The past month...

Sorry that I haven't posted anything for.. more than a month! I guess its about time for another post. It has been a GREAT month! Normally I find January and February to be difficult months for me likely because of the cold and short days but here in Honduras I am feeling so much better probably due to the sunlight and heat. That has been a blessing!

A quick recap of the past month.

No vacations.. all work! But this month has been great with my students. I really feel like I have connected with my students and that there has been a mutual respect that has developed. I also feel like I am starting to get the hang of teaching; I have found an effective way to manage my classroom, and lesson planning and grading have become less daunting tasks. I love my job so much and look forward to seeing my students every day!

Here are some pictures of my students doing "Literacy Centers"

I also ran my first birthday party in my class this month. I didn't know this.. but Hondurans like to celebrate full out birthday parties IN CLASS. This includes presents, music, pizza, pop, cake, party hats, goody bags. I was in the middle of independent reading when the parents of the birthday girl came in with all this STUFF. Needless to say that was the end of silent reading. It was fun although I was slightly overwhelmed. I have never run a birthday party for a kid before.. and then I have to run this party with 25 + kids!

Birthday girl- Andrea

I also went to an orphanage outside of the city one Saturday this month. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera so I don't have any pictures. But it was a wonderful time- I spent most of my time with little girls about 4-6. I painted all of their nails and played tag for an hour or so. It was rather tiring especially because I was "it" the entire time. It was so much fun though and I hope to be back again soon!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend time with another Honduran teacher at our schoool, Aurora Varela, and her family. We went to a town called Valle up in the mountains. It is a quaint little town that is safe to walk around in. It has shops with authentic Honduran goods. We enjoyed a lunch together and walking around the town.

Aurora and her 2 boys- Josue (the baby) and Daniel