why I will mss teaching.

I said goodbye to all of my students two weeks ago. I also said goodbye to my good friend and co-teacher, Julianne. It was a long, sad week, in all honesty. Too many goodbyes all at once for me.

At any rate, I have been contemplating all of the lovely and unlovely bits of teaching that I will miss. In so many ways, this year of teaching has completely exceeded my expectations, and I have thoroughly loved it. Which is definitely why saying goodbye to it has been just so bitter

I will miss seeing students grow intellectually, personally, and in character. I could relate story upon story of blossoming students, of changed behavior, of naughty ones developing into hilariously cute ones. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest bits about teaching, anywhere, and it makes it all so worthwhile. [Thanks, Jimmy.]

I will miss seeing students develop in creativity. Learning in Taiwan is based more around memorization (which makes sense for Chinese) and less around independent thinking...which means that many students have a difficult time writing a story, or drawing a picture, or doing anything that requires them to think on their own. As a teacher, I've loved finding ways to encourage them in this area, and it's so exciting to see their own ideas come out.

I will miss the quirkiness of my students... their cute, little Taiwanese accents and (wrong) phrases... their outgoing personalities and their subdued ones... their sense of humor (poo poo never grows old. ever.)... their excitement for life and the way they communicate it to me.

Teaching has been a joy-filled, entertaining, stretching, and ultimately so rewarding way to spend this past year, and I wouldn't trade it. And I'm missing it already.

why I will miss teaching.

I said goodbye to all of my students two weeks ago. I also said goodbye to my good friend and co-teacher, Julianne. It was a long, sad week, in all honesty. Too many goodbyes all at once for me.

At any rate, I have been contemplating all of the lovely and unlovely bits of teaching that I will miss. In so many ways, this year of teaching has completely exceeded my expectations, and I have thoroughly loved it. Which is definitely why saying goodbye to it has been just so bitter.

I will miss seeing students grow intellectually, personally, and in character. I could relate story upon story of blossoming students, of changed behavior, of naughty ones developing into hilariously cute ones. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest bits about teaching, anywhere, and it makes it all so worthwhile. [Thanks, Jimmy.]

I will miss seeing students develop in creativity. Learning in Taiwan is based more around memorization (which makes sense for Chinese) and less around independent thinking...which means that many students have a difficult time writing a story, or drawing a picture, or doing anything that requires them to think on their own. As a teacher, I've loved finding ways to encourage them in this area, and it's so exciting to see their own ideas come out.

I will miss the quirkiness of my students... their cute, little Taiwanese accents and (wrong) phrases... their outgoing personalities and their subdued ones... their sense of humor (poo poo never grows old. ever.)... their excitement for life and the way they communicate it to me.

Teaching has been a joy-filled, entertaining, stretching, and ultimately so rewarding way to spend this past year, and I wouldn't trade it. And I'm missing it already.

Interesting Tidbits

Thought I'd jot a quick note about some interesting happenings in class lately. Last week, I got the chance to introduce smores to my young kindergarteners. I'm pretty sure none of them have ever tasted this good ol' American treat. Not having a campfire on hand, we used big number birthday candles to roast them. It did the trick and I think the kids even enjoyed them.

Last week I got to teach the kids about the circus. I've included a picture below. If you look closely, at the top I drew a smashingly, good tiger.

Flynn: "Why there is sharp things on his head?"
Me: "Flynn, those are teeth."
Flynn: "No! On top?"
Me: "Those are ears."
Flynn: "There only one."

What can I say...I'm not an artist.

Are you smarter than a 1st grader?

I'm not necessarily proud of this. Let me just start by saying that we've worked very hard this year on spelling... well, because some of my kids' spelling is a bit atrocious. All this aside, I get quite the kick out of interpreting their attempts to spell.

So, I thought to test our readers to see if they have the necessary interpretation skills for teaching English in Taiwan. I have it in mind to give a Taiwanese reward for the person who gets the most correct, so pass the word!

Are you ready? Set? Go!

1. It want eat sonfin.

2. He net to go to moetn.

3. The villagers go lar. And lar dendn't a wolf.

4. He was tdiling the T.V.

5. She has bolu shirk.

6. The papple were sxard.

7. A rabet jumped in wedo.

8. He shos derte.

9. Bot third pig don't da. So wolf von a wa.

Leave your guesses as a comment, and I will post the answers in a few days.

