Miscellaneous Photos from PE, SA

My first Friday evening in SA was spent with one of my three roommates, Britt. We trekked 45 minutes to The Boardwalk (pretty much an outdoor mall/food court) and had ball. I had my first SA pizza on that trip... it was pretty tasty. I got some delicious candy at The Boardwalk candy shop (Yay!). They have these suckers called "Fizz Pops" that have this awesome sour powder in the middle-- replacing tootsies and gum. The powder fizzes, hence the "fizz" in Fizz Pop. We also moseyed over to The Boardwalk's arcade (actually we almost ran) to play ski-ball and air hockey. It was a fun introduction to a very new place.

There is a flea market style craft shop at The Boardwalk where a lot of the girls buy souvenirs for people back home. This wire and bead work is all over the place down here. It is a traditional South African art medium. The native tribes did a lot of bead work-- wore a lot of bead belts, necklaces, earrings, etc. I learned this at Bayworld. I guess that place wasn't a total bust!

It is so cool. We spoke to one of the vendors about his stuff. He said it takes a couple weeks to make a small mask like this (about the size of a small cantaloupe). Crazy huh? They are so beautiful! There is a giant zebra at his shop; it took him several months to make. He told us that the beading takes forever, otherwise it wouldn't take so long.

We went to the movies this past weekend... we didn't see The Lorax but they did have this fantastic stand-up at the movie theater! I mustache you a question... but I'll shave it for later. According to the roommates the popcorn at the theater is not tasty. They said there is no butter and no salt... so basically it is made the popcorn was created to be: healthy-ish. The movie theater was small but was very much like the theaters back home. A big screen, seats, a concession stand, box-office, ticket taker that directs you to where you need to go, many many posters and movie stand-ups and lots of pre-movie movie previews. Yep. Just like home.



Some more from Herbert Hurd Primary School...

The students line up like this every morning. Very straight. Very quiet. Ready to start a very straight and very quiet day. When I say very quiet that is exactly what I mean. I do not fit in at Herbert Hurd. :) I will say, they make a pretty mean line. First grade people. The kid out of line near the back is a 7th grade monitor. The 7th graders (top grade at HHPS) are basically in charge during break times. It is cool. They have responsibility in the school and the teachers are free to do what they need to do. It works out well. They remind me of little commanders with their troops at the beginning of the day. They've got serious bossing skills, these 7th graders.


Herbert Hurd has it's own indoor swimming pool! Here it is in all of its glory. All of the students swim two times a week. This is an awesome thing since PE is right on the shore. Knowing how to swim when you are so close to the beach is essential for safety purposes.

Here is a word-building assessment. Each student has their own box of letters. My CT had each student bring in small tupperware containers at the beginning of the year so they have storage for their sight words, letters, etc. Isn't that a great idea? I love plastic storage!

The schools here don't teach letters and sounds-- they teach sounds only. So the letter 'f' is not said this way: "EF," rather they just make the sound. the letter 'f' is the 'fff'. It is hard to explain and I'm not sure if it is working to the students' advantage. The vowels are also taught differently. There is 'a' which makes the short 'a' sound, 'i' which makes the long 'e' sound, 'o' which only makes the short 'o' sound, 'u' which makes the short 'u' sound only, and 'e' which only makes the short 'e' sound. There are no other sounds taught. There are words that students can sound out and words that they just need to memorize.

Here is a worksheet that the students completed yesterday. They were to say the word shown in the picture and break it up into the three sounds. They were then to determine the middle sound and circle the "sound" (letter) that made that sound. This was a hit or miss thing. A lot of the students did really well, but some of them really had trouble. There wasn't really a middle level on this one. And of course, when they were finished they were to color in (meticulously) each of the pictures. One of these days I am going to time how much of the day is spent coloring. I am sure you all would be very shocked. They have coloring books at their desks so they have something to do when they finish work (that needs to be colored) early.

Here is another assessment. The students are finishing patterns, "counting on" and "counting down." I love the dividers, though, with one teacher they would take a bit of time to put up. The worksheets the students are completing are below.

Finishing patterns...

Counting on and counting down...



Last Friday I led a word-building lesson with play-doh that I made at the apartment and the sight words they are learning. The students loved this activity. If you look hard enough you can see their words... even their "play-doh handwriting" is fantastic! :)

And finally, here is some student drawing. I am impressed with their vibrant pictures. A lot of the students draw similarly because they are taught how to draw in art class. You make grass, trees, clouds, flowers, etc., "just so." Still, I don't know many 1st graders that can sit and draw as long as these guys. They seem to love it.

Well all, I am verrrry tired. It is almost midnight here in PE. South Africa does not do Daylight Savings Time so instead of being 7 hours ahead we are now ahead 6 hours. Saturday we are horseback riding on the beach and Sunday we will be hiking at a nature reserve nearby. They have a beautiful lighthouse (supposedly) and a penguin sanctuary. Stay tuned for some of that!

**Also, shout out to Park School's third graders and Mrs. Miles-- I have made a video to answer all of your questions but won't be able to upload it until tomorrow afternoon (your AM). The plan is to get it online so you can see it at school tomorrow.

Goodnight friends!

Sarah