The Power of Youth

I have two days a week at my elementary schools and take up 90% of my planning time and 90% of my energy for the week. Younger children seem to have this endless supply of energy. It's surprising how much noise such small children can make. Today I've had the loudest class of all so far and I have to shout even louder to control them and simply make my voice heard. Now my throat feels so sore it throbs, and is begging for a Halls Smoother. Last Tuesday I came hope and collapsed on the sofa for the length of the evening, unable to muster enough energy to do anything.

I make it sound like hell, but believe it or not, the elementary schools (ES) are the highlight of my week. I enjoy them and for every ounce of sweat I put in, I get bucket loads of enthusiasm back. Their tiny little smiles light up my day. Young children in Japan seem happy in Japan and behave like young children should, playing games and singing songs. They learn so easily, soaking up information and new words like walking, talking, sponges. I'm always impressed how quickly they pick up songs and with how much gusto they put into them. I actually get more English (And Japanese for that matter) from them than my Junior High Schools, who seem to think English isn't cool. It's a lot of work but how can you unhappy when you get to play with cute little Japanese children all day. Last Tuesday an 2^nd Year boy came bouncing up to me and presented me with the below origami goldfish and said “Present!” How sweet. It now has pride of place on my fridge to remind me why I do this on the tougher days.