Have fun!

featuring Level C...

Storywriting is an integral part of my classes, and I love watching my students develop in creativity. I thought their unintended humor too enjoyable to keep all to myself.

Best one-liner:

The cowboy is sit on cactus and he ouch!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: these are all unedited

A long time ago, an Indian and a cowboy met in the park. The Indian shot the buffalo with bow and arrow. Cowboy said, "Wow, not me, I didn't ues the gun." They took the buffalo to the hospital. So, the buffalo didn't die.

[Sean]

One day, the Indian ate a buffalo. They so liked buffalo. Cowboy liked buffalo too. He saw Indian have a buffalo. He think, "I want that buffalo." He wrote a letter. Indian saw that cowboy is so so so so so so so so bad. He have a gun. He want play basketball. He catch a ball and jump and win. He's so happy. And he think, "The Indian is not bad. I don't want a buffalo. I want a basketball." Indian is so so so so so so so so so so happy. Evening, Indian is slept in the teepee. Indian have so many bows and arrows. They ate buffalo.

[Jonathon]

One day, an Indian and a cowgirl met in the park. They read the book, sang a song, took a walk. The Indian loved the cowgirl, but the cowgirl didn't love the Indian, so the Indian was sad.

[Tyne]

Our Experience Part I

Wrapping up our time in Taiwan (only 6 weeks left!)  is causing us to reflect on our experience living here. We thought it would be enjoyable (for us to write and you to read) to share our experiences categorically. To better do this, we are employing a star system:

***** We're buyin' a home and settin' down roots.

**** Rock on!

*** We don't love it, we don't hate it!

** Not our favorite but tolerable.

* Stinky cheese!

Weather

Ben * What can I say, the weather just isn't really to my liking. The summer consists of 4-5 months of 3-showers-a-day type weather, unless you enjoy that crusted sweat feel...Taiwan isn't for you. The winter is rainy and frigid; you seemingly can't get away from the chill. On top of that, you are sick for weeks at a time.

Beth ** My husband is clearly from Arkansas as he thinks that "frigid" is an appropriate word to describe Taiwan. My beef is with the heat and humidity... I have actually found the winter to be a relief, temperature-wise. But really, I miss the lovely four seasons of the Midwest. My two stars are slightly generous, but the Philippines taught me that it could be worse.

Teaching

Ben **** After my initial molehills (more like mountains), I have enjoyed my time teaching, especially, to my surprise, kingergarten kids. The Lord was gracious in giving me a good job (most of the time) and that makes all the difference in one's evaluation. I'm not ready to sell the farm and make English education my career, but it has been a fun chapter in our lives.

Beth ***** I've loved teaching so much that it's caused me to reconsider my course of study for next year. I credit this love to an amazing school run by amazing people and classes filled with, mostly, amazing kids. If I could stay in this exact situation and didn't have other life dreams, I might consider selling the farm.

Food

Ben ** Before coming to Taiwan, I thought I would really enjoy the food here. My thought was, "General Tsao's Chicken" every day. In the States, I really like Chinese food (well...Chineseish). Needless to say, I have yet to find my General Tsao's. I have found some things that I really enjoy but, on the whole, Taiwanese food has not been my favorite.

Beth *** While I've found that much of Taiwan's oily or fried food hasn't awakened a plethora of fireworks for me, I do love my local market where I find everything from produce to meat, from grains to eggs. We've also been able to cook many of our favorite dishes here, which has given our palate a good variety.

Church

Ben **** Our church experience here has been a two part book. The first couple of months were spent in a congregation that we found was not for us, for a variety of reasons. However, the church where we have ended up settling in has been great! We are actually a bit sad to leave, as we have felt we are just now beginning to feel like it is family.

Beth **** We love love love our New Hope congregation here, and have just been blessed by it so much. Our congregation is a mix of foreigners and Taiwanese people, and it's been amazing to see a variety of worship in Chinese and English.

more to come...
(if there are any areas you are curious about...let us know)

The Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs. Their names were Alvin, Melvin, and Bill. These young piggies were coming of age and recognized that the time had come to move out of their parents crib and into their own digs. Before leaving, they sat down to talk over their future plans.

