Brighton Kindergarten's Graduation And Talent Show is coming up in 15 days. Can you believe it?? I'm blown away about this past year... so much has happened, I've experienced so many different things, and God has grown me in unexpected and wonderful ways. I wouldn't change this year for anything. I promise I'll do more introspective posts as my one-year anniversary comes up closer, but for now I'd just like to talk a little about this wonderful challenge called Talent Show.
It all started with a conversation that went something like:
"Zara, the foreign teachers write the script for the talent show."
"Oh, what?"
"So you need to write the script. And Zara, don't make the words too easy. Moms and Dads want to see that their kids can say hard words in English."
"...uh...ok...what sort of script?"
[Note: True story. I'm not using hyperbole to make a point. Very often, Moms and Dads are not as concerned with their kids' ability to understand what they're saying in English, just that they *can say* the hard words. I found that out during open class. Image is everything. OH KOREA.]
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I teach three main kindergarten classes, but two of them combine together for their Korean class (Montana + Virginia = Libra ...just smile and nod), so in many cases, my three classes are generalized as two main classes. This is one of those cases, so I had two scripts to write: one for Florida class and one for Libra class.
Anna (my co-teacher for Florida class) wanted our class to do a skit about famous fairy tale villains, told from their point of view. She wanted stories that painted the villains as not-as-bad-as-we-think-they-are. Challenge accepted! That script was really fun to write!
Celine (my co-teacher for both Montana and Virginia aka Libra class) wanted our classes to have a presidential debate (running for president of our kindergarten). The only problem was that I don't understand how Korean presidential elections go... In the USA, we have 2 parties that duke it out, but in Korea there were a lot more candidates for president in the election that was just held in December. I didn't watch any of the run-up to the election so I didn't see any debates or discussion of the issues, so that script was a lot harder for me to wrap my head around. Not to mention, how do you get 22 kids to cooperate in a debate format? We worked it out so that we have 4 "parties" running for office, each with a candidate and campaign staff. We decided that they wouldn't actually debate the issues, but rather introduce their campaign platforms. It was harder for me to be creative with that script, but now that it's done, the kids are doing a really good job with it. It is SO CUTE to watch!
Both skits are adorable. I'm really pleased with how the stories turned out!
Florida's script (the fairy tale villains) cracked me up while I was writing it, knowing which kids were going to have which lines and imaging how they'd deliver them. They have not disappointed in hilarity! They're so precious!
Libra's script has some seriously hard words (anything written by a social studies teacher about policy and elections is gonna include some higher-level vocabulary, even for seven-year-olds, and with the go-ahead for hard words, I went all out!) and the kids are just DOMINATING the pronunciation! It's actually been an awesome way to teach these little toots some difficult concepts and terms! They have learned all about candidates and platforms and elections and what the different roles are in the campaign staff... Did you know any of that when you were in kindergarten? I bet not. My kiddos are CHAMPIONS!
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Over the next 15 days, I'd like to share some pieces (or all?) of the scripts. I'm not sure if there are any copyright laws on this, but since I wrote them, I think it's fair for me to post them here. If you or anyone you know would like to borrow them for any reason, just ask me! I would probably be okay with that, with credit where credit is due. I really enjoyed writing them, so I just ask that I get a shout out if someone does use my intellectual property. Or payment. I'd be cool with that.
Stay tuned!
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