Hangman and I Spy with the Yucai Kids

  
"Sports" was the topic during the first half of the Green Shoots Academy English class this morning at Yucai Elementary School.  Andrew, one of the co-leaders, had a paper and pencil vocabulary handout all ready for the 6th graders to do first thing in their small groups.  One of the high school tutors came up with the hangman idea on the fly, as a way to continue going over sports words after her group had sped through the handout.  That's Andrew up at the blackboard, and tutors CT and Jillian standing to the right.  Andrew and CT are in Leah's senior class at school.
     When Leah saw Jillian in my photos this afternoon she said, "Oh, that's the freshman girl who rides to school with me in the morning."  Leah had never mentioned her name before.  She'd said early on that they didn't really talk, given the age difference.  (This is hard for me to understand, but there's so much that I, mere parent, do not understand.)  The expat rental agency that helped us find our apartment also helped us link into a private taxi arrangement that takes the two girls to school every morning.  Because two girls split the cost, it's slightly less than a regular taxi, which can be hard to find at 8 a.m.
     Notice the pink desks.  I wonder if this color has a calming effect on the students who use the room during the week!

After Hangman, the students stepped outside the classroom to play I Spy, as in, "I spy with my little eye something that is...red!"  Then they would take turns trying to guess which red object the spy-er had in mind.  I was surprised how long both the Hangman and I Spy games held their attention.  Maybe they play fewer video games and watch fewer TV shows than American kids.  Aren't these students a precious bunch?

We take a 10-minute break in the middle of the two-hour Green Shoots class.  These three girls had fun drawing on the board during break time.  The girl in the middle, whose English name is Kelly, seems to be be an anime fan.  I noticed her doing anime doodles at her desk, and she's signed at least one of the board drawings.
     What's my role during this Saturday morning English class for the 6th graders?  Andrew asked if I'd supervise the Green Shoots high school tutors, who are logging community service hours.  Today there were seven tutors, all of them from the American international school that Leah goes to.  It's impressive to see these high schoolers own the Green Shoots program.  They meet mid-week during lunch at school to plan out the activities for the upcoming Saturday class, and then Andrew emails me the plan and asks for input.  During the class, I circulate around the two rooms where the tutors cluster with their small groups, listening in and helping out if I'm needed.  So today, for example, one of the tutors had brought an English picture book to read to her group during the second half of class.  She asked for my help explaining the meaning of a few words from the book like "sturdy" and "cozy".  All of the tutors have excellent English skills, but only one of them is from the U.S.--and he's mostly lived in Bali since he was four years old.  The other tutors are from China, South Korea, Germany and Iceland.