Bridge Nursery Update

So I haven’t written much lately about my wonderful nursery school kids and I wanted to give you all an update. I can’t really describe what teaching here is like. After coming from a brand new school at home with unlimited resources and a fully stocked and brand new facility, its eye opening to work at a place where having sharpened pencils is a treat. I didn’t realize how much I took advantage of luxuries such as having a Xerox machine down the hall or an electric pencil sharpener. That being said, Bridge nursery is much better off than many of the nursery schools in Tanzania. It’s a concrete building with outdoor plumbing. There are no windows or electricity but the weather is warm enough here year round that it doesn’t really matter. It does get pretty dark in the room on rainy days but other than that I don’t really miss having florescent lights. The kids are pure joy. I have eleven students – two named Rose, Witness, Winstone, Gabriella, Salma, Sabra, Honest, Zadock, Anolld, and Hagai. They are all between the ages of 4 and 6 and are all on different intellectual levels. Both Roses and Salma are very bright and ready to start primary school next year. They know the alphabet very well, can do basic math, and can do a little bit of reading. They can count pretty much to 100 and do most of their work completely on their own. There such bright little girls and they love school, it really makes me smile. The rest of the group is a little bit behind them but they are also a little younger so I have confidence they will get there. Children aren’t particularly encouraged to be creative here which I think is such a shame so I have taken it upon myself to include a good deal of arts and crafts which they are loving! I’m using the crayons and construction paper that I brought nearly every day. We did self-portraits the other day and then I cut them out and taped them to pop-sickle sticks to make masks – the kids ate it up and were so excited. Today I gave them all construction paper that I had drawn their names on in bubble letters. The kids colored them in and decorated them and we’re going to put them up on the wall of the classroom. I did one myself that says “Teacher Elyse” so they will have it to remember me by when I leave (which I can’t even think about!) A couple of weeks ago I had them trace and color their hands which I then cut out and made into a big tree with their hands as the leaves. I hung it up in the classroom and they loved going up to find their hands on the tree. I think this week we will make puppets but I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to pull that one off yet. Tomorrow I’m testing the kids to see how much has actually sunken in. In Tanzania they have to test into Primary school and if you don’t pass the test you basically stay in Nursery school until you do. It isn’t unheard of to have 9 and 10 year olds in Nursery school. The 3 girls I mentioned earlier are sure to pass but I think the test tomorrow will be good preparation for them. Since I’ve been here I’ve taught a good deal – mostly numbers (30-50), and counting by 10’s to name a couple. The teacher that’s there likes to teach reading because the kids don’t understand my accent sometimes and it’s good for her because she learns as well as she teaches. I’ve only had to correct her spelling or pronunciation a few times – she’s pretty much fluent which I am very grateful for!
I know I’m no t supposed to pick “favorites” but I have one little girl named Witness who just breaks my heart. I love her so much. If Tanzania was open for adoption I would be bringing this kid home in my suitcase. She pretty much can’t stand to not be holding my hand all day which drives the other kids mad with jealousy. I just don’t have enough hands for them all to hold. Witness came running up to me today as I was leaving and gave me a big hug which she does several times a day but this time she gave me a kiss on the cheek and I almost cried .She is just so sweet, I can’t stand it!