Tiny adorable children and changing time

Hmmmm...This entry was written about 2 weeks before the entry I made yesterday.  As such, ignore all references to the time frame of "today" and keep in mind that I had not taught the first graders yet when this was written.  I really should have posted this one first, but it got lost in my word document of blog posts in progress and never made it here.  So join me in time traveling back to before the last entry was written. If you haven't read my "A day in the life" post then good!  Read this one first.  Sorry for any confusion this might cause!

Today I only had one elementary class with my fifth and sixth graders. It went amazingly well. That class is probably my favorite class ever and they are going to do amazing things in junior high. So once our class finished I was hanging out in the teacher’s room getting ready to go back to junior high. I had seen one of my third graders in the hall on the way to the teacher’s room. She had just come from the swimming pool and looked like a little popsicle shivering in her towel. I asked her, in English, “Are you cold?” and she nodded with a tiny smile because she understood what I said.

Apparently all of the younger grades (1-3) had done swimming class together. I also saw several of my first graders dancing about and as always I said hello to them. I have not had class with these adorable tiny children, but I try to say hello and goodbye to them like all the other students so that they get excited about English and less mystified of me. So that when we do have class they will be over the “oh my gosh it’s a foreigner!” stage and we can get on with class. But one of the teachers called one of the little boys over to me and told me it was his birthday. I was very excited for him and told him happy birthday. I asked him how old he was and freaked the kids out by reinforcing my English with Japanese. I don’t think they knew that I could do that. He is seven by the way.

Then began the fun. This has happened before with other tiny children but it never ceases to be adorable. The kids began to spout off all the English words they knew. Mostly fruits and animals and colors. But it is soooooooooooooooo cute. And they get so excited about it. When I played rock paper scissors with them it kinda blew their minds, but then one of them played it in English with me. This made me extra happy because it means that the kids at the school are teaching each other English! There was one other instance where this proved to be the case. When I ride my bike to school I usually pass several groups of kids. I always call out “Good Morning!” and if I see any on my way to the ferry I tell them “See you!” Now when the first graders first started school they had big eyes full of wonder and hesitation at the foreigner who was speaking some strange language to them. But the older kids in the group were super quick to tell them what to say and to practice with them if they said it wrong. Now they all respond energetically when I greet them.

While all of this English talking was going on, the kids were changing out of their swim suits and back into their school uniforms. This was kind of interesting. The kids all have these towel cape things. They have one long side with elastic and the ends button together. This allows them to be worn around the neck like a long cape or down at the waste as a sort of skirt thing. They are convenient because you don’t have to hold them up. What I didn’t realize was that they are also apparently mini changing rooms. The kids all had them up at their necks and were trying to remove their suits underneath. Most got through that step okay, but the whole getting close back on part proved to be more difficult.

There are three girls and two boys in this first grade class. They were all chilling in the same room while changing. One of the boys flashed the entire classroom several times before putting his underwear on.
And one of the girls was parading around in her under shirt and underwear while putting her uniform shirt on inside out. Now these kids are still really little, so it’s all innocent. My little girls especially tend to lack modesty when it comes to their skirts. They often dance around or sit in ways that allow everyone to see their underwear. And the teachers do their best to point this out so that the kids will be more conscious of it. But once I realized that the kids were changing in the classroom I was struck with the fact that I don’t think you’d ever see boys and girls changing together in an open classroom in America. I wasn’t even in the room, I was in the hall. The doors and one of the big windows into the hall were open. Privacy wasn’t really a concern it seemed. And none of them minded that several teachers were watching them.

Now when they get older, I know the boys and girls change in different rooms. Once my 5th and 6th graders were caught in an awkward situation because I was still in the science room (where we held English class) talking to the teacher and that was where they were supposed to change. So they all huddled behind one of the sinks and got on with changing. Once I realized what was going on, I left the room so that they could have an easier time of it. But they seemed more amused by the situation than embarrassed or anything. In junior high at one school the boys and girls have their own separate changing rooms for when they change into gym clothes. At the other junior high the girls have a changing room but the boys just use the classroom. This works because they often simply have their gym clothes on under their uniforms, especially in winter when its cold and layers are required. But once they hit junior high they seem to lose shyness and will strip down to their boxers to change if I’m in the room or not. Again, that’s not something I picture most America junior high boys being comfortable with.