Kindergarten and Preschool Sports Day!

Friday morning I had no classes. Instead, all of my 200 children, their teachers, and their parents all got together on the track outside and we had Sports Day. It was an amazing morning, not just because of the organization that it must have entailed, but because of how much fun we had together and how much better I got to know my students in that one morning.

First of all, the children all lined up according to their classes and marched (with flags) to their places on the field. Then each grade (small: aged 2-4, middle: aged 4-5, and big: aged 5-6) performed a dance that they had been practicing for the past couple of weeks. The proud parents all watched, took pictures, video, etc. Earlier, I was named the photographer of the day, so I took pictures with my digital camera as well.

After the dances, the games begun. Each grade level had different games and some of the games were played individually and some were played together with the children and their parents. The purpose of the day was to bring together parents and students, since this is a boarding school and the children do not see their parents very often (only on weekends and vacations). Therefore, I was able to meet the parents for the first time as well.

This was also one of my few chances to play with my students and not just teach them, so I took the opportunity to play with them, chase them around the field, take pictures with them, and get to know them better (or, at least, as well as my limited Chinese and their very limited English could allow). It was very fun, though. As soon as my students saw me, they would yell, "Miss Abbie, Miss Abbie!" and come running towards me. They took turns pulling me around, showing me to their parents, and talking with me. It was a wonderful way for me to spend time with them, not just right after my classes with them ended and before I left to go to the next class, but for a longer, more open time.

From spending the morning with my students, I realized the importance of not only being with them to teach them English, but also just to play with them and have fun. Therefore, I want to see if there is a way to play with each class outside of the classroom during the week. I think that this will let me get even closer with them and help them to not only learn more English, but develop more of a teacher-student bond.