I have been in Kuwait over just a month. I am still loving it. School is very rough the students are very different then I expected so I need to learn how best to help them be better. They are talkative and don't stop talking. I am told that the people of Kuwait love to talk so it is a whole culture thing.  I have not felt healthy since I arrived in Kuwait, the last couple of days have been better I started talking Airborne twice a day, it seems to be helping. I have also not eaten a lot of foreign (to me) food. Hoping to ease my way into all the new fun stuff available to me.

I have decided for all my teacher friends (and everyone else who might be interested) I would tell you what my typical day is like, it is quiet different from the states yet other ways very similar. (The school week is Sunday through Thursday and Friday is the Sabbath.) I usually arrive at the school between 6:30 and 7:00 (normal for me) the weird thing is that I have seen students at school as early as 6:15; supervision doesn't start until 7:15. 7:15 is 1st recess.We are on a 6 day cycle. The students have Arabic classes everyday. The also have religion and PE that trade back and forth during the 6 day cycle so they get 3 days of PE and on the 6th day in the cycle I have an additional Religion class so the students have 4 Religion classes.
The students start to come in about 7:40 and we have our 1st block, 2nd block is from 8:30 to 9:15, 3rd block is 9:15 to 10:00. Twice during the 6 day cycle my students have music during 3rd block. In January that will change and they will take Art. 10:00 to 10:30 is 2nd recess. During this time the students choose they can eat if they want or just play. Many students eat part of their lunch at this time an then go play. 4th block is from 10:30 to 11:15, 5th block is from 11:15 to 12:00 and this is when my students have their Arabic class. For my grade level this is our CMT Common Meeting Time. 2 to 3 times in the 6 day cycle we have training on those days or meet as a group to discuss what we are teaching. 6th block is 12:00 to 12:45 and then 3rd recess is from 12:45 to 1:15. Most students eat the rest of their lunch and then go play. The students play soccer every recess and it amazes me (hoping to post a pictures this coming week since this week I am off for the Eid holiday)they are so good and the other things is it is HOT. They are out their playing and I am a baby and try to decide if I am hungry enough to walk in the heat to get me something from the Canteen (Where they eat and can buy food). 1:15 to 2:00 is 7th block my students have either PE or Religion. I try to take a lunch most days but the last week I didn't do so great with that. The food in the Canteen is pretty reasonable priced. I can get salad's, pizza, chicken burgers and some delicious bread that is cooked in a brick oven with cheese in the middle (I can finally pronounce what it is called but no idea how to spell it). 2:00 to 2:30 is Homeroom, we finish up and I read a story to my students. We have been reading Geronimo Stilton and they are loving it. Our first trip to the library 8 students checked out Geronimo books. I'll need to get something new next time to see if I can get them interested in other books. Monday from 3:00 to 4:00 we have New staff training. This will be finished in early November. We have weekly faculty meetings/training's on Tuesday from 3:00 to 4:00 as far as I know this is all year. We will also have PD Professionally Development days through the year. This is where the students will have school half day and then we have the rest of the day for PD.

Every Thursday morning we line up outside and get any school announcements we need and sing the National Anthem.

It has been very nice to have the built in Prep times everyday. I am not working the late hours and all weekend like I use to. It is kind of nice. Teaching here is very different, there are no text books. There are some old Teacher books that can be used as resources. Actually Kuwait studies does have a text book & Workbook. But everything else is based off of 6 units that we teach throughout the year and we are asking questions and guiding the students to find the answers. So we have a Unit of Inquiry and this is where we teach Literacy, Language arts, Social Studies (In addition to Kuwait Studies), we try to get Math in if possible. We do have a Math block and we try to ask questions and help the students find the answer. I love that the students are needing to look and find the answers. I have a hard time asking open ended questions that help guide them and help them looking. So I have been doing lots of research and trying to get better at that. I feel like this is my first year teaching again. The students are so different from what I am use to, a different grade level and a broad guidance for teaching. I do have a phenomenal support system. There are 4 teachers that were her last year and 3 of us newbies. So they other 4 teachers are great to give ideas, suggestions or actual activities. I have also started meeting with April (another newbie) and we have worked together bounce ideas of each other, sounding boards and sharing resources we find. I am definitely still trying to find my way and worry about if I am teaching my students what they need to know.

I am hoping to have my furniture put together this break and get some pictures of my apartment up. No guarantees cause my computer has been having issue after issue and I am going to try to take it somewhat easy over this break. I plan to go into the school for a day to a day and a half tops. (There is still a ton of organizing I need to do feel settled in my classroom) Then I have the same at my apartment. I got my reimbursement so I have bought some furniture. It'll take time to get everything I want and money. But I have gotten a coffee table and2 side tables and a shelf for my kitchen. I still want some shelves for my bathroom possibly a type of broom closet or something to hang them on the wall so they are out of the way. We'll see, my sister gave me an idea for a wall decoration that would be of minimal cost and it has kind of grown with a couple of other ideas I have had, you'll have to wait and see for it.

