food with Caffe Nero, an Italian coffee shop. Kiah and I split a white and dark chocolate cheese cake slice, and then we got some delicious hot chocolate with cream on top. The whip cream was tasteless which was different, but the chocolate was amaaazing. Everything here shuts down at about 4:30 or 5 pm, so we really had to search for a place that had dessert.
Morgan and Amanda apparently have a pirate that lives across the hallway. He wanted to borrow their "tin opener"and when they knocked on his door later, he had a live parrot on his shoulder. They said he seemed mortified and said "oh god your Americans! I look like a bloody pirate." Haha I really got a kick out of this story.
Julie and I have been practically cuddling in our tiny bed. We actually head butted one another in our sleep last night. I had to apologize for that one...I move around a lot. Tomorrow we go back to work for more art projects, and then Amanda, Morgan, and I are off to Ireland early Friday morning! So Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!
Omg...Cafe Nero!!! YUMMM!!! :) And you're right about everything closing early. Even in the middle of London, things don't stay open very late. The only time I had food from an American place was when I was STARVING on my home from a show late one night and KFC was the only thing open. But the menu was different than it is here, and when I asked for a biscuit...they thought I wanted a cookie and they were really confused! Sounds like schools over there are VERY different! Interesting stuff! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I really like hearing about your adventures. Interesting the different approach to learning. Reminds me of when you and David were in K in Stamford's Children Center. The kids always learned through the creativity and play and the teachers moved with you. Luv ya!
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