Teaching ESL to very young children in Italy.

Over the Easter break, my son's pre-school teacher called, to tell me she'd had to let their English teacher go, for various reasons, the most important one for me being that from October through to the start of April, she'd only done 25 hours of a 70 hour program. Which meant that SOMEONE needed to pick up the remaining 45 hours - and complete them before June 11th.

That SOMEONE being ME.

By virtue of my being a native English speaker, being an ESL teacher (they were warned many times that I have little experience with children, and NONE with pre-schoolers), and living close by, I was their best bet, and their last resort.

That was Sunday evening. I began on Wednesday morning.

After first hopping the train to Rome, going to Feltrinelli International, and buying an entire course of material (Cookie and Friends, Starter and A - OUP).

Two hours - the lessons are usually two hours long, in the afternoon, and the class is 4, 5 and 6-year olds, 30 in total. Throw in two wee ones from the Haiti earthquake, and you may start to get a feel for the challenge.

I'm now 25 hours into my own personal growth /professional development challenge, and have also decided that it is time to embrace my inner ECE/Primary Teacher, and do the CELTYL.

When I think back over my life, focusing on the kinds of books I've always loved reading, a pattern emerges. What do Anne Shirley, Jo March, Anne Hobbs and Jane Eyre all have in common? TEACHERS! They are all teachers. I love teaching! I am really interested in how children learn. I must also remember that for the longest time, if anyone asked me what I wanted to do when I left school, I replied "Kindergarten teacher" (that is 3/4 year-olds in NZ). I got sidetracked along the way, but now....

It is time.

Time to teach!

Time to teach Littlies!