"Du siehst immer gut aus."

Here are some tidbits from work over the past few weeks. Alone, they didn't particularly merit an entire post, but I've been wanting to record them, since they are special to me (and perhaps only to me, but this is my blog, and I'll gush if I want to).


Cloth-es

"Clothes" appears to be quite a difficult word for non-native English speakers. Though I didn't have the opportunity to try out this term when working with my beloved IEP students a couple of years (!) ago, I've discovered this through just being at the Grundschule. Elisabeth speaks English very well, and her accent is also quite good. However, this one word continues to plague not just her, but many of the teachers with whom I work, pronouncing it "cloth-es." And every time I'm asked to correct her, I can't quite get my point across: that the "e" is essentially silent, and the "th" and the "s" are very subtly pronounced. It's the same problem I have with, say, "Totenkopfäffchen" (squirrel monkey), only not. Really, I just have a hard time pronouncing that.

Anyway, two weeks ago we went over clothes in 2c, a class I very much enjoy teaching. The children are sweet and amusing, in an offbeat way. Anna-Marie usually pounces when I arrive, disconcertingly making what very much sound like cub noises while doing so. Felix shyly gets most of the questions right; Sarah is generally loud-mouthed, but she's extremely quick at learning English and is incredibly sweet. Poor Katharina, the American-born girl who therefore knows English, is always bored...and so forth. So many children to write about, and so little time...

Okay, yes, clothes. When teaching the theme, Elisabeth pointed toward my clothes and gave the English name for them. (I had decided to wear a dress that day, and this was the beginning of a string of compliments. Never mind that it was because all of my jeans were dirty.) As an activity, Elisabeth gave the kids a worksheet of an unclothed, gender-neutral child, and they had to draw in and color clothes. The cute thing about this? One girl, Saskia, drew me. All together now: Aaaaaaaaaawwwww. This week, Sarah showed me her worksheet, which also depicted me. I smiled, but she felt she had to clarify: "Das ist du!"*


*A note on the use of Sie and du: "Sie" is the formal version of "you" singular; for instance, I use "Sie" (always with a capital "S") when talking to Frau Doehrmann, as it is a sign of respect to elders, strangers, and people of higher rank, such as a boss. "Du" is the informal "you" singular, and family members, friends, and people one's own age use this version. Yes, some children refer to me as "du." Why does this not bother me, and why do I not see it as a sign of disrespect? I am not their teacher, and they are comfortable enough around me to view me as someone a bit closer to them. And, yes, they do respect me. I can command a classroom, if need be.


Rapping Kinder

So, as aforementioned, I did a lot of subbing a couple of weeks ago for Suzana. Last week in 3b, I went over the homework I had assigned, which was over Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? This was supposed to finish the theme, so it came as a surprise that Suzana looked furtively at the class and asked them whether they should now do their "surprise" for me. Slightly bewildered, I watched the kidlets of 3b rap to the story. Yes, that's right. My kids rapped. To Brown Bear. My life. What is it. Regardless, it brought about much-needed laughter to my day, particularly watching Vedat and David really getting into the groove. Germany, represent.


Plant Allergies and the Drama They Bring

Last Wednesday. Oh, last Wednesday. After an enjoyable lesson with 2c, I went back to the teacher's room to get ready for my class with 3c (another lovely class, by the way). Elisabeth and I found Suzana at her place, practically crying. At first, I thought that her class with 4a had somehow gone horribly awry...but it turned out that a plant to which Suzana is allergic had been placed in 3c's classroom. Though Suzana had spotted it the day before and had asked the homeroom teacher to remove it, the plant had remained there the day after. So, of course, that added to everything. As she and I were waiting for the class to be relocated to the kindergartners' room, Suzana explained to me that it strains her heart and really upstarts her allergies. She was so affected by the entire ordeal (let's remember that this is Suzana) that the lesson with 3c was a little awkward. But, the kids were understanding and their usual good selves, so it wasn't as awkward as it could have been.


Hugs in Slow Motion = Awesome

So, upon exiting the building last Thursday, 2a's Lia, Martha, and Linda closed in on me in one giant, gentle, slow-mo hug. Awesome.

Okay, so there's nothing to that, but I just thought it was amusing. Just picture that in your mind.


Okay! So, we're up to date! Right?

Well, technically, yes. Except that I want to talk about today in detail. So, I guess you're going to have to keep reading.

Today was a Good Day. Why? Well, it started off with a special needs student from 3a, whom I haven't really seen since I first started working here, approach me with a hug. I have no idea why. Well, I do, since she has "odd" behavioral issues, but that's not the point.

Other than that little tidbit, the first half of the morning passed without anything interesting enough to mention. However, my class with 2a was lovely. I had spent since Friday preparing for this lesson, which was about the old Ukranian folktale, The Mitten. Frau Doehrmann and I (mostly Frau Doehrmann, I'll admit) came up with a unique activity for the students, and since pictures are sometimes better than words, here are some snapshots of what I created:

Now, 2a had not been the best for a few weeks; they had been too loud and just a bit unruly. But today was great. They behaved themselves while I went over the flash cards and paid attention to my simplified version of the story. And even before I started the story, Frau Doehrmann asked if she could tell them "just who drew these great pictures," and the children were once again very impressed by my drawing skills. (Nele even suggested that I'd be a great artist.) Yes, that is the sound of my ego inflating, thank you very much. The kids enjoyed their activity, and they felt that they needed to show me their handiwork.

(What has happened to that curmudgeonly young woman of yesteryear, to have her heart melted by paper mittens and squish-hugs from children? Don't worry; she's still there, and with a vengeance. These kids have merited my undying affection for a reason, and that's because they've taken in a person who doesn't even know the language that well and has made her one of their own. And I can't express how much that means to me. When they're good, anyway.)

By the way, Dylan has a way of making my brain go from, "I am an intelligent human being!" to, "OHMYGODTHISKIDISSOCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE." And I can say that with a straight face. As I was helping him cut out the animals, he proceeded to inform me, "Sometimes I can be extra-ORD-inarily slow!" and then tell me about his entire morning routine and random facts about animals. This kid is going places.

After a rocky hour with 3a (I pretty much just sit in on this class now, since Karolin needs to work mainly alone for her exams), I started home when my neighbor, Steffi, motioned me over to her car and asked, in English, whether I'd like a ride home. (Steffi's daughter, Josephine, is in 3a.) I responded positively in German, and we started talking as we waited for Josephine. After a little bit of speaking in both languages, she expressed with surprise, "You speak great German!", and we then spoke only German on the way back to the house. Why is this worthy of mention? Well, I hadn't really talked to Steffi since September, though we would always say hi or wave when we saw each other in passing. To have a very enjoyable conversation with her with only small mistakes in German impressed the both of us, and I do hope to talk to her even more after Easter break. It's easy to talk to her, and I feel more secure in my German now. Yay!


Okay, take a deep breath. We are done here, for now. Next Thursday is the beginning of our big Easter break, which means Maryle and I will be on our way to England to visit my family there (yay, excitement!). It's all going by so quickly.

So, so quickly.