Worst Class: It had to be my first attempt at teaching Level 1! It was a five yo boy who may have been fine on his own...but he wasn't. Fine. Or on his own. A friend/brother/cousin was with him and they were more interested in goofing off with each other. I expected wiggles and giggles and some distraction, but this was the worst! I made myself nearly hoarse trying to tempt him back to the lesson. My feedback included a very soft admonition that he should do his lessons alone, or with a parent, which is OK for VIPKid. But a two-for-one is not!
Best Class: I have to choose? Was it Billy, who played along with me and repeated my actions? Was it a regular, who giggled at my attempts to play "Angry Birds" with paper cut-outs and my pig puppet? Was it the new girl, so sweet, who loved my Google Slides My Little Pony reward and read like a champ? So hard! The best part is, I will see all of these students again. They have all booked me again!
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| This was a parent review from last week. This was the kid laughing so hard he fell off of his chair! |
Okay, I'm sort of an Anglophile. At least, when it comes to watching programs on Netflix. Of course, I was a big Sherlock (Benedict & Martin) fan, but my family just had to endure me enjoying Father Brown Mysteries (based on GK Chesterton's novels). And now, they are suffering as I watch The Great British Bakeoff. Another season.
I sit there and wonder at terms, technique and flavors. I usually have a running commentary about what I could do...and what I could not. I definitely could not compete because, besides not being British, I am not that skilled and even with their courteous competition, I could not handle the stress of it!
But the most fun is some of the verbiage tossed around there. My favorite is "Soggy Bottoms" (think this in a British accent), which they refer to often, especially in regards to pies and tarts. I nearly giggle every time I hear it. If I was a drinking person (which I'm not), it would make a great drinking game. I maarveled at one episode, where they didn't say it once! Really, your American audience needs to hear it at least once every time!
Speaking of American, they had an "American" pie challenge to rework our overly-sweet pies. Apparently, they don't like all that sugar! (I know most of the world thinks we over sweeten things here.) Some of their comments were hilarious! And, of course, one of the hosts drummed up a cowboy twang for the occasion. Yes, I live in OK with lots of cowboys and country folk, but I know that's not the standard here. I guess they have stereotypes in Europe, too.
Speaking of Soggy...
The weather this week has been Bipolar, to say the least.We had temps in the 80s mid-week, after which the wind picked up - a lot - dropping temps down again to near freezing and then a storm blew in Saturday. Just rain, rain, rain all day long! Not sprinkles, either, we're talking serious water here!
Flooding? Of course. There are no storm drains to speak of here. The soil, too, is clay heavy, which means things don't drain. My yard was a swamp and my poor little sweet potato vine, the only baby plant I put in the actual ground, looked like it was drowning! Needless to say, everything got well watered!
Driving around was a hassle. I had to go back-and-forth several time to take kiddos to work. The trick was finding which streets to go down to avoid the majority of the flooding. Chickasha is a bit hilly in places, and those low valleys become ponds in a lot of rain. When possible, I tried to drive in the middle of the road (yes, both lanes!) to avoid the accumulation of water on the sides. Avoiding the wet was impossible.
Seminary
This Friday we had visitors to our class. The Dennis's are CES missionaries (almost at an end of their 2-year mission...sad!) that were assigned by Bro. Sturges, my CES director here to come observe my class and meet my two graduating seniors.
They were a lovely addition to the class! Not only did they share and testify to what we were learning often, they shared some of their personal experiences. Well, I asked them to. They are from Wyoming, and Bro. Dennis was part of the Stake High Council there when the handcart companies historical sites were constructed there in the 90's. Let's just say, there are still miracles happening because of the handcart companies...today! I'd heard some of his accounts before, but the two he shared Friday were new to me. What a Spirit it brought to our classroom!
It's hard to believe, but we're a little more than a month out from the end of school and Seminary. It's always so bittersweet. I enjoy summer break (though with VK I'll not be sleeping in much this summer!), but I miss the kids, teaching, and the amazing Spirit there. I find myself longing for it come the new school year.
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