Most of my students are truly outstanding, and those reports fly by. Others are a little more challenging and take more time, but I figure those are the students I need to spend some extra time thinking about anyway. I ratted a couple of kids out for never doing their homework, asking to go to the bathroom every class period, and most of all TALKING, TALKING, TALKING.
I ratted one of my kindergartners out for giving answers to the other kids. I love this little boy's enthusiasm. It seems to radiate from him. However, he never lets anyone else (teacher included) get a word in edgewise. Whatever the activity, he just jumps out of his chair (literally) to participate. He's very bright and ahead of the other students in the class. We begin each class with a few minutes of conversation. He has an uncanny knack for answering questions before they've been asked. A typical morning goes something like this. (Picture 5-year-old Jimmy literally jumping out of his seat and shouting enthusiastically every time he says something.)
EMH: Good . . .
Jimmy: GOOD MORNING, TEACHER!
EMH: How are y. . .
Jimmy: I'M HAPPY!
EMH: Jimmy, you need to raise your h. . .
Jimmy: SOLLY!
EMH: Just wai . . .
Jimmy: YES, TEACHER! SOLLY!
EMH: What day . . .
Jimmy: TUESDAY!
EMH: What's the wea . . .
Jimmy: IT'S SUNNY!
EMH: Jimmy, be qui . . .
Jimmy: SOLLY!
EMH: What mon . . .
Jimmy: JANUARY!
EMH: JIMMY,IFYOUDON'TRAISEYOURHAND,YOUCANSITINTHEHALL! (Translation: Jimmy, if you don't raise your hand, you can sit in the hall!)
Jimmy: SOLLY!
He also loves to shout out answers when I call on other kids in the class. If it takes them a second or two to think about something, Jimmy will shout out the answer. I've tried all sorts of different things to get him to stop, all with varying degrees of failure, so the message has been dispatched to his parents. We'll see if that makes a difference.
I can't believe how quickly the days go by. The good news is that beginning this week, I am teaching full time! I'm thrilled. For the past few months, I've only been teaching part time, but my classes were spread out through the day. I'd end up spending all day at school for just a few classes. If I'm going to be at the school, I'm just as happy to be in the classroom. I love my students and have a lot of fun with them. I'm excited to meet my two new classes on Monday.
By now you might be wondering what any of this has to do with marshmallows. Since it's the end of the term, we're having a "good behavior" party on Monday. I saw some marshmallow-like things in the grocery store this week, so I decided to make rice krispie treats. The jury is still out on whether this endeavor was successful or not.
The first problem was that the marshmallows are slightly fruit flavored (yuck!). The second problem was that I couldn't find Rice Krispies. Instead, I found rice flakes, but it wasn't until I poured them into the melted marshmallows that I noticed they have sunflower seeds in them. Hmmm . . . fruity rice flake treats with sunflower seeds . . . I'm having a hard time getting my mind around this one.
There is a foreign grocery store in Seoul that carries regular marshmallows, but they're a bit pricey. I might go there on Monday and buy some anyway since I'll need to make something for my Tuesday classes, too. I'll see how well they go over on Monday. If the Monday kids like them, I'll make the same kind for my Tuesday classes. If they don't like them, I'll get real marshmallows. (On the other hand, kids here don't know what rice krispie treats are supposed to taste like, so maybe I can just pass these off as a strange American food. We'll see.)
Here are the funny-looking and slightly fruit-flavored marshmallows on my tiny stove:
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