An update on classes

In science we spent the last week talking about decanting, filtering, and distilling and soluble and insoluble materials. It was a lot of fun because this was the first time we got to do actual experiments—I brought in empty peanut butter jars and they had to guess what would happen when we mixed water with salt, rice, oil, and a pepto bismol. I also made a funnel out of the top of a coke bottle and we got to filter some dirty water. They got really into it and had a lot of fun guessing what would happen with the different materials.
Dealing with grade 5 is, overall, getting easier (I think). It is still exhausting, and they are terrible but in art last week we did different rhythms and at least 2/3 of the kids got it/ wrote their own/ seemed to enjoy it. I also gave them a word search that I made for BIS on Wednesday and I don’t think I have ever seen them so quiet or focused in my entire life. If only they had been learning something…
Math continues to be a lot slower than I expect, but they seem to be getting the use of flash cards (at least some of them) and I think they’re starting to understand approximation. I’m eager to get to comparing (greater than/less than) because I have more fun games and ideas, but I have to remember to go at a pace they can handle.
Grade 7 has been doing their “student teaching” in art, although classes last week were disrupted for the athletics day and this week they had another visit from OYO so we’re a bit behind schedule. On the plus side, meeting with the “student teachers” each week has been helping me learn their names and get to know them all a bit better.
Also the library (not a class, but still) is going really well. I continue to have a lot of kids showing up and have been teaching the older ones how to treat books and how to figure out where they go. I wrote a letter to an organization asking for some more non-fiction so keep your fingers crossed that we get a donation soon! Also the overdue/late fees seem to be adding up quickly so hopefully i will be able to get some cassette players for all of the tapes we have. I also hope to get some pillows or chairs, since right now the kids all have to lay on the floor.
Anyway, that’s how things are progressing! Please let me know if you have questions or if there is anything more you want to hear about! I love hearing from all of you and it seems each week I find out I have a new reader!