International Museum Day

Yesterday many museums in Madrid were extending their hours late into the night.  We only had time for one visit so we headed to the Prado.

For those of us who aren’t students or senior citizens, you’ll be happy to know that the Prado offers free entry to the museum’s permanent collection every Monday to Saturday, 6pm to 8pm, and Sundays and holidays from 5pm to 7pm. You still need to stop by the ticket window at the north end of the museum (Goya Alta Entrance) to pick up a free entry ticket.

To get to the Prado:

Take the underground to metro stop Banco de España or Atocha.

By bus, lines 9, 10, 14, 19, 27, 34, 37 and 45 all stop along the Paseo del Prado.

If coming from outside of Madrid, take a train to Atocha station and you’ll be right around the corner.

You can’t take photos inside the museum but believe me you won’t forget what you’ve seen.  Don’t miss Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights in room 56A; it is one of my favorites.  Which is your favorite piece?

 

Earth Day

For our April English Board I had the 3rd grade write up ways we can help the planet within a Truffala Tree cut-out.  They colored them in all sorts of wild designs and they were very proud of the outcome.

Unfortunately, some of the little 2nd graders didn’t think too highly of the Lorax and attacked him with pushpins.

On Earth Day I wanted to try my hand at Seed Bombs with the kids; It was easier than I thought and the kids had a blast playing with mud.  I had a breakthrough with one of my students who refuses to speak a word of English in class.  He is one of my more kinesthetic learners and has a hard time in class because many of the lessons are super text oriented and not always structured for different learning styles.  But he had so much fun with this project that now he makes a point of speaking to me in English, he participates in class now and even shows off a little.  I was so amazed at his level of understanding! all this time I thought he was way behind the rest of the class but all he needed was a project that made learning fun.

Sometimes there are teachers that don’t know how to incorporate the auxiliaries into the lessons, some don’t want us around so they don’t acknowledge us, others let us teach the class but with no advanced notice.   There are also teachers whose level of English and teaching style works great and they don’t need much help in the classroom.  So at times being an auxiliar can be frustrating because you may feel a bit useless.  That is why I like to come up with hands on projects for the kids, for the most part the teachers welcome the change and the students will respect you for it; it could make a great impression on their lives.

Here is what you need to make Seed Bombs

(portions depend on class size):

-Seeds (wildflowers, herbs, vegetables)

-Good Dirt (potting soil, workable soil and if it has clay even better)

-Clay (powdered); if there is clay in your dirt you won’t need to add more.  I couldn’t find powdered clay so i used moist natural potter’s clay and it worked just fine.

-Water

We worked on the Seed Bombs outside.  We gave each student about 2 small cups of dirt, 2 pieces of clay which they broke up into tiny pieces, then some water.  They mixed them all up into palm sized balls then we sprinkled some seeds on them and they mixed them in.

If the ball seems to be falling apart then either add more water or some clay.  If it is too wet then add more dirt and clay.  If you don’t have clay or they are not staying together then wrap each ball in a bit of newspaper.

Let them dry overnight.  I had the kids bring in egg cartons so they could take their seed bombs home.  When they are dry throw them in an ugly lot or plant them in your garden.  If you wrapped them in newspaper then dip them in a little water before you throw them.

Please comment with any seed bomb tips or other earth day activities!

International Woman’s Day

 

I haven’t written in a while but life can get a bit busy between work, school, friends and growth.

Friday was International Woman’s Day around the globe.  I didn’t know that in some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women’s Day is a national holiday.  How rad is that?  I think we need to work on making that happen in the US.

But since I am in Spain and working at an Elementary School I felt compelled to turn the English Board into a Woman’s Board for the month.  I owe so much to so many amazing women so it was really hard narrowing it down to just 20.  I also didn’t want to overload the board with Americans, I wanted to make it more global so I asked for some help from other sources.  Unfortunately, most of the Spanish women I talked to couldn’t give me a list of women they admired from their history and culture.  But the kids had something to say; One girl told me about her mother who is a fireman and another who is a computer scientist.  So my next project for the month is going to be talking with the kids about the women on the board and then asking them to write about a woman they know and admire, someone who inspires them.  And then we will make a board with their pictures and stories.  I hope I have time to make it happen but if not I’m definitely working on this next year.

