Classes

Yesterday was our first day of classes. I teach a 3-4 grade class and then a junior high class in the evenings after school. The first day was rough because I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what level the kids were at or how many students I would have. The other teachers (5 others from Taylor) and I were also really nervous beforehand because it was very new for us! The kids are very quick to learn and already know a lot of English for their age. I had to improvise a little because they finished all of the activities I had planned very quickly! Korean parents are very strict about education and make their children go to after-school classes and tutoring sessions later in the night.

So, far, I have 4 junior high girls and they seem very nice but they are very shy. They do not like to talk. They opened up a bit when I asked them questions. I'm trying to incorporate a Biblical message or Scripture into each class, so I taught the 3-4 graders an English prayer and have been teaching them Bible stories each day. They really seem to like that. The junior high girls are a little harder to plan for because I don't want to make it boring for them.

Today, my 3-4 grade class went a lot better because I was able to engage them the whole time and they seemed to understsand the material and have fun. I'm still working on making the junior high material seem interesting!

I do have a few prayer requests:

*flexibility and discernment for our team:

-in some of the classes, the students have a wide range of English ability and it is hard to teach with such a large difference in levels; we need to know the best way to help each student

-there are a lot of changes being made in the classes because we are finding out that some of the textbooks are too easy or too hard and we have to get new ones

*Students: One of my students in my junior high class named Soo-Hyun hasn't been going to church. Her mom put her in my English class in hopes that she will become interested in church and the Bible. Pray that she would gain a new interest in reading the Bible and wisdom for me to know how to help her.