"Work" shouldn't be this much fun....

Well, there is only good news to report here on the home front. It's Friday afternoon and I'm sitting at my new desk in my new classroom in my new school, pondering my first week of teaching as I type on this new computer.

So many new things in life these days.

Let me just get right to it:

I LOVE TEACHING.

I've known that for a while, but I've never actually been a teacher until 5 days ago and I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT! The joy and anticipation I feel every morning simply because I get to go teach again is all the caffeine I need. Well... maybe I need a little coffee... but here's why:

I teach in a public elementary school. It is a large school and I am the only foreign teacher.
In public schools, the kiddos start English classes in 3rd grade.



I teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.
Again, I am the only foreign teacher, which means EVERY 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade class comes to me.



I teach 23 classes a week.
M/Th/F I have 5 classes, and T/W brings me 4 classes.
I only see each class once a week. Classes average 30 students.


Let's do the math: 23 classes per week, 30 students per class....

Yep. 700 students. Your calculator ain't lyin'.

But before you start feeling too sorry for me, let me tell you that my job couldn't be easier. Because I only see each class once a week, I only have to do ONE lesson plan per grade. That means I only have to prepare three lessons per week. Three lessons. And all I do is teach the same lesson over and over and over and... you get the idea.

I also teach an after school class M/W to 17 students, and a "teachers class" on T/Th (other teachers in the school). That's actually my favorite part, because (1) I get to create my own lesson plans and (2) I actually get to know my 17 students!

I teach 3rd and 4th grade with Diane (above)
and 5th grade with Susan (below).

Diane and Susan are the coolest co-teachers a gal could ask for.
I'm totally blessed to be teaching with them.

The classroom.














The kiddos.





These are some of the 3rd graders in one of the Thursday classes. Thursday is my favorite because I have 3rd grade ALL DAY. They are the cutest stinking kids you'll ever meet... witty, charming, obedient, eager to please -- what more could a teacher ask for?

All that being said, I am VERY happy and VERY blessed to be at this particular school. The great part about having 700 students? Half of the school knows me. Every single day I feel like a celebrity when I walk around the hallways... "Hello Teacher Kelly! Hello Teacher Kelly!" What's more, I've been showered with compliments all week. The other teachers think I'm great -- one has already asked me over to her house for dinner. Diane (co-teacher) compliments and encourages me daily. Many homeroom teachers have come up to me and said, "Kelly, my students keep telling me, Teacher, have you met the new English teacher? She's so nice! She's so tall! She's so beautiful!" Ahh... makes my heart melt every time.

Just to give you a taste of what I "have to put up with" everyday, here's a group of 3rd graders singing about apples...



This is what they sound like: do you like ap-lah's ap-lah's, do you like ap-lah's ap-lah's? yucky yucky yucky yucky ap-lah's, yucky yucky yucky yucky ap-lah's!

How can you do anything but smile like a big goof and wonder how you lucked out with such an incredible job? Well, that's what I do anyway.

Life just keeps getting more and more beautiful over here in South Korea :)