Whew what a transition going from these short school weeks to a full week with Back to School Night and after school activities starting this week! It was rough at times but nothing I could not handle. I just learned to appreciate the little things. In the beginning of the year in kindergarten I find it really really important to compartmentalize and celebrate the small moments. And I mean small. Some days it was cheering over the fact that my students had a quiet and straight line on the walk to gym. Some days it was celebrating the fact that my students were quiet during the read aloud for 5 pages and not grabbing and touching each other. You need to break it down. Focus on those small positive moments and not get caught up on the negative and being distraught over what they are not able to do yet.
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2 of my favorite gifts that I've gotten. It's nice to have these little keepsakes
to glance at from time to time to remind me to stay strong and help put
a smile on my face =) |
Because there are definitely times at the end of the day where I am sitting at my desk and I beat myself up and am so hard on myself. Am I getting through to them? Am I making a difference? For the ones that I am having trouble communicating with because they don't know much English- will we find a way to work through this barrier? And that is when I need to stop and remind myself that they are kids. It is October and I am working with 5 and 6 year olds. Yes there are certainly some days when I am so drained physically and mentally from trying to keep up with the energy of these 5 and 6 year olds.
But then there are such sweet moments that make it all worth it. When the kids are at recess, sometimes this is my first time to sit down all day. It is nice even if it is only for 5 minutes to sit at my desk and do some menial task like check emails, and sit in silence with no interruptions. At least until the kids open the door to come back in for a quick drink of water. To get to the playground outside, I literally just have to open the door and they go play. One day this week while the kids were at recess and I was running around doing some tasks like making copies or getting papers organized for my students' folders. Then afterwards for the last few minutes of recess I sat at my desk to check my emails. Not even a minute after I sit down the door from outside swings open and one of my students comes in. I assume they are coming in for water and do my best to keep a smile plastered on my face and pretend I am not bothered by the interruption. And then the student turns to me and says "Miss Kellie I just missed you soo much!" and pops their head back outside. And every ounce of annoyance that I felt before I heard those words instantly ebbed away. They are just so loving and accepting and kind of everything and everyone in their little worlds at this age. It is incredible. Their biggest problems are "Miss Kellie my friend _____ knocked down my tower of blocks!" Build the tower again. "Miss Kellie my friend _____ says she's not my friend anymore!" and then they promptly make up and are talking again a minute later like nothing happened. So what if they need multiple reminders throughout the day to keep their hands and feet to themselves? So what if they need multiple tries transitioning to and from their tables onto the rug? So what if they need multiple reminders that only one person talks at a time or that we do not call out? We are not perfect. They are kids. It is October. These are big details I need to keep reminding myself of. These kids in September and October will not be the same kids when it comes to May and June. Overtime these routines will stick and they will begin retaining more and more and they will be ready to move onto first grade. These tiny human teacups are capable of so much and I am just laying the foundation for their futures. Ok now it is getting cheesy and sentimental- but it is the truth! They are all so sweet and I love all their personalities and getting to know every one of them. It is so exciting to see the more shy and reserved ones starting to come out of their shells and open up and talk to me.
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| As promised, the We Love Apples bulletinboard! I was so happy with how this turned out. |
Wednesday night was Back to School Night. I survived a 13 hour day at school and lived to tell the tale! And I have to say it went very well. Hooray for caffeine helping me get through the afternoon and evening- first soda I have had here! I am fortunate to have so many unbelievably supportive parents who want to work with me and help out in any way they can. Because of course we all share the common goal of wanting the best for their child and for them to succeed in every way possible. They want to know how they can reinforce at home what I am teaching. Yes of course it was nerve wracking since it was my first Back to School Night as an educator, but I prepared for it as best as I could, and did not let my worries overcome me. I knew I did all that I could- all I could do is wait to talk to the parents and tell them how lucky their kids are to have me as their teacher =)
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| First BTS night! |
Last weekend was fun. One of my coworkers is in a Gaelic Football league and her team made it into a tournament. There were teams from Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. This was the first time the tournament was hosted in Qatar. Gaelic football is very interesting... it is a combination of many sports. It is similar to rugby and can be very aggressive. Lots of elbowing and pushing to get the ball! It is played with a soccer ball and you can use your hands and feet. Every 4 steps you either have to bounce it like you are dribbling in basketball, serve it like in volleyball, or do a kick off your feet into your hands- which looks very tough and I do not think I would have the coordination for it! Basically it is like playing aggressive soccer with your hands. Each half is about 7 minutes long (due to the heat) and they get a 2 minute break in between. I cannot even imagine playing in the heat- the games started around 9:30 and ran until 5! Reminded me of my all day soccer tournaments when I was little. I was barely in the sun watching the games and got burnt. Ironically enough I think it was when I was walking from the field to the mall to buy some sunscreen. Afterwards we went to the Doha Rugby Club and watched some of the boys matches. The girls matches were at Aspire Park by the Villaggio Mall and the boys played at the club. At the club I got to have REAL bacon! A bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwich never tasted so good.
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| Some action from the game. Green is Abu Dhabi and Maroon is Qatar. Our girls won 2 of the 3 games! They made it to the semi finals of the tournament. We got to watch them play at the Doha Rugby Club but unfortunately they lost and did not make it to the finals. |
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If you kick the ball into the net it is 3 points. If the ball is kicked or thrown between the posts it is 1 point.
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Last weekend was also one of my coworker's birthdays! It seems every weekend is someone's birthday. Seriously. Another one this weekend and the next! I guess that is what happens when you work with 50+ people! Last weekend we went to Trader Vic's (I kept wanting to call it Trader Joe's) at the Hilton to celebrate and do some salsa dancing. It was a blast. Always fun to relax and kick back after a week of work. After spending the day watching the football matches I started mulling over the idea of getting involved in something outside of school. Not that I don't love my GEMS family but it would be another way to make friends outside of school.
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Trader Vic's is the only place in Doha that has Latin music. The dance floor was
a little small but it was still lots of fun! This is not my picture but I thought it was a good
picture. Some of the couples on the dance floor when I was there were really talented! |
We shall see what fun this weekend brings. One of these days I really want to check out their movie theaters! I doubt I will find pretzel bites there but it would be cool to see what a movie theater is like over here. Plus there are some movies that I want to see like The Martian. Happy news- I finally got my internet banking set up! Anyone who has talked to me knows that I have been trying to get this set up for weeks. Almost a month now actually. Now I can finally send some money to my bank account home. Speaking of home I also bought my ticket for the holidays- I will be home from December 18-December 29. I would love to see as many people as I can while I am home! I am giving myself a few days to get used to the jet lag when I come back to Doha... and I am also toying with the idea of celebrating New Year's in Dubai! I think it would be an amazing experience. I am even considering traveling somewhere during the Thanksgiving break. Time will tell!
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