Here is a picture of the board.  I had a hard time narrowing down the women but here are the ones we used: Rosa Parks, Susan B Anthony, Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, Aung San Suu Kyi, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Michelle Obama, Margaret Sanger, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Rachel Carson, Frida Kahlo, Susan Wojcicki, Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar,  Maria Tecla Artemesia Montessori, Isabel Allende, Salley Ride, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Goodall…there were so many more we wanted to put up but next time we’ll plan more in advance.

I wanted to make it an interactive board to draw interest.  So each woman’s picture has a quote underneath and then if you lift the flap you’ll find a very brief and dumbed down bio since it is for elementary school age children.  If anything I hope the teachers read them.  Please comment with the women in history you admire and that inspire you so I can improve on the board for next year.

 

Renewing as an Auxiliar de Conversacion

Profex was a pain in the ass the first time round but it is time to have at it again!

Before you tackle the problematic workings of Profex again make sure you have all the necessary documents.

Documents you need:

-Letter of Motivation.  This is your letter of intent explaining why you think you’re school/ the program should renew your position in the Auxiliares de Conversacion Program.

-Informe Del Centro.  This is a form you need to print out.  The director of your school needs to fill this form out, it serves as your letter of recommendation.

-Solicitude De Prorroga.  This is a form to be printed out that contains the information of the school you work at and your mailing information.  If you are renewing in the same school I suggest using the mailing address of your school for this form because you may not have the same apt. mailing address next year and this is the address they will send your TIE appointment date to.

After you have these documents you can start the renewal process on Profex.

After you finish, print out the final page or Solicitud de la aplicacion Profex o del British Council with all your info data and hand all these documents in to your director (make copies for yourself).  Make sure you have signed everything.  Then your director (if they have the instructions) will send it to :

If you are renewing at the same school:

Auxiliares de Conversacion de la Comunidad de Madrid

Consejera de Educacion, Juventud y Deporte

Subdireccion General de Programas de Innovacion

c/Gran Via 20 4ª Planta

28012 Madrid

If you are renewing but hope to be placed at a different level school:

Programa de Auxiliares de Conversacion Extranjeros

(A la atención de Javier Mendez[extracomunitarios] o victoria Hernandez[comunitarios], despacho 524)

Minestario de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte – Subdireccion General de Promocion Exterior Educativa.

Praseo del Prado, 28. 5ª planta

28014 Madrid

 Good luck with the process.  Make sure you re-read everything as the Profex site can be glitchy.  This year’s deadline for renewals was open from February 1-28th 2013 if you wanted to be placed at the same school.  If you wanted to take a chance and be placed in an institute vs. primary then you could reapply up until the 2nd of April 2013 but your place wouldn’t be guaranteed. Choose wisely.  In the past people have elected for the same school but have fought to change their schools later in the game.  This is possible but it is a hard fight.  If you want to switch from Institute to Primary or vice versa, this is possible on profex but I’m not sure how it works out in the end.

Carnival in Cibeles

 

This year Carnival was February 9- 13th and in Madrid there was a long program of events.  It was a bit difficult to see all of the parade but we caught a few glimpses.  The fireworks were set to the music of Giuseppe Verdi’s Triumphal March in Aida. Definitely a free event worth checking out if you are around for Carnival.

 

The Hair in Spain

I’m having a hard time finding a good hair stylist.  Every  peluquería I go to gives me a decent hair cut but it’s not very stylish or young or funky.  When I got my hair cut in Portland I could walk into any hair place and come out with a do with a lot going on, and I didn’t have to say much.  Here I feel like everyone is super classic and they don’t want to experiment much with their client’s long hair.  So if you have a young, funky, experimental hairstylist in Madrid send me the address, I’m interested.

But if you are struggling to get yourself to the  peluquería because you are low on vocabulary here are some pointers:

capas= layers

puntos= ends

flequillos= bangs

al lado= to the side

and more.