Alvin began with his intentions, "I think I will build a hut of our straw. It gets very humid here in Piggyland and a straw hut will allow great ventilation." Melvin enthusiastically nodded his head, "Great idea, Alvin. I'm sure that will work out very well for you. There is more than one way to build a house." Alvin and Melvin smiled at each other while Bill grimaced.

Their heads then turned to Melvin. "I have decided that I will build a stick cabin. I've always wanted a stick cabin with that rustic, earthy feel. I think it will be great for me!" Alvin shook his head in concurrence. "There is more than one way to build a house, Melvin. I'm sure a stick cabin will work out splendidly for you."

The little piggies heads then turned to Bill, whose frown had only deepened. "If you have ears, hear this. There is a big bad wolf lurking in the area and, sooner or later, he will come for us. Though there might be many ways to build a house, there is only one way that will ensure your safety. That is why I plan to build a house of brick. If you two are wise, you will do the same." Alvin and Melvin looked at Bill dumfounded. "Of course the wolf will come after us. He comes after every little pig," stated Alvin with a condescending air. "Yes, I can't believe that you are so narrow-minded as to believe that a brick house is the only one that can keep us safe. You've always been so intolerant of people with other ideas," stated Melvin. "Don't you think you are being a bit naive?" asked Alvin.

Bill, with sympathy in his eyes, shook his head. "I love you both and only want you to know the truth. Narrow-mindedness and intolerance have nothing to do with it." Alvin and Melvin looked at him angrily, "Yes it does! You are narrow-minded because you refuse to acknowledge that our houses will save us just as well as your house will save you." Bill opened the door to leave before glancing over his shoulder. "Just because you want something to be true doesn't make it so. How can I give credence to something I believe to be absolutely wrong, especially when it involves the lives of my brothers?" With that, he was gone.

Funnies

A few funnies, from my class:

-We are learning a song for a show that we are putting on in May. The song is Mama Mia by ABBA and one of the lines sings, "Blue, since the day we parted." One of my little girls, Romy, unknowingly decided to improve the song with a line reading, "Blue, since the day we farted."

-I was thumping the back of my head against the wall one day and Henry all of a sudden shouts, "Stop!!" "Why, Henry?" "You will be stupid," he replies. Glad to know I'm not there yet.

-There is a small aquarium at our school with some colorful fish inside. All the kids like to look at them. The other day, Flynn decides to inform me that they are "garbage fish." He then proceeds to give me a discourse on them. I found out later that "garbage fish" is a literal translation of what they are called in Chinese.

And from Beth:

- Lately, I've been teaching my youngest class bits of phonics. "Oo" is one of our current sounds. We eat a lot of noodles here, so I thought it would be a great, practical, "oo" word to teach my kids. I wrote the word on the board, and drew a bunch of squiggles next to it. "Class, NOODLES." Tiger raised his hand, "Teacher, that's not noodles. That's messy!"

- Sandra came into class in a bit of a flurry one day. "My daddy...he's in the hospital." "Oh no! What's the matter?" I said. "He's... he has a rock... here." She points to her belly. "Oh..." I say, "In his stomach???" Sandra explains, "Mommy says its because he doesn't drink enough water!" A rock? Right. Got it. Poor man.

Kids Say the Darnest Things

A few more bloopers from the kids.

*Teacher Ben: "Alright class...goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite."

 Alvin: "We don't have bedbugs. We shut the door."


*(acting like a monster)
Teacher Ben: "AHHHHH!!! I'm going to eat you."

Wesley: (with a look of panic) "NO!!!!!! I yucky! I STANKY!" (a redneck Taiwanese boy)


*Teacher Ben: "So class, today we are learning about rain. Now tell me, is rain a good thing or a bad thing?"

Romy: "A bad thing because you can't go to the park."

The Little Mermaid, Revised Edition.

Stories have been the trend at school the past few weeks, as I have been teaching the past tense to my level C students.

Some students write slowly and carefully.

Some just struggle a bit with stories in general.

And then some come up with absolute masterpieces.

