With times like these our class could really use a Houyi!

     What is the greatest threat to an elementary mandarin program? Not the frazzled teacher, the tortuous pinyin instruction, or even the tired and hungry students settling in after a long day––no, the greatest threat to our class is by far the sun. As we found out last Thursday, the bright and unforgiving sun bearing down on us from the huge windows in our classroom makes everyone a little cranky. That combined with some poor planning on my part made this our least successful class so far.
     It started out well enough, as always I was surprised to see how well the children remembered the introductory phrases we had been learning. Remembering the numbers took slightly more prodding, but we got there. We introduced a new counting song which everyone enjoyed, (singing seems to be a prefered activity), and I was really very impressed with the way that our oldest student who is one of our two second graders was very eager to help out in class. This was a relief, because at times I worry the class might be too slow for our two older students even though we try our best to keep them especially engaged.
   Things began to turn south when the light coming through the windows began to get a touch unbearable. No one could concentrate and learning the hand motions for counting became a bit tedious. Next time I think we will move everything to the back of the class and away from the windows as Mrs. Dalton suggested.
     The biggest problem of the class was my fault. I printed out Chinese counting coloring books and with heat of the sun after a long day the children had little patience for copying down Chinese numbers. Although I do have to say the soldiered along admirably, and their writing really is fantastic! Sadly, we ran out of time to actually color much to everyone's chagrin. At least they have the books to take home with them and review. If there is anything I've learned from my work with the Central Mississippi Chinese Language and Culture School, making something for the children to take home and to reinforce their lessons is really VERY IMPORTANT.
     I'm determined for next week to be better. As I have to remind myself, this is a learning process. I'm really excited about next weeks class. Class falls on Chinese New Year day and we are going to shift gears a touch to take a moment and learn about the New Year. To me, learning about culture is key in any language instruction. Wish us luck! 再见，佐伊姐姐！