Two absents in a week...first time in my teaching career

Last time I posted HERE that if I'll be absent today that we'll make a history and YES it is!

Yesterday, when my hubby came to school to fetched me he told me that there's a change of schedule in their school's calendar...instead of having their final test on SUNDAY, it is moved TODAY! OH no...I can't do a thing so before I went home, I went to see the head of the kindergarten department and told her of my predicament. Glad that she's considerate and understands my situation.

So, I'm at home now taking care and bonding with my baby.

I'm sick today...

My energy has zapped today! I felt so drained today that I don't have energy left to do anything plus I have sore throat...I finally decided not to go to school so I just stayed at home blogging resting. I feel better today. I want to wake up early tomorrow and I'm hoping that my body won't feel lack of pep and vitality again.

The babysitter asked me today that on Friday she will not be able to come because she's going to have a "visa run"..Oh no..I have to be absent again...:( Thank God that when I told my hubby he said they don't have class on Friday so he'll be the one to take care of our baby. Thank you so much my dear. You really help unload the burden I felt this morning that I'll be absent from school for 2 days in a week. If it happens, this will be the first in history...he..he...

Buzz: 2 more weeks to go!

...two more weeks to go and it's sembreak! Yeheeyyyy! By October we'll only have class from 9-12 noon and we're free for the rest of the day.

I'm I really free for the rest of the day? I don't think so...I need to finish the worksheet for K-1 and K-2 for the head teacher told me that she planned to have them book-bind .

See you next time...I have so much to tell you about my joy of knowing that my labor in teaching is not in vain. I'll tell you next time with tons of photos and videos. You
ll surely love my kiddos.

I'm free!

...so glad to know that today and tomorrow, I don't have class for K-2 coz they're having test . Thus, making my load of 5 classes per day reduced to 3 classes. I'm free from 10:00 am-1:40 PM...then 2:30 I'll be going home. I'm free again! Yehheyyyy!!! I'm able to do my writing tasks at PPP and post on some of my blogs.

By the way, we'll start our sembreak on Oct.1 and I'm kinda excited for that!

It's Sports Day and I'm out!

It's Sports Day today at Suwanwong School but only K-3 students up to Grade 6 participates. As a K-1 and K-2 ESL teacher, I am left without choice to conduct class amidst the unbearable noise of cheering squads and audience, drum beatings and shouting from the top of the studen'ts lungs! That's why I'm out today from the campus. I'm right here in an internet cafe enjoying the peaceful and cold environment .

I have some snapshots of the event but posting them can wait. I have to gather my energy to face my K-2 students this afternoon. I'll just review to them the songs that we've learned about numbers 1-10 and colors before I let them do their worksheet on COLORS.

Thanks God it's Friday!

Chants for preschool

These are some of the chants that I taught to my kindergarten. I'm glad that they're able to master them.

Classroom Language

Stand up

Sit down

Listen

Quiet

Open your book

Close your book

Take out your pencil

Put away your pencil

Make a circle

Make a line

Two Little Eyes

Two little eyes

to look around

Two little ears

to hear each sound

One little nose

to smell what's sweet

One little mouth

that loves to eat...Yummy!

Benefits of using Songs and Chants in teaching English

There is power in music—power to motivate students and to help their memories when they are learning a new language. For these reasons, I've been using songs and chants eversince I started teaching here in Thailand since 2006. Although I shouldn’t rely on music-based activities exclusively (they provide, at best, rehearsed practice), songs and chants can be helpful additions to many lessons—especially when they are used properly.

The benefits of music and rhyme

Songs (and related forms of music and rhyme, including rhythmic chants) can produce many benefits in your language class.

•  When chosen wisely and used properly, they can produce greater motivation and involvement of students because they involve them actively and naturally in language practice.
• When they have fun singing songs in their English class, students can develop improved attitudes toward the class and the target language.
• The melody, rhythm, active involvement, natural repetition, and enjoyment all work together to produce increased retention of the language in the songs. In other words, songs help improve your students’ memory of the material they are being taught as part of the song.
• Songs and other forms of music can also be used as vehicles for teaching culture. This cultural awareness can be taught directly (along with the other aspects of the song, such as its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation) or indirectly (simulating native-like experiences in which students pick up the cultural content naturally).  (Source) 

Wan Pen Duan Sip- All Souls Day!?!

 

 Last Friday I was curious why this ugly statue was erected at the playground. The teacher told me that it's "Wan Pen Duan Sip". The purpose of this is to give offering to ghosts and dead people and one reason is giving the offering to themselves when they die. This explains why a lot of Thai desserts (kanom) were spread on the table:

 

 

The event is similar to the "All Souls Day" we have in the Philippines.


I got the chance to mingle with my Anuban 1/3 students and have some pictures with them:

 

 

of Chanting and ABC song

My K2/8 students doing the CHANT (Classroom Language)

Singing the "ABC" song

Teaching Numbers 1-5 to K-2 (Part 2)

Teaching numbers 1-5 is very easy for my Anuban 2/10 students!