?my light will shine when all else fade.

Monday, February 26, 2007

this day was kinda awful yet fruitful day for me. Wanna know why? ok, then let me tell you why.

Our family friend, Susan, will go back to the philippines for two weeks. She asked me if I can teach her children - Mikee (5th grade), Timothy (2nd grade), and Matthew (kinder) - while she was out of the country. My family and Susan's family was really close that's why I can't say NO to her. Mikee, Timothy and Matthew were in homeschool (you know..like they were not studying in a regular school). The boy's father, Kuya Michael (he wants me to call him 'Kuya'), was so busy that he can't teach his children. He doesn't want the children to be left on the lessons so they've decided to hire me (I don't want them to pay me). I don't think I can teach them well coz I'm still having a hard time with my English Vocabulary. I'll just try my very best to teach the kids (they can understand tagalog coz they're bisaya grandma was living in their house). It was a tough job for me! Lord please help me!

I will be staying here (in Susan's house) starting today until next week so that I can monitor the kids lessons (so that if they have questions or something, they can ask me immediately).

By 9:00 am, I've started my lesson with Timothy. It's a science class and I had a hard time discussing the topic coz it is about gardening (hello? how would I know anything about gardening? I love flowers but I'm not into gardening/planting). I really want to teach him Math but he insist that he wants to start with Science. Luckily, the books that Kuya Mike was using was very handy (he was buying books in Bob Jones University for the Homeschool Curriculum). There's a lot of information in the books and all I have to do is to explain everything in a simple words (some of the words in the books were complex). The kids has a very big classroom and everything I need was there. They have laptop, whiteboard, desks, etc. It's as if I was in a regular school! If there were some words that I can't explain, I can easily go to the computer, search the meaning/picture of the unfamiliar word, then show it to Timothy.

Timothy was very cooperative and fast-learner kid. He's brilliant! and he's very talkative. He was like, "Ate Joan, I think I've heard that word before when I was in summer camp......". He likes talking and talking. I think he got it from his mom (Ate Susan was talkative too). Anyways, I've enjoy that science lesson and I've learn a lot from it.

I gave Timothy a 30 minutes break coz he's super hungry na daw.

Next Lesson was Math. It's kinda easy for me and for Timothy. It's all about Shearing Shapes. It's like, you just have to count the square units in a box. As Timothy was answering his quiz, I've search in the internet some stuff so that the lesson will be more challenging. I've decided to get some pictures of shapes and then I let Timothy paint on it. I've also got an idea in letting Timothy do a collage with different shapes and color. The lesson became so exciting that Nanay Lydia (Susan's mother), have to remind us that we have to eat our lunch first.

After lunch, Timothy ask me if I can check his English Assignment (his dad was giving him assignment everyday). "What? English? Do you want me to teach you english? hey, you can speak english better than I do!", I said. Timothy told me that I just have to check his assignments. I said 'yes' to him but all I want to say is "can you just wait for your dad to teach you?". I checked his homework (he got a perfect score!). And then he ask me if we can do spelling. I pronounced the word 'arch' as -ark- and he mispelled it. When I check his paper, I told him that he mispelled the word. "No I did not..you said it's "ark" not "arch", he said. And he's right! the right pronounciation in 'arch' is "arch". Well, at least I've learn something today from Timothy.

It was a very challenging day to me. And I loved it! At least I can practice my English with the help of the kids, right?

It'll be another challenging day tomorrow and I can't wait see it (but ofcourse I have to sleep first).

NOTE: let me say thank you to Marielle for that sweet and tear-dropping message she wrote on her blog. I love you bestfriend!

SMILE...you're with me!