Well, the week with no consequences seemed to go ok. I really didn't change much, other than a lot more waiting. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up over the meeting last week. I haven't heard any complaints directed at me. Hopefully the meeting wasn't because of something I did.
Things are pretty much the same in the classroom. Other than the fact that my 3/2 class has been really loud lately and not listening. Weird, because they were my good class. My 3/1 class has been much better though. What about that?! Seems a shame that when one is good the other isn't. Not sure what caused the change and we've tried talking about it (in both classes), but they have a hard time with those thought provoking questions. They just don't know enough English to answer them, or understand them. I'm not complaining about 3/1's behavior, I'd just like to know what caused the change to help them better monitor their own behavior, and maybe use that in 3/2 now. I ended up taking away 3/2's reading center because they are just so loud during guided reading. Hopefully they'll get it back next week. I hate taking away books and center activities, but that's about all I have. Maybe I could leave the books, but take away the center and the games. At least that way they could read when they are finished with an assignment. That's an idea. The only issue with that is that they will have to go back to the bookshelf to get the book, which could cause talking as well. I'll have to think about that.
It pretty much rained all weekend! Which is a good thing, other than it ruined my plans. I had planned to go to Hili Archeological Park and to the Hili Oasis, but those are outdoor activities. Oh well. It was nice to have the rain. It was actually in the upper 50s over the weekend. Cold!!! I made chili (which I totally ruined and had to throw away). Evidently the chili powder here is a lot more potent than at home. It was wayyyyyyy too spicy. And, I like my chili a little spicy. My lips were burning all night and I only had 1 spoonful. It was a great night for chili and I was all excited. Oh well, I ended up having brocolli and cheese soup; which was really good. Since Sat. was another chilly and rainy day I decided to make chicken noodle soup (hoping that I didn't ruin that recipe). It was delicious! I have some in the freezer and a whole bunch left over in the fridge. I'll be eating chicken noodle soup for a while:)
I had an observation today. I wasn't that worried about the lesson, it was the behavior that I was more concerned about. It was first period, which is 3/1. Sunday's are usually very good days so I shouldn't have been worried. It went really well! Both the principal and Andrea thought it was a great lesson and loved the fact that I was able to work with a small group for guided reading. The principal commented on how pleased she was at the girls' ability to talk and answer questions about what was read. She was impressed that they could answer in complete sentences. She also likes how I talk to them. She said I am very calm, quiet, and easy to understand. That's the same thing the guy said in my interview. I guess that means she doesn't hear me yelling at them to "SIT DOWN!" all the time. She also commented on the fact that even though the girls have good speaking and listening skills their reading is not so good. She was glad that I was working on reading, but she said she wanted more. I told her that I did too. But, what can I do in 40 minutes a day? We're working on it, and it will improve. I have to say that right now I think that their thinking is a bit more important; the reading will come when they know more words in English. We will continue to work on reading and I am confident they will get it.
Speaking of reading, my Arabic reading is down to 21 minutes!!! I am pretty sure that I am going to have to read to her now. I don't want to do that. 21 minutes in my apartment by myself is a lot less painful than 21 minutes reading to her will be. The conversation is difficult. It's not been the whole 2 hours, only 1 hour; which is good. Even though 1 hour is still a lot. I say something and then she corrects me than tells me to continue or say something else (she says it in Arabic of course, but I can pretty much guess what she wants me to do). It's very difficult, but it's a skill that I have to learn. She is very patient, which is great because sometimes I am not all that patient. I was able to have a very, very, very brief conversation with another teacher at work on Thursday. I asked her her name (ma smooki), where she is from (min ayena ante), where she lives (min baytooki), what her job is (matha tamaleen), and how many children she has (Kam adaufal (not sure on this word, it has a letter that doesn't have an English equivalent, but that's my best try at pronouncing it and spelling it) andooki ). She understood me!!! She laughed at me (if that tells you anything about my pronounciation), but she was able to understand me. (Najwa doesn't like transliterations, but I thought I would include them so you could "read" what I was able to say:)
Oh yeah, I got my hair cut and highlighted last week. It looks really good. The highlights are very subtle, but I like it.
So, not much going on, but I get yelled at if I don't update this thing weekly! Hope you enjoy! Time for bed:)
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