Day 4: Our first day in the schools

Day 4: First Day Teaching!

Today was our first day teaching in our classrooms! We focused on getting to know our students and teachers, learning as much as we could to begin shaping our lessons that will take place the remainder of the trip. While we are all tired from the heat and early mornings, we are grateful for this opportunity to work within these schools!

We started off our day at Red Bank, joining the teachers and principal during their staff meeting. This allowed us to say hello to our teachers and set expectations that will allow everyone to learn from this experience. We immediately got a taste of their culture as newcomers are welcomed before entering the classrooms. We spent the day doing our getting to know you activities and introductory math lessons. We tried to learn as much information about the students as we could to begin shaping our lessons for our remaining time here.

The ride into San Pablo was rough, to say the least. We drove 9 miles on dirt/rocky roads and passed numerous, beautiful banana farms along the way. Once the banana farms ended, the road opened up to the San Pablo school.  We were all greeted by smiling faces and warm hugs. After we settled into our classrooms and met our teachers, the entire school gathered in the church to do morning prayer and songs. San Pablo is truly a tight-knit community and their culture is expressed in all that they do. Students consistently have smiles on their faces and are eager to learn.

We are very excited to get back in the classrooms tomorrow and learn as much as we can, sharing our talent and passion with others!

- Taylor (Red Bank) and Alex (San Pablo)

San Pablo

Alex with some of her students 

Taylor's first day teaching 3 and 4-year-olds at red bank

Autumn Standard IV at Red Bank

Cody Standard II at Red Bank 

Maggie at Red Bank Standard I

Ainsley Red Bank Standard I

Allison Red Bank Standard V

Maggie with her students 

Maddy playing with the 3 and 4 year olds.

Nicole playing with the 3 and 4-year-olds 

Main Building in Red Bank 

Smaller building for Red Bank with outhouse next door 

Kaitlyn helping one of her students to be brave and share her picture with the class.

Cody leading a probability lesson

Taylor implementing our co-teaching strategies.

A 4 years old working on writing his name.

The kids at red bank loved Cody's hair. They haven' seen a boy with that long of hair before.

Dr. Id-Deen, Jordan, and Alyssa talking with students at San Pablo

After a long day of teaching, we had a nice gentleman who cut down some fresh coconut for us to drink.

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