Hello everyone!

Hello everyone!

First let me introduce myself. My name is James Barbosa and I am the Pre-Kinder A teacher for this year. I am from Toronto Canada. I can speak two languages fluently; English and Portuguese, and a little bit of Japanese. I have lived in Japan for 6 years and I have taught English in Kagawa for 4 years and in Hyogo for 2 years. If you have any questions you can always ask me.

First week of Pre-Kinder.

I had a lot of fun getting to know all the students. This group is very dynamic.and at times they can be a handful, but kids will be kids.

This week was about getting to know the students. Their strengths, and their weaknesses in order to go further and teach them in a way that is fun for them. One of the books I read to them was a book called Shark in the Park. They really enjoyed the book and wanted me to read it again! I have read this book many times over the last 6 years to many children and I never had anyone so captivated, and so into the book like these children were. 

I will definitely read it again to them again in the future. 

This week was also the first time the students got to learn and use the smart board in the classroom. They were so excited to try it out. I hope to get them to use it more in the future, but first we need to learn how to treat it nicely! 

The students were also able to show their artistic side by decorating the classroom door with whatever they wanted. It was a fun exercise, which gave me a window into their personalities.

All in all, I want to have fun with the students, but I also want them to work together and display good manners when interacting with people inside and outside of the school. This is our primary goal this year. For now we are learning safety and procedures when going to the park. Learning how to treat each other with kindness in the classroom and helping the teachers clean up!

Stay tuned for more exciting tales from the class of Pre-Kinder A

- James Barbosa