Opal House

Opal House

About Me

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Hi, my name is Maren Talcott. I am 22 years old, and I just graduated Washington State University with a degree in Elementary Education and minor in Spanish. My passion is teaching... I love children! I was born in Minnesota, but spent all of my life growing up in Washington. My dream is to become a kindergarten teacher, and inspire children to love learning! I have done little to no traveling in my lifetime outside of the United States. My goal for this blog is to keep my family, friends, and loved ones up to date on my experiences. I will be living in Guatemala for three months, Jan.-March 2014. I will be volunteering at the Opal House School near Lake Atitlan. The reason for traveling to Guatemala is to have the experience of a lifetime, and improve my Spanish! This journey will push me out of my comfort zone, and open my eyes to a whole new world. I know that I will show my love and compassion to the guatemalan people every single day, and hope that I can impact their lives as much as I know they will impact my own. You can email me at marentalcott@yahoo.com

Monday, January 27, 2014

First Day of School!!


The Tuk Tuk!

Bienvenidos! Happy First Day of School!



FIRST DAY

Today was the first day of school, with all 25 children. And let me tell you...I am exhausted! Overall, today was a great day, but it was very different that anything I could have expected. I have witnessed and been a part of the first day of school before, and this was nothing like I have ever seen! For the most part, the majority of the student were SO excited to be at school, and every lesson that was shown to them was like gold. These children have so little at home, that the materials that they see at school, are literally gold to them. It was such a joy to see the faces of these children as a presented a lesson to them individually. Their eyes were wide, their mouths were open, and they were blinking as little as possible! It is going to take a lot of time to get these children adjusted and used to the routine, but in time, things will run much smoother. Most of these children are babied at home, and not used to being told what to do. With 25 children, ages 3-6, it wasn't a picture perfect day. But, I could not help but smile. I would have about 5 or 6 students at the same time needing my help, or needing a lesson taught to them. It was challenging! Keep in mind this is a Montessori school, not a public school where al students are instructed and working on the same thing at the same time. The three of us had a meeting after school to discuss possible changes and things that need to be done differently. I can't wait to see this class grow, and the watch the students love learning. They truly appreciate school and the things we have to teach them, and they truly love to be here. 


Today I had a buddy, and his name is Mario. Mario is very young, so he needed a lot of one-on-one attention. He is absolutely ADORABLE! When you look at him, every time he gives you the sweetest and most innocent smile. And, he is absolutely fascinated by the work in the school. He was the highlight of my day. He was a light in the school, that could brighten up the whole room with his smile and his heart. He truly wanted to learn and wanted to participate today. I can tell, he is a very special boy, and someone I am going to get attached to!!


           Mario :-)                 





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