Toddler School

A little about the school:
The Toddler School is a hagwon (private school), located in Taepyeong-dong, next to an elementary and middle school. It is about a 30 minute walk to there from my place. It is a small kindergarten with 31 kids aged 4-7 (Western age 3-6). In the afternoon it also serves as a private English school for about 40 elementary/middle school kids. I am there from 10-6 each day during the week and teach for six hours: three hours with the 4 kindergarten classes (separated by age) teaching Art, "Science," and English Conversation; and three hours with the elementary/middle school students teaching English and Writing. There are six 30 minute classes, and the kids are placed in the classes based on their English level. The kids are a joy and a challenge all rolled up into one package. Some kids really want to learn whereas others are there because of their parents...sounds like about every school out there. Some of the kids have been learning English for a while, while with others we're starting at ground zero.

All the kids here have an English name. If they don't then we name them. It's quite a big responsibility as they will most likely use that name for the rest of their life. I had the honor of naming a first grade boy on my first day of school. I named him John, as his Korean name sounds like "Juan". I should have named him Dennis the Menace though.

I've heard other people mention sudden changes of schedules but didn't think too much of it until today. My Wednesday kinder teaching schedule was changed which was no problem, however half-way into the first new class a teacher came in and said that we're actually not changing the schedule today but instead we're to do the original schedule and then start with the new schedule next week. I think the Korean teachers were just as confused as I was as to what the schedule was supposed to be today. I only ended up teaching two classes instead of three because of the mix-up. That's ok because that's how I ended up with time to write this post.

Lunch is provided at the school which is a great way to try many different kinds of Korean food, however there is something that I've been wondering about. Why do they always serve lukewarm food? Is it so the kids don't burn their mouths on the food, or do they just like lukewarm food? Any thoughts?

Some pictures of school:
The Toddler School

Each month the kindergarten kids spend the day at an indoor play zone and celebrate the birthdays that take place that month. This month it was Joy's birthday. The birthday kids dress up in a hanbok (traditional Korean outfit) for their party.

The 7 year old class with Joy. Sarah (far left) is their main teacher. She is also one of the three English teachers for the afternoon classes with the elementary/middle school kids. The kids are smart, energetic, curious and have a mischievous streak in them.

Maria is the other main English teacher at the school. She's a Korean-American from Los Angeles, and has been a huge help in learning my way around a new school, city, culture, language, and pretty much everything else. We do have another English teacher, Carly, but she only works part-time at the school.

The pizza here is sweet, has corn on it, and comes with a side of pickles.
They love their fried chicken here. All of my students have said that it's their favorite food. That and ice cream.
Kimbap (kim=seaweed, bap=rice) is a party must have.

Paris Baguette is a popular bakery chain here. There are at least two of them located within a few blocks from my place.

I plan to put up more pictures of the kids at school and life in Daejeon in the near future, so stay posted. In the meantime, happy White Day!