First Day of School

At my first day of school in Guadeloupe it was very hot. In the classroom it was so hot I could barely work. Class starts at 8 o'clock in the morning, but we get to go home for a long lunch break. I'm in a split class with around 20 kids in grades CM1 and CM2. They made us write so much just for math, like 4 536 923 = 4 x 1000000, 5x 100000, 3 x 10000,   6 x 1000, 9 x 100, 2x 10, + 3. My hand was tired after that.

At recess I met a kid that originally came from Montreal, and has also spent a few years in New York. This is his fourth year in Guadeloupe. There were a lot of Beyblades out at recess.  They just came out here in Guadeloupe and are really popular at my new school.  Almost everyone has them. I should have brought mine from Canada too.

After recess we had lecture silencieux which we also did when I was at  class in TFS too.  Mine was about music people. An artist drew a picture of five musicians. The teacher speaks french clearly and not that fast, I understood most of what he said. I was only at school for the morning today, but  I'm looking forward to going to school all day tomorrow.

My New Class

I met my new class and my new teacher and I had a snack.  I had a very loud class and a big class.  We were supposed to have 26 children in my class, but today was only 23 children because some kids were away.  My classroom is warm.  I did easy work and fun work at my class. At recess we got to play football. That's what they call soccer.  And that was all about my new class in Guadeloupe.

Homeschooling Fantasy

I've always harboured fantasies of running my own home school, nurturing my children through personal curriculum catering to their interests, strengths and weaknesses.  Coming to Guadeloupe has given me the opportunity to do just that. We started mid August, and have been working every day (minus a few travel days); a combination of old school table work and independent studies inspired by the world around us.

With daily negotiations Xavier diligently completes math, and language arts tasks from the grade 4 curriculum.  Current events and the island itself, are the source for many of his independent studies.  He has come to love reading books, and right now adores the Animorphs series.

Quincy has a voracious appetite for workbooks, and has fired through all the books I brought with us including the grade 1 language arts curriculum and Xavier's grade 3 math review.  He also loves to draw pictures of our surroundings, and write about them in his journal.

Odin completes our daily weather calendar, which always starts out sunny and hot in the morning.  Lately he comes back in the afternoon to change to rain.  He's also working on writing numbers and letters at the table, but he generally keeps busy learning through play.

Milo? Well, he sits at the table in a high chair putting baby toys in his mouth, and then rolls around on the tile floor grabbing more toys and putting them in his mouth until its time for his nap.

Now, how am I keeping 3 active boys reading, writing, drawing, typing in the hot Caribbean sun? With my positive teaching style and dynamic personality? For the love of learning? Sadly, no.

I have resorted to bribery. "Finish this and then we get to go swimming in the pool."  "Finish that and then we can go to the beach."  And the most important bribe of all: "When you reach the day's goal, it's free time"- translated into boyspeak - video game time!

Not exactly the way I pictured the fantasy, however, spending time learning with my children in this new environment is a challenge I'm grateful to experience.

Our New House

I  am swimming with my brothers and parents in our pool. I am at my new house in the country. Our neighbour has a cow.  My dog Stanley likes to bark at the cow. There are lots of bugs to see here. There is a mosquito net on my bed so mosquitoes won't bite me at night.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Hermit Crab

My name is Xavier. I am working on a Hermit Crab. I saw one at my house and I measured him. He was small, measuring 3.7 cm. Hermit Crabs are born in salt water. They live close to the water. Hermit Crabs can live to be ten years old. He has two claws; the right one is smaller than the left. They can climb really good. The one I saw had a white shell and inside his body was red. They can move back and forth, and sideways. Hermit Crabs are amphibians. They live in the Caribbean. They are fun to watch but they can get scared easily of people. I like Hermit Crabs.

Hot

Tip: don't leave crayons out in the Caribbean sun.

My name is Quincy.  It is hot in Guadeloupe.  My clothes are hard to get on because I am sticky.  My crayons melted outside.  The wind helps me cool down.  I drink ice water.  I take showers and go swimming almost every day.

Anole

Anole

My name is Xavier and I am working on an animal named anole. They have six legs, their eyes are blue and they can blow a bubble with their neck. They live in Mexico, Florida, the Caribbean, Texas, Georgia and Venezuela. The male is green and and the female is brown. They eat little bugs like spiders and bees. Anole are reptiles. They live near houses and they are fast. If you see one, do not say a word, only whisper. Do not move an inch unless you are trying to capture one for a pet. It will scare them. I like anole. I do, I do.