Recreo

With the weather like it is (I was almost chilly walking to the bus today in flip flops and short sleeves and saw many a person in sweaters!), recreo has become much more fun.  The typically air conditioned rooms turn off the air and use just fans, so we don't congregate in the computer room anymore.  We kind of congregate just wherever.

Today, I bought my ice cream (4 pesos, and probably all chemicals, but "home-made" by the selling ladies and delish) and sat outside the office in front of the PE area (multipurpose if you will) and watched Anabel sell the popsicles with her 1st graders.  These are the first graders who were using English in their math lesson.  We laughed about that for awhile.

Then Carla, a "rough" fourth grade girl spent the whole time with me.  We chatted about little things: food, church: her cousins and sister at the school.  She took it upon herself to police the other kids.  I don't know if they always promote the big kids being an example and also explicitly correcting other students, but she was doing it.  Three (very well-behaved in English class) first grade girls were chasing a boy and I think they knocked him down.  She went over to them and told all of them to calm down and to leave each other alone.

I found that very interesting.  And helpful.  I'm still not sure my place when it comes to discipline because I'm not sure of the rules.  But seeing the older kids "teaching" the younger ones felt pretty good.

I enjoyed seeing them in their play time.  I think I'll be spending many more recreos as an observer!