Note: Out of the 10 pictures this is the best, lesson: kindergartners move a lot.
La
Paz kids really know how to make someone feel welcome, on my first
day in Ms. Beaverly's first grade class (also known as the Dolphins) I was greeted with a
unanimous "Good Morning Ms. Alex!"; which was followed up
by a student named Mia giving me a big hug and sitting back down. Ms.
Shera's kindergarten class wasn't much different, I was greeted with
hellos and questions raging from how old are you to what is my
favorite fruit (I am apparently very old at the age of 24).
A
typical day at La Paz for me would usually start in the first grade
classroom where I would help with
reading and writing. During these work shops a lot of the kids worked
independently, while I only worked with a few kids at a time. These
workshops called “centers” allow the kids to take their education
into their own hands learning responsibility and independence. As a
teachers assistant my job was to go around and spend time with just a
few kids individually, which allowed me to see how those individuals
were progressing and where they would need more help. What I love
about the La Paz approach is that even when helping individual
students, you are really helping them arrive at the answer
themselves. I also often worked with parent volunteers, showing how
dedicated La Paz parents can be to the kids and the school.
The
next part of my day is probably my favorite part of the day, snack
time! Not because of the snacks, but more because this is the time I
really bonded with the kids. Snack time also included play time,
which for me meant “Palapa Duty”. The palapa is essentially an
outdoor studio with a thatch roof, which is used for yoga and dance
classes, as well as other fun games. Once such game I played was an
adaptation of tag featuring safe zones along the wall. I looked
forward to playing this game everyday, because the kids were so
excited to have me play.
After snack and play time, I would work with the kindergartners also known as the Bunnies. Let me tell you these are some of the sweetest kids you will ever know, and they all have their own unique personalities. Even at the ages of five and six these kids were always on the ball (well almost always), they knew their schedule and all the songs that went with it. As you can imagine a large part of your day working with small kids involves a lot of songs, which to this day I will never be able to forget. Like the first graders the Bunnies learn to work independently in order to instill what they have learned in the classroom. Watching these kids work by themselves, and turning to one another for help made me realize we don't give kids a lot of the credit they deserve. Although every kid might not be at the same level, they are all capable of learning the material you want, without you actually giving them the answer but rather a set of tools (often in song form).
After snack and play time, I would work with the kindergartners also known as the Bunnies. Let me tell you these are some of the sweetest kids you will ever know, and they all have their own unique personalities. Even at the ages of five and six these kids were always on the ball (well almost always), they knew their schedule and all the songs that went with it. As you can imagine a large part of your day working with small kids involves a lot of songs, which to this day I will never be able to forget. Like the first graders the Bunnies learn to work independently in order to instill what they have learned in the classroom. Watching these kids work by themselves, and turning to one another for help made me realize we don't give kids a lot of the credit they deserve. Although every kid might not be at the same level, they are all capable of learning the material you want, without you actually giving them the answer but rather a set of tools (often in song form).
A
lot of my time was also spent prepping materials for different
centers or creating learning tools. I had a lot of fun creating some
illustrations for writing workshop:
As
you can see this is very educational. During a lot of my prep time
the kids had other activities such as Art or P.E, and often switched
between Spanish and English language. As kindergartners their day is
split 50/50 between Spanish and English learning, a lot of this is
possible through bilingual pairs. Each pair consists of a native
English speaker and a native Spanish speaker, who help each other
learn the language. I can honestly say I learned a lot of my Spanish
from these kids.
La
Paz is all about contributing and learning more about your community,
which often results in weekly field trips. The Bunnies spend every
Wednesday morning at the Farm (Granja) where they learn how to take
care of the animals, and learn about all the resources animals give
us. One week I got to go on an extra special field trip to a goat
farm with the kids. It was a beautiful farm where the goats were fed
a high quality home grown organic diet, in order to make delicious
milk, cheeses, and yogurt. Let me tell you it was absolutely
delicious. Unfortunately, I was unable to get as many pictures as I
would have liked due to camera malfunction. This makes me sad because
I missed all the good shots of the kids milking a goat!
I
am truly sad that I only had a week and a half with these awesome
kids, they are really a bright bunch and I see them doing amazing
things in the future. If there is one thing I have learned working
with kids, is that you tend to learn a whole lot more about yourself.
I tended to find a little bit of myself in each of these kids, and
they help remind you to have no fear. Kids aren't afraid to take
risks or challenges, and its important to keep a certain level of
that fearlessness alive.
My
favorite day would have to be my last day at La Paz even though it
was also sad. As discussed in previous blogs La Paz celebrates
themes, and I was lucky enough to be there for the origins theme. It
was a busy day getting ready for the origins party that would ensue
later that day. I was prepared to be covered in glitter from arts and
craft tables, and to also enjoy some international foods. Then just
before the festivities were about to start I got an awesome surprise.
I walked outside to the picnic tables were both the Dolphins and the
Bunnies were gathered, and Ms. Shera holding a big yellow card. In
big letters I could see the outside read “It's Not Goodbye”,
followed by the words “It's See You Later! -Your La Paz Family”
on the inside. What was even better was that the entire inside was
full of the students signatures and little messages to me. What
happened next really took a lot of will power for me not to cry, each
of the Dolphins stood up and told me why they were thankful for me
being there. This was all of course followed up with a big group hug
with me in the middle. I definitely will never forget my time spent
at La Paz and I am truly thankful that I am considered part of the
family.
Don't forget to check out the La Paz Page and the Seeds to Trees Facebook!