I haven't done a whole lot, but then again I am constantly busy. I had dinner with my friend April her husband and baby the other day. I went to an AWARE dinner they other day this is kind of a club for Expats to have a common get together and learn about each other and the country we live in. I am kind of interested in the Arabic classes and the cooking classes so we'll see where that goes.
My laptop..... I am so frustrating at first I couldn't download Silverlight and Flash player. Final got that fixed and got my VPN. Netflix worked once and hasn't worked again. I went and bough a portable cd/dvd drive and I can't get it to work either. Frustrating is not even a strong enough word for how I feel about it right now. It is also a pain cause I have to ask for help cause I am pretty clueless about computers. I feel bad asking cause it has been such a pain. I am also concerned about taking it in to be worked on, cause there is concern that if I get someone who is not totally honest they could put something on my computer that would allow them access to my camera and computer soooooooooo.......... what's a poor girl to do. We'll see how it all works out.

I almost forgot we had Back to School night last week. It was very interesting I only had 5 students come. I understand that that is about an average number. So Grade 4 had a bet going on that the teacher with the most students attend would buy the teacher with the least amount of students a coffee (Hot Chocolate for me) April had 14 or 15 students show and 3 of us had only 5. I actually tied to win something I never win. I am use to having more students come but hey I got some planning done.

I really do hope to get more regular at the up dates. I'll keep trying hopefully I'll get better at this.
Love you all, Take Care

Sorry I missed last Sabbath I had a headache and totally forgot. The week of the 23rd to the 28th was filled with training, meeting the returning staff and getting ready to meet the students. I am learning the IB(International Baccalaureate) programme the PYP (is for the elementary years). Wow there is so much and I am lost when I think about it. Everyone says it takes a few months to learn. So I am relived I have time to figure it out. At times it does make it hard not knowing totally what I am doing. Last year the Grade 4 team wrote the scope & sequence (the plan) for what we are teaching this year. It is all linked to the standards and is all right there. I love it. I feel like my team members want to help and we will go over stuff but it is a little vague but, I think that is because they want me to still be me and teach my own way. They ask if there are questions and so often I don't know what questions I might have. I also think that they are trying to give us a little as a time so we don't feel overwhelmed which I understand but for this reason I can't wait until the end of the year when I have been through all of it. This means in no way I want to speed through the year. I want to enjoy it, I'll just be glad when I know everything I need to know about the PYP.

My friend Robyn has been a lifesaver and taken me shopping quiet a bit. I have not had to figure out how to take a Taxi yet but I need to figure it out.

I forgot the people I am meeting are simply amazing. Especially all the teachers I am meeting. Which lets face it I live with all teachers and I work with them. Whether they just got here or been here for a year or more. Everyone is so willing to help. They have experienced it all ready and want to help as they can.

I spent Saturday the 29th mostly in my classroom, trying to get set up for school. I have decided that the classroom is never ready like we would like it to be. My room was no where near ready like I wanted but the students never know what we ourselves want done.

Sunday the 30th (1st day of school)
Normally I am excited for the 1st day of school and can't sleep. This year I slept but for the 1st time ever I had nightmares about school. It was really weird because the nightmares where of me teaching high school again. The 1st day was ok, nothing like I have ever experienced before. Monday was a little worst and by Wednesday I was thinking, "Crap I have 2 more years of this."  See up to this point I had been telling everyone it was going GREAT. I had been thinking that
1. New country
2. New culture and
3. I just needed time.
But as the days got worst I became less sure that they would get better. So I started answering truthfully it sucked!!!!!!! My team leader Karri came in and talked to me and help me come up with a plan for Thursday. I also talked to a friend who said that the students here are a little behind what I am use to so I may want to use some of my procedures I used in 2nd Grade to help my current students and adjust as is needed for my students. Well duh, I all ready know this why could I not figure it out myself.
 Thursday morning came: I got my classroom ready and went outside, I had morning duty. Every Thursday morning we gather outside and we get a quick message from the principle or AP's and then sing the National Anthem, no idea what it said but it was so fun to watch them all sing it.
We got to class & I start every morning off with writing. So they did the writing assignment an then the plan was to give them a group assignment that they would not do so great at cause all week they hadn't not done well with group work. They where amazing. Got in their groups, got to work and where on task 90% of the time (let's face it no one who works in groups is on task 100% of the time it is just our nature) so I was ecstatic. The day was that way the whole day went. We practiced lining up oh how that sucks, every year we practice lining up and I believe that it is as hard on the teachers as it is on the students. So my week finished on a high note. I am so glad.

My students are good kids, I am excited to get to know them and have all ready seen fun sides to their personalities and I am excited to watch them grow and learn this year. We will have not so great days but that is because that is just the way life works. But I am very glad I am here and think it will be an amazing experience!

Here are pictures from my living room window.

Here is a picture I borrowed from a friend. We had a dust storm on Wednesday. It was weird I could feel it in my lungs.

I will have more pictures soon. I have a friend who is going to send me some I can use also of trips we taken. Really need to find my camera.
All is well. Love ya!