New Identities

I wonder how long it will take to get used to being Miss DeFelice. Odds are a long time. Today was my first day off since training started- and I did grown up things like go to the grocery store. Last week was mostly administrative details but this week is a lot of specialized training to our departments and for me that means decorating my classroom! I'm now Miss DeFelice in KG1B, thank you very much. Our supervisor told us we could choose whether we wanted to use first names or last names, but I thought it be easier than Patricia since it's at least somewhat phonetic and includes sounds in their repertoire, unlike Patricia. Since more than half of them will have never heard any English at all, why confuse them with a letter (P) that doesn't even exist in their mind? So Miss DeFelice I am.

When I walked into my classroom I felt like I was surveying a dollhouse. Their chairs are so small the backs barely come up to my knees. Let's face it - I'm a clumsy being and those chairs are right at foot level. I keep finding myself daydreaming into classroom displays, like frogs outside the door on my welcome board. With corny, teachery things like "Let's Jump into KG1!". And ways to incorporate the letter "B"into the classroom, since we're 1B, like having each table have an animal, like the bears, birds, bugs, etc. I'm frightening myself with my enthusiasm for this but let's hope the influx of creativity stays switched on, considering I'm teaching two separate art classes every week. I'll add some pictures tomorrow for the before and after effects.