Post # 8: I should have posted this a week ago...

I should have posted this a week ago but the blog website was not working. So sorry for the delay, here it is.

I realized that no one (including my family who I email regularly) really knows what I do here on a day-to-day basis. I generally stick to the same rough structure, but I have to say that it changes quite a bit. You never really know what you’ll be doing when you wake up in the morning. Here’s a very rough version of what I do every day.

7:30- Wake up, head to breakfast.
8:30- Wander from classroom to classroom helping kids with their studies… Their actual classes don’t start until 9:30, and until then they just have study hall.
9:10- Prayer/ assembly with the whole school.
9:30- 12:30- Classes start. I usually try and wander around to see what I can do to help, but I’m usually unfortunately just a distraction. During this time before lunch I don’t really have a set thing that I have to be doing. Sometimes I will help with special ed., sometimes I will have a big art class in the after noon that need preparation. I’ll use the Internet every once in a while during this time, too. Sometimes the little kids will play outside and I’ll join them, and recently we have started to fix up some of the old wall murals at the school in the mornings as well. Sometimes there will be nothing that I can do to help, so I will work on my schools summer reading list, but only when its absolutely necessary.
12:30- lunch.
1:00- This is when I usually teach the UKG/LKG girls (ages 2-4) swimming lessons. I offered to take the boys too, but was turned down. I forgot that boys and girls simply do not swim together ever. It takes about 20 minutes to get all of the little girls in swim suits, but its worth it, as they are all adorable, and they love being able to have the chance to use the pool. There are a couple of little wading areas in it which are perfect for them, so I can help one kid at a time while the others sit in the wading area splashing around. They love the water, even if they’re just sitting in it doing nothing. When they’re done I’ll bring them back inside and help them get dressed again and they will either take naps or head back to class.
2:30- I’ll usually end up helping out with special ed. during this time. We sing songs and play games. My favorite is when I draw them things and they color it in. They love that one.
3:30- I will start to lay everything out for the art class at 4. If I finish early, I will go outside and play with the kids for a couple minutes before they have their end of day prayer at 3:45 ish.
4:00- Art class! My favorite part of the day. I have gotten to know all of the 7th and 8th graders in this class really well, and I love all of them. Some of them are really quite funny, and all of them try to do their best every class. It’s going to be very hard to part with them next week. These classes honestly don’t really have a time limit. One day they all finished early, but managed to produce excellent work, so I let them out at 4:30, and just yesterday almost everyone left at 5:30 except for a few boys who stayed later until 6 to finish their work.
?- 6:30- during this time all of the kids have play time outside. We play games and sing songs and just run around. I have also gotten the chance to play soccer with some of the older boys a few times. Once they said that girls don’t play sports, so naturally I had to prove them wrong. It’s all good fun- they’re all good kids through and through. At 6 the older kids go inside the school to study, but the little kids stay outside until 6:30 to keep playing.
6:30- Then I’ll head back to my room. I try to run at this time, as its not quite as hot. After I’ll shower and maybe read for a bit.
7:30- 8:30- dinner.
8:30- ?- After everyone has eaten I’ll spend time with the girls in their dorms. They like to sing and dance a lot, so I usually end up sitting 2 or 3 performances of some sort which is always fun. Sometimes I’ll help the older kids with English homework, or sit with some of the older workers who take care of the kids. They are all so nice and welcoming, they make everyone feel like family. After this I’ll head back to my house and read and then sleep. I’m usually pretty tired by the end of the day.

Saturdays are different, as they have no classes. The song teacher comes in the morning, and in the afternoon they get to watch TV. I usually teach a lot of swimming classes on these days to all of the girls. Sundays are church days. The morning is all church and church school, and the afternoon is devoted to studying. These are very busy kids. They also get up at about 5 every day to do work around Pathway. The 10th graders say they usually only get about 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night, but they don’t mind. They all seem to have infinite amounts of energy. I have no idea where it comes from, but somehow they are always all smiling.