I've read my fair share of the Three Little Pigs, Snow White, and most recently, the Little Mermaid. And while I'd love to keep these brilliant works all to myself, I just can't help but think you might enjoy a good couple of chuckles too.

(these appear as the students wrote them)

Once upon a time, there was a mermaid. She lived in the ocean. One day, she saw a ship. The prince was on the ship. But there was a storm. The prince fell in the water. The mermaid watched the prince. The mermaid helped the prince to the beach. She went to the sea monster home. The mermaid asked the sea monster, "I want to drink magic medicine." The sea monster gave the mermaid magic medicine. She had two legs! The prince saw the mermaid and said, "Do you want to dance with me?" The mermaid said, "Okay." And the prince asked, "Do you want to marry me?" The mermaid said, "Okay." And they had happy every days!

Once upon a time, there was a big girl. Her name was Mermaid. One day, she saw a big ship. She saw the prince fall into the water. The mermaid took the prince to the beach. The prince woke up. He said, "Wait, don't go." But the mermaid went into the water. One day, a sea monster helped Mermaid to have legs. The sea monster gave Mermaid a magic medicine. Mermaid drank the magic medicine and she had legs, but she couldn't talk. She went back to the beach. She saw prince married another girl. She was sad. The End.

Once upon a time, there was a little Mermaid. She lived in a castle. One day, she saw a ship. She saw a handsome man. It was raining. The handsome man fell in the water. She helped the handsome man swim to the beach. When he got up, she swam to the water. She wanted legs. She asked the sea monster, "Can you help me to have some legs?" The sea monster said, "When you drink this magic medicine, you will have legs." The mermaid drank the magicine. And she had legs. The handsome man saw her. He took her to his castle. They loved and liked each other. And they got married.

The End.

Funny sentences are essential in my classroom, and so I am always encouraging my students to be creative! See this sweet, innocent student in red?

Well, this is one I received recently from him:

I like dirty movies.

Haha...ha. And this teacher just didn't have the heart to rain on his funny sentence parade and tell him what that really means in English.
Meanwhile, A for creative effort, Ricky.

A month or so ago, Ben came home and asked if I would be interested in subbing at his school for a few days. I didn't know much about it, or what I would need to do. But I thought, why not? And so last week, I cancelled my morning tutoring, and went to school with Ben to "teach" these adorable three-year olds.

Let just say... I had a fun week!

This week is back to normal, and that's probably good for my sanity. It really was a lot of kids all day, every day last week. But I sure enjoyed it!

a Bambini Christmas, in photos.

This past weekend, my school hosted a Christmas party for our students and their families. We enjoyed sharing about baby Jesus, singing Christmas songs, watching a Charlie Brown Christmas, playing games, and handing out homemade Christmas cards from each student to their parents. I could elaborate, but honestly, wouldn't you rather just look anyway?

We had so much fun! I again feel so thrilled to be a part of the lives of these kids and their families... and am continually blessed by the love I recieve in return.

Then again, I don't often post on the days when I want to strangle each of them. You know how it goes, right?

today's top 5

It is safe to say that there is never a dull moment when teaching kindergarteners. I thought I'd share a few quick stories about my younguns, and so here are the top five recently:

5. My kids have a ton of energy, and that's fine... most kids do. However, they really get no time to run, jump, and simply blow off steam. They are frequently bouncing off the walls. To remedy this problem, I have regularly been taking them downstairs to the school gym and having them run laps. I remember hating this when I was in sports, but these kids LOVE IT! Just call me coach. ;)

4. Whenever you have 16 five year olds in a room together, there will undoubtedly be some... tension. You just can't put that many little kids together and expect them to get along. They deal with their frustrations in a number of ways: first they whine, then they tattle, then they resort to assault, and finally... if none of that works, they pull out the big guns:"(insert name) YOU ARE NOT MY FRIEND!" Ahhh...the adorable little sinners.

3. I was chatting with three of my little students one morning and one of them, being the "ego-boosting", admiring student that she is, says, "My daddy's muscles are bigger than yours, Teacher Ben!" Her friend, not to be outdone, states, "My daddy's muscles are as big as a mountain!" The final student, a little boy, then pipes up with, "My daddy knows how to make coffee." Definitely the winner.