Bike Riding in Retiro

If there is a chance of sunshine, especially in the dead of winter please take advantage of the sun and go bike riding in Parque del Buen Retiro.  By Bike has affordable rentals  €4 per hour or a tad cheaper if you increase your usage.  If you are into roller blading the costs are the same for rentals.  The bikes aren’t anything special, mainly just cruiser bikes so they can get uncomfortable after a long haul but definitely worth it for a 1 or 2 hour spin through Retiro.  It is always nice to lay out in the sun along the lake but nothing beats a good bike ride through the park. It really is the best way to explore every bit the park has to offer in the shortest amount of time.

Check out the website for rental times and prices as they vary from season to season.  But in general they are cheaper than most bike shops in Madrid and located right across the street from the Ibiza entrance.

Ugh, what a day…

Of course I forgot all of my Trinity Exam prep notes at home this morning; it is the first day of exam practice with 4^th grade.  Surprisingly, it went just fine without all my notes, mostly because Ronald has been prepping the students for this moment since the first day of school.

The day took an unexpected turn when I entered 3^rd grade and found out the teacher wouldn’t be coming in for the rest of the week.  I don’t often have 3^rd grade for English class (just Science) and when I do the teacher usually tells me what they have been studying and then gives me 1 or 2 minutes to think up a lesson based on their textbook.  But today I didn’t have the teacher there to tell me what topics they have been learning.  And like many (but not all) teachers here there were no lesson plans or notes left for the lucky fill-in teacher.

The first class went ok.  The students were very helpful and organized so in the end we found the right unit and had a great lesson with only a few disruptions throughout the class.  But after lunch the 2^nd half of the 3^rd grade class was incredibly rowdy and behind on the topic; so I had a hard time getting a handle on things.  I suppose I was a bit nervous because I had 2 student teachers who were monitoring the class.  I wanted to explain to them that this isn’t usually my class etc. in Spanish but I couldn’t say anything in front of the kids.  The lesson was probably crap because I spent most of the time trying to keep order.  As much as these kinds of days get me down it is good to have them to keep you fresh and to remember that teaching is tough when it comes to discipline and order.  As an assistant I always have someone to back me up on classroom discipline (well, most often).  But it is always good to stay fresh on classroom management and maybe have an arsenal of games and other activities for days of chaos.

Maybe next time I’ll let the monitor teach the class.

Barcelona Bus Tour

Well, you know how we love our bus tours (with our old knees and all), but I’d have to say skip the Barcelona City Tour.

We took this tour by accidentally purchasing the wrong bus tickets in advance.  If you buy your tickets in advance online you can usually get a discount but make sure you are on the right website.  Apparently there are 2 Barcelona Tour Bus companies.  The tour we had meant to buy was the Barcelona Bus Turistic, which seemed to have the better routes for the same price.

The Tour we took was pretty much an expensive taxi ride (but we used it all day as mode of transportation).  The guide wasn’t particularly interesting and we spent most of the tour parked outside the football stadium (not something I find fascinating).  And unfortunately, the part of the tour that takes you along the beach is unavailable during the winter months.  So all in all not worth the money unless you are a senior citizen and can use it as a taxi with your discount.

We had little time in Barcelona on this trip but the best parts were exploring by foot.  Here are some sites we had time to check out:

-Park Guell

-La Sagrada Familia

-Parc de l’Estació del Nord

-Parc de la Ciutadella

-The Arc de Triomf

-Montjuïc (we wanted to go inside the Poble Espanyol but had no time)

-La Rambla

-Gothic Quarter (by night is a must)

-a walk along the shoreline at sunset

-and just wandering around different neighborhoods

 

What are your favorite spots in Barcelona?

 

 

Calabaza!

When in Barcelona you must visit Calabaza on Sardenya, 240 (cantonada Diputacio).  It is the best lunch for your money in Barca and they have vegetarian options!

It’s a cozy place with friendly staff and the owners are always working.  You can eat in or take out buffet style homemade delicious food.  And the empanadas are to die for!  Open from 11:00 a 16:00 Saturday -Monday and 11:00 a 21:00 Tuesday -Friday.  Also available for caterings (#93 531 33 67).