Ateliers de l'handicap

This week I got to work with CP (1st grade) again. For math, the teacher focused the lessons on a review of  patterns and basic addition. For language arts, I was able to assist the class with reviewing the "T" sound, Halloween vocabulary the students learned last week, as well as other simple sight words. The teacher taught the class a new song "My Favourite Pumpkin," which the children loved and began to hum throughout class. The cooperating teacher has been easy to work with: in the morning she allows me to observe her teach the activities with one class, and then in the afternoon she allows me to lead the activities with the other class.

The highlight of this week was the ateliers de l'handicap (disability workshops) this morning at the elementary school. In small groups, students were able to rotate to different rooms/areas to learn about what it is like to live with a disability:

• The first rotation was to learn about assistance dogs. Even though we were not allowed to pet the dogs, we got to see an assistance dog that opened a cabinet.
• During the second rotation, students learned about living with visual impairments. There was a blind lady who impeccably read a Braille book to the students and who showed them her device that will read aloud the color(s) of clothes. Another visually impaired lady demonstrated how to use her magnifying device, magnifying glass, and her special sort of sunglasses.
• Students learned about hearing impairments during the third rotation. A deaf lady and an interpreter taught us how to sign banana, mushroom, cherries, grapes, lemon, fish, and the expressions "I really like" and "I don't like." I was impressed that the lady knew how to sign "yellow," obviously an English word.
• During the fourth rotation, students got to experience what it was like to use a wheelchair. The program set up a course with a carpet, a ramp, rocks, and a wood platform that the students had to go through using a wheelchair. The teacher and I also got to go through the course on wheelchairs as well with the students cheering us on. I will admit going down the ramp and through the rocks was very difficult.
• The fifth and final rotation was to see a puppet show about autism. The story was about a girl's experience in class when an autistic boy joins her preschool class. The show presented multiple ways that the teacher and other children could accommodate the autistic student in class.

Overall, I thought the disability workshops went very well. They were very interactive, age appropriate for the young students, and they really encouraged the children to think about what it is like to live with a disability.

Here is a picture of a sign along the wheelchair course in the school courtyard:

Let Toussaint vacation begin! 

"Samantha the Potato"

This week I worked with CE1 (second grade). These students began the English immersion program last year, which was the first year of the program. Many of the CE1 students are able to express themselves in English using complete sentences, which makes communicating with them much easier.

During math this past week, the CE1 students practiced how to count using ones and tens blocks, and they were introduced to the hundred chart. For language arts, I began to read the book Winnie the Witch to the class, a book that the teacher had selected to get students excited for Halloween.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the week happened Thursday during language arts time. To have students practice adjectives, the teacher created an assignment in which students had to make a wanted poster for an object. As part of the poster, students had to select an object (like a piece of food, a school supply, etc.) and describe it with the adjectives they had learned. Students also had to give a name to the object, so the teacher asked me to call out some common American names. The class insisted on adding "Samantha" to the name list, and soon there were many posters that read, "Samantha the Potato." The name is very appropriate since I love anything with potatoes. Needless to say, I was very touched that at least some students were inspired by my name!

Cirque

This evening I got to meet up with some family and go to the cirque (circus) in Verdun! Before heading to the circus, some relatives took me to Cora (a supermarket) and I was able to finally find a small jar of beurre de cacahuètes (peanut butter)! Peanut butter is expensive in France, but it was so worth it!

The circus was actually held in a heated tent. Although many of my relatives mentioned that the performance was more spectacular last year, I found that it was an engaging circus. There were horses, ponies, camels, seals, ducks, llamas, ducks, and goats who did some cool tricks. One performer even juggled a chair with his feet! The ventriloquist act was definitely one of the funniest moments of the night: He not only used a puppet, but he also used three spectators like puppets during his act.

Not a bad ending to the first week of work!

Here is a picture of the circus tent:

La première semaine avec CP

This week was my first work week. Although the other language assistants are assigned to multiple schools and have to do video conferences, one other assistant and I were extremely lucky to have a special school assignment. We get to work in just one elementary school that has an English immersion program.

The way the immersion program works is that half of the school day is in English and the other half of the day is in French. Each grade is divided into two classes: one class starts with the English teacher and the other class starts with the French teacher, and after lunch the classes switch. The other assistant and I get to switch too: this week I worked with CP (cours préparatoire- first grade) and the other assistant worked with CE1 (cours élémentaire 1er année- second grade), then the following week I work with CE1 and the other assistant works with CP.

Since it is an immersion school, I am not allowed to speak any French to the students, not even to explain or clarify a concept. Even when the French teacher comes into the English room during class to ask a question of the English teacher, both teachers ask/respond in English. The teachers are under a lot of pressure with the  curriculum, especially for language and math. In France, students are expected to learn cursive in first grade, while in the US students learn cursive in third grade. The CP students are even learning addition in English.

This week I got to lead the daily calendar activities and even some math games: I would clap my hands and students would have to write the number of claps they heard; I would say the numbers in order, while skipping one number, and students would have to figure out which number was missing; I would call out two numbers and students would have to write either the smaller or bigger number. I was impressed how many English words/commands the students understood, considering that they started learning English a month ago.

Bring on CE1!

Ma chambre

As promised, here are some pictures of my chambre (bedroom), salle de bains (bathroom), and cuisine (kitchen) at the youth residence:

The residence is essentially like a dormitory. You get a closet/wardrobe, desk, chair, shelving unit, night stand, and bed (covers, linens, and pillow provided).

My only complaint about the bathroom (and many of my assistant friends have heard this) is that the shower only sprays about 15 seconds of water at a time for water conservation purposes. Therefore, in order to get a continuous spray while washing your hair, you have to keep one hand on the water button and use the other hand to rinse through your hair. Nonetheless, I am very lucky because although the bathroom is meant to be shared with two people, the room next to mine is apparently too small for someone to live in. So, as of right now, I have my own bathroom!

The kitchen is on the same floor and is meant to be shared between four residents. I am currently sharing it with two other English teaching assistants. We were very lucky because the previous residents left a microwave, plates, glasses, utensils, pots, pans, and other cookware for us. However, there is no oven, so we have to cook our food on the stove or with the microwave.

As for my progress with français, although my floor-mates and I agreed to only speak in French, we end up so tired by the end of the day that we constantly revert back to English. We need to find some native speakers!

Installation à Nancy

You know you will have an interesting time in France when a bird decides to welcome you to its city by suddenly landing on your table, eyeing your lunch. Another assistant who just arrived in Nancy and I had lunch together last Friday, when suddenly a bird out of nowhere comes flying to our table. The bird would not go away. After it finally flew to an empty table, the waiters began trying to feed the bird bread and water, all the while trying to snap pictures of them feeding the bird with an iPhone. I guess birds also like bruschetta.

I am finally getting to meet the other language assistants in France! For English in elementary schools, there are 5 American assistants, 5 assistants from the UK, and 1 Canadian assistant. There are also two primary school assistants for German. We began our formation (orientation) yesterday and will finish it on Friday. For me, the highlight so far of the the orientation has been watching a video of a former assistant teaching French children, "I taste the hamburger."

I am looking forward to visiting my school on Thursday!