A Day in the Life

Although I never know exactly what will happen from day to day, my days do have a certain rhythm to them. Personally, I like routine—but with a few surprises thrown in for good measure! I tend get more accomplished when I have a set schedule and less time to do it in (doesn’t make sense, but that’s how I am!). So here is a peek into what a typical day looks like for me!

I usually drag myself out of bed around 6:30 (I still am most decidedly not a morning person!) and get ready for the day—shower, breakfast, packing my lunch, and making my tea (that I forget at home about half the time). I like to leave the house around 7:20…although most days it ends up being closer to 7:25, due to said aversion to mornings. J

My classroom

My walk to school takes 10-15 minutes, depending on which way I go, how fast I walk, and what I’m carrying (backpack, guitar, other random items for school…). I usually like to take a shortcut that goes along the edge of someone’s property and through Impact Park (so named because of the large piece of shrapnel left over from World War II), but with all the rain we’ve had lately, Impact Park is a mud hole which I avoid at all costs! (I’ve wiped out quite spectacularly several times here because of the slippery mud…and not paying attention to where I’m walking…) So I take the road, down the hill by the Store, passed the Meeting House, Post Office, and High School, go around Impact Park, continue on passed Dorelo (one of the Children’s Homes—where kids Grade 7 and up stay when their parents are in the village or elsewhere), and on to the Primary Campus. My morning English as a Second Language (ESL) class starts at 7:45, although my kids have been having a hard time arriving on time this term (last term some of them would get to school before I would!).

We usually start off with either a chapter from whatever book we’re reading or a writing prompt, depending on the grade—I read to the younger classes, while the older kids do a writing prompt. Term 3 is my favourite term because we get to read a lot! Nursery rhymes, fairy tales, tall tales, fables…I love it!

My morning ESL class finishes up at 8:35 and the official school day begins at 8:45. I teach two kids in Grades 4 and 5 for their Reading classes each morning; they are both significantly below grade level in reading, due to English abilities and other issues, so we read a book at their level and then discuss what we read. Between these two students is morning recess (aka a short tea break for the teachers).

"We, the class are in agreement that since this is a free country...we should be
allowed to go outside." This message has been authorized by the Foreign
Affairs Child Abuse Committee. (The message I came back to after leaving the
room for a few minutes...they REALLY like having class outside!)

Around 11, I start packing up to head to the Secondary Campus for my Spanish 2 class. Right now we are working on skits that the kids wrote, to perform them next week. In between the kids begging to have class outside and informing me that pop quizzes are illegal in Commonwealth countries (they are certainly a creative bunch!) we do manage to learn a bit of vocabulary and grammar!

After Spanish class, I scurry back to the Primary Campus for lunch and to prep for my kindergarten class, which I have twice a week. In Kinder, we read a book that focuses on the letter of the week, practise writing words with that letter, and sometimes write a class story about the letter.

After I send the Kinder kids on their way, I have about an hour to prep for my after-school ESL class, correct assignments, and catch up on entering grades into our online grade book. Once the bell rings at 2:45, my kids get a short recess to run around and (hopefully!) burn off a bit of energy before we start class. Class is over at 3:45, so the kids head home and I get ready for my next morning class. I usually head home between 4:00 and 4:30, when I collapse on the couch for a bit, then get up and make my lunch for the next day and start thinking about supper (unless there are leftovers!) and feed the kapul (a possum-like animal).

A play-doh message from one of my first graders during
Sunday School.

Monday mornings are when I go to market, since I don’t have to be at school until 8:30—wow, what a treat! J I go to the Store on Wednesday afternoons—the Store closes at 4 every afternoon, so I’m not able to get there on a regular day, which is why I don’t have class one afternoon a week! Then, of course, I have other weekly things going on: Bible study, teaching Grades 1 and 2 Sunday School, helping lead the music for chapel twice a month, the occasional Hamburger Night, and game/movie nights with friends!

And there you have a quick peek into the life of a missionary ESL/Spanish teacher!