Well, yesterday I taught my first classes in an elementary school. The kids are fun but I had my hands full. They sat in a semicircle in front of me and we stumbled through the first class. I am substituting for their regular teacher until the end of the semester and I do things differently than she does. It is a trial to slow down to the level where they are at but I seem to connect with them.

I teach English as a second language. My first class has the younger kids, first through fourth grade. My second class has the fifth through eighth grade kids. The younger kids were fascinated by pretty much everything. I have some sidewalk chalk I bought to use. I always write too small with the little pieces of chalk and I have never liked the small pieces you get from the school. The sidewalk chalk makes me write big enough for everyone to see what is on the board and I can really get my fingers around it. And I can pound on the board while writing for that wonderful sound that the little pieces can never imitate. AND there is NO screechy sound!!!

And the kids are fascinated by the big pieces of chalk. They are also fascinated with my belly. I don't think they've ever seen a fat teacher. I had to point out to the younger students that it is rude to comment on someone's anatomy.

We are studying consonants with the younger kids. Some of them have trouble with 'l' and 'r' so today we will concentrate on those sounds.

In the older class there was one student who was running wild before the bell rang. Once we got everyone in their seats I made sure they understood that Miss Twyla's rules still stand. And I pointed to a desk up front for ANYONE (looking at the wild kid) who caused any trouble. No problems in the class at all.

I noticed one kid hastely copying the answers from someone else's homework. I took it away from him and after the class I talked privately with him and the other student about cheating. I hope I got the message across

These guys are fun.