Little Einsteins

     My time in Honduras has been nothing short of amazing and breathtaking so far. The beautiful scenery, the welcoming/humble locals, the food, new experiences, and friends we have made has been incredible. This trip has broadened my knowledge on the world around me and I am forever grateful. I have loved every moment, but there was one thing I couldn't wait to experience. The experience I was awaiting most on this trip was visiting/working with the kindergarten and 1st grade class at The English Castle School in Danli, Honduras. I am going to college for Elementary Education and these are the two grades of my preference when I get into the field. This small part of the trip was going to be so beneficial for me and I was thrilled that this was going to happen.

     The day before the trip the entire group was called to a meeting outside the hotel. We all sat around the empty in-ground pool awaiting the reason we were there. The President of our group (Maria) asked us who wanted to go to the school tomorrow, just about everyone's hands shot up with enthusiasm and excitement, including mine. Then  Maria's smile immediately disappeared, bad news was coming. We were told that only five of us in the group would have a chance to go, Disappointment kicked in. There was a chance I wasn't going to be able to go and I was devastated. This was what I was looking forward to the most on this trip and I would miss out on an incredible opportunity for my future career.

     Caren then spoke up and said that everyone who was interested in going on the trip would put their name in a hat, and they would draw the names of who would be going. Then she turned and looked at me with a smile. She looked around the circle and added that she didn't want to be deemed as playing favorites or be unfair, but she wanted me to go on the trip. I was shocked and so grateful. Caren told everyone that this would be a great opportunity for me since I am an education major, and asked if everybody would be respectful and understanding of letting me go. Everyone nodded their heads unanimously with smiles on their face. I was so incredibly grateful that my group of friends were so supportive of doing this for me, even though I took up another spot on the already small roster. The rest of the members were picked and two people gave up their spots to others who they thought wanted it more. This process opened my eyes to the fact that out group has become so much closer to one another because of this trip. We are our own little Rotaract family now and I am so proud of it.

     The five of us headed out early the next day so we could arrive at the school before the children started class. We met with the Principle, Alexa Castillo, and got all the supplies ready for the three classes we would be working with. This school is for students with families who have more money then the average Honduran citizen. They have to pay to go to school and by Honduran law they have wear a uniform. They also have to start this school when they are in kindergarten and agree to stick with it because the children are taught to speak only English. They are from entirely Spanish speaking homes so it is important that all of the students start at the same age so they are all on the same level. We were going to be teaching an hour and thirty minute art class for three classes. 

     The first group was a Kindergarten class with twenty students. The project we were going to be doing with them was painting paper plate fishes. I was surprised when the children were coming outside, how polite they were. They were excited and ready to do whatever we had planned. We did introduction and told them all our names. Caren also came up with a hand clapping pattern to get the children's attention. Whenever the children heard her do this hand clapping pattern everyone had to stop talking and do it with her, then listen for instruction. We handed out the supplies for them to start cutting and painting their fish. I know it doesn't sound like that big of  a deal, but their skill level of cutting was amazing! I have observed a kindergarten class in the U.S. for my major and the students in that class were no where near this level. Paper cutting is something that, believe it or not, is something that kindergartners are tested on. The children were still playful, and at times loud, but they were very well spoken (for just beginning to learn English) and respectful. They did an excellent job following instruction and they were so excited to see the outcome of their work.

     There were slight differences with the second kindergarten group.They had two or three new students, that were hard to communicate with. They were just starting to learn English and were struggling. The school teachers helped them with the instructions, first saying it in Spanish then explaining to them how to say it in English. This class was making paper plate chickens for their project. They were also very impressive with the level of skill they had. This class got done with their project early and were getting hyper/excited to see what we were doing next. As we were trying to figure out what do to fill up the time, the children couldn't contain their excitement any longer. They started running around the tables and singing/screaming with excitement. We eventually decided to teach the the song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." This was beneficial to the students because it was fun, interactive, and it taught them the names of the body parts in English. We also taught them "Ring Around the Rosy." The children found the falling on the ground parts very funny. After we did this a couple times, we asked them to teach us one of their songs. They preformed an interactive song called, "Walking in the Jungle." I was so mesmerized by how well the students could speak English even though they have only been learning it for a year or less. 

     The last group we had was a 1st grade class of only twelve students. They had a harder project of doing self portraits. They were surprisingly more energetic then the fist graders, but their English was a lot more developed and polished. They were up to the task and produced excellent portraits. We also got done early with this group so we taught them "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" also. They found this song especially fun so we repeated it a couple more times. We also took some time to just sit and talk with them. This was important and helpful for them to converse with us and to learn new words and our accent. The time at the school quickly drew to a close and before we knew it, Alexa was thanking us for coming and invited us to come again next time.

     Words cannot fully describe how happy/grateful I wads for this experience, and a chance to do it again in the near future. This was a beneficial experience that will help me in so many aspects of teaching. I will be able to help multi-lingual/non-Spanish speakers learn English, how to work with children from other countries/cultures, and it will give me the much needed experience of simply working with kids in a school setting, which I haven't been able to do much of so far. This part of the trip was my favorite experience in a teaching setting so far and I will always remember this experience!

-Susan