The First Days of Kindergarten

Tuesday was the first day of school for us in Doha. I was feeling excitement mixed with nervousness because I didn't know what to expect. This was the first time that I had to teach children this little. Their foundation for reading and writing was essentially in my hands. If that isn't enough pressure, there is a cultural and  language barrier. Things were already so different here (education wise). For instance, we have school from 7-1 because it is so hot here (literally). The school day is so short but I need to teach them so much. Not to mention that Im going to be teaching the British curriculum and not the American one that Im so comfortable with.

My mind wouldn't let me sleep the night before. I woke up at 4:30 am with the movie reel running of how the first day would turn out. Before I knew it there were kids coming through the door. It turns out they were just as nervous as I was. They were crying and holding on to their parents' pants legs. The parents didn't want to leave so we were really all a nervous wreck.

As the day went on things smoothed out. The kids stopped crying and I stopped worrying. They love me and I love them. They love when I read to them and for some reason they always want me to eat the random pretend food they cook lol. The kids are so well-behaved, interested and so eager to learn. They are getting more confident and the ones that don't have good English are at least trying to speak it now. While we working on the letter "s" today one of the little girls randomly looks up from her work and go Ms. Harris "Your a good teacher". I just chuckled and said thank you. Another girl came in this morning and said look Ms. Harris , I wore a ponytail and headband just like you did yesterday. They are cute and funny, but the best part is they are terrified of the time-out chair. That makes my job so much easier.

The parents seem to like me as well. Aside from the fact, that Ive already had about three of them ask me if I was African.  At first I said no, I am American. She then said, well yeah but where were you born. I said Buffalo, NY. LOL Then, I thought about it. Am I African? Should I be offended? I really don't think they meant it negatively. What bothered me most is the fact that I said no so quickly. Does that mean that we somehow think being African is a bad thing? I have to put some more thought into it. Anyhow, that's a topic for a blog on another day.

As for Kindergarten in Doha, so far so good!