5 Little Monkeys, Jumping on the Bed!

I am trying to do two different strands of teaching here in Haiti. Widlyne, their Haitian science teacher, and I want to do more experimental science wherever possible with the seventh grade, since they are upper level now. After the Easter break we will begin the electricity section of their physical science book. We are planning to do a series of experiments in the laboratory that should be a lot of fun for the kids, and we'll try having them write lab reports, which will be new for them.

My other assignment here is to teach introduction to English. Up to fifth grade the classes are short and held just once a week. With the younger kids I am teaching the little poems and motions. Check out "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" at the end of this post. Also we're talking about animals and their colors, the sounds they make, what they eat, and so on. In the upper classes we add a little lesson, such as liking something. "What does a cat like? Does a cat like fish?" "Do you like fish?" "Does the monkey like fish or bananas?" "Do you like bananas?" "And the tiger-- what does the tiger like? Does he like bananas?"

In the picture above, I am in the third grade. I look pretty serious, I hope nobody thinks I'm mad. This picture gives you a good idea of the bench-type desks the younger kids have. In the kindergarten they are so small there are some who fit four to a desk! (Also, note the lovely hair ribbons. These are all kinds of real ribbon from the fabric shop. Navy blue ribbons for school, and on Sundays, they must be white. All different kinds, lacy, solid, and striped, but you see this sea of white ribbons when you look out through the church at the children's mass on Sunday morning. Forgive me for digressing, but I love this.)

Getting the kids to make choices and decisions took a few classes. At first, they would not question anything I said- "The cat says 'woof-woof', right?" ("Yes, the cat says 'woof.' ") Then I'd act surprised and glance back at the picture of the cat. "A cat? A cat says 'woof'?"

After a little bit of tricking them and joking with them, they have started to really listen to me. Now even the kindergarteners catch me at it, and they love to disagree and say "No!" Also, they can tell me the fish and the turtle are "quiet." It's really enjoyable to see them thinking and deciding, and it is sweet to see how delighted it makes them feel. They are not usually taught using an inquiry method; I find even some of the older kids do poorly when I ask them simple 'true or false' type questions. The teaching style is didactic; perhaps due to limited resources, the teacher presents the lesson and there is not much time given to investigation or questioning. What the teacher presents is so, and the learning tends to be passive. So when presented with true/false questions, their initial reaction is, everything my teacher says is true. Which makes it psychologically hard for some of them to go back and really look at the statement.

Here is a kindergarten class, the Hibiscus class. There are just a few less than 50 in this classroom, and they are so much fun. They really liked 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, and they got the fact that it was a no-no. Watch some of the kids waving their fingers. Also, note the little hanky pinned to the dress, I mentioned that in an earlier post. That identifies them as a "kindergartener." I didn't realize I was talking into my camera, so I apologize for covering them up, but you can hear them really chanting it. After our vacation we're doing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."