2. Today I walked past the bathroom and heard one of my little boys yelling for my co-teacher. I poked my head in and asked what he needed. "I need teacher Jessica to wipe my bum bum." I replied with a bit of amusement, "Why can't you wipe your own bum bum?" He paused for a second before stating the obvious, "I can't see my own bum bum." There you have it, folks. You can't argue with that.

1. And to top the list, today we had our weekly cooking class. Last week, my co-teacher approached me about what we should make in class, especially since it was a special day. You see, my school decided that we need a promotional video to show to parents of prospective students. As a result, a dude with a camera took footage of the many classes during the day. One of the classes he filmed of us was cooking. We could choose a dish that had already been made in class, such as fruit salad, sandwiches, fried floor drink (don't ask), or french toast. Feeling inspired, I wanted to push the envelope and go where no class had gone before. And so... I settled on party mix. Since they couldn't find pretzels (a rarity here), we were provided with peanuts, raisins, and M&M's. I remembered how so often (at least with the chex-mix kind of party mix) you put it in the oven and let it get warm and toasty. Ovens are quite rare here, so I figured that it would be okay to modify and use a hot plate instead. We poured all the peanuts, raisins, and M&M's into a big pot. Before long, it began to smoke and smelled burnt. Needless to say, the peanuts were well done. It wasn't exactly the kids' favorite. I cannot understand why with the kind of stuff they get fed for snacks. To boost my ego just a bit more, the other Chinese teachers kept poking in their heads, wrinkling their noses, and asking what was burnt. They did not really care for my party mix. Even the school cook, who really should appreciate foreign cuisine, seemed skeptical. All I can say about this is that, next time, we will be doing fruit salad.

learning G

Some days, I really love my job. Recently, I had the privilege of teaching my 2 and 1/2 year old student, Winston, the letter 'G'. I pulled out my sunglasses for him... g-g-g-glasses. I think he got it.

I try not to have favorites, but I sure do love him. Without shame.

P.S. So we're a little slow. But for those of you who are interested, we've finally added our 'followers' link to the bottom of the page... feel free to become one!

meet Ivan

So I've come to a realization. We often post about our trips, our grand adventures, and our latest disasters, but rarely to we post about our life... the randomness of certain experiences, the funniest things our students say, the bizarre diversity of culture, or the way we're making life work in a completely different country. Maybe you don't care. And really, that's okay. :) But if you do, we'll make a point to keep you updated a bit more often... about the daily adventures and flops of life in Taiwan.

With that said, I thought I'd introduce you to Ivan, one the students I tutor on the side (in addition to my regular teaching job where I have several classes full of lovely students). He's five, and his English is perhaps the best of any student I teach. And he's a hoot (that's a bonus). After class recently, he gave me this note with firm instructions: "Don't open it until you get home, okay? OKAY??" Alright, Ivan.

It made my day. What a brown-noser. And he's got to learn how to spell my name. That's next week.

celebrating...

a happy halloween! Yesterday, my school put on a big party featuring a scary story room, a hide-and-seek room, a jail, and time for trick or treating. We had a blast!

"trick or treat, smell my feet..."

with one of my students

Scary, right?

Wishing you a happy Halloween! :)

welcome to my school.

As promised, here is a tour and introduction to Bambini Learning Program... are you ready?



Owned by an American believer and his Taiwanese wife, Bambini originally served as a montessori-type Chinese school, and has recently been developed into an English school. Most classes consist of children between the ages of 4 and 10, at varying levels of English, and take place after school daily. The exception is our current summer program, which has been running during the daytime. Unlike many bushibans (English cram schools in Taiwan), Bambini is dedicated not only to English education, but also to the development of character and a love for learning.



I love how the school is focused on promoting families... this front room is often crowded with parents and children hanging out before or after classes. Our staff is small, and we feel like one happy family!



My classroom...



For our summer program, both classes have created an environment of clay, sand, and water. The students are creating clay sea animals... so fun! After a few weeks, we will "pollute" the environment with trash and an oil spill, demonstrating to the students the importance of maintaining a clean world. I think the project is fantastic!


Whales... by my students.

In all honestly, I feel incredibly blessed to have this job. I am loving teaching, and feel excited about the many opportunities to love and impact these children. Thank you for your prayers!