I had to fight my curiosity not to tear the parcel open as soon as it arrived over a week ago. I had promised my students that I would bring it to class and we would open it together while we commented on the experience. And this is what we did last Thursday. We brought some cakes and we had breakfast together ("business" breakfast we called it).
First we unrolled the posters. We all wanted to be there! Then we passed the book and brochures around. And at last... your scrapbook! There were other teachers in the classroom, too. We all gasped in admiration at such a wonderful piece. The colours, the design, the photos... everything was so attractive that we all wanted to have it in our hands at the same time. After a while, the initial excitement wore off and we could take turns to look at it in more detail.
While the album was circulating around the class, some students help me put the posters on the wall above the blackboard. Now my pupils will be dreaming of Brazilian beaches while I try to teach them Simple Present!
Finally I asked them to summarize in a few lines their las comments about the project. And this is what they had to say:
"I want to say hi to all the boys and girls from Brazil. Everything was super! Bye". Alejandro
"I want to send my greetings to all the kids from Casa Thomas Jefferson and I wish they have a nice school year". Misael
"I'm very happy of participating in this project and meeting people from another country. This allowed me to make great new friends. Lots of kisses and thanks a lot". Melina
"To tell you the truth, I would have liked to participate in this project because it seems it was very good!!!" José, a new student in the class
"Erika: I want to say hi to you and all your students". José Miguel
"I thought this work was very interesting and fun and I will always have nice memories about this project".
"I want to tell Erika that I loved the project. Greetings to you and your students". Anabela Q
"I thought the project was super. I enjoyed meeting you and learning more English. Your country is wonderful. I loved the beaches, the Falls and the Cathedral. Congratulations to all of you on your great job". Carolina
"This project was the best I could do because I learned a lot more English. Congratulations, Erika and kids. Lots of kisses!" Lorena
"I think the project was a very nice experience, because we had the chance to interact. I want to thank both teachers, Erika and Claudia, for this interaction, which was really GREAT. It was a very good experience". Ana Paula
"I loved it. It was great to share this with kids from another country. I hope we can participate with other countries too".
""I want to thank Erika for sharing her idea of this project with us". Andrea
"Erika, I want to send greetings to all of you. Everything was fine". Sebastian
"I thought the project was very good and I had fun sharing and making the scrapbook".
"With my classmates, I feel as if we were family".
What else can I add? I think the excitement was catching. I'm so happy because I saw my students eager to write and communicate, to help each other with their work and to make their pages, the best.
Erika, you're a young and brilliant teacher. My students and I admire you. Thanks a million times for sharing!
Claudia
