It makes me so MAD!

I have just come back from a quick visit to Hle Bee. (Today I am preparing for tomorrow's presentation to 60 Burmese teachers.) Irvine and Geoff are hanging the etchings in Borderline Gallery while Fiona teaches Kindergarten B with Bobo's help.

I asked Thazin if the guy teaching Grade 5 & 6 today was her Thai teacher.

"No, he is my computer teacher."

"But he has no computer."

"No, he is teaching from the book."

From the book? How do you teach computers from a book?

I could weep.

Scottish Country Dancing in Hle Bee - SUPERB!

PS Sorry, our blogging's a bit out of synch!

Pirnie's last night

Above you can see Irvine emailing his family on the terrace outside his room before we set out tonight to meet the Pirniehall teachers to say farewell as they leave tomorrow. This is a very hard place to leave so tonight's meeting was much more sombre than Sunday night's. It's great to see other Scottish people here and we will all be coming back to Scotland, hoping to help our friends and families and schools understand how hard life is for Burmese people in Thailand.

Safe travelling Pirnie. You'e done SO much in such a short time. You've felt lots of pain but shared loads of joy with your Say Ta Nar friends. Well done.

Working in the Kindergarten

Kindergarten B at play in their 'new' play area. It was good to come back to Hle Bee this year to find that the nursery staff had taken on board a lot of what was discussed at last year's training; they have adopted a more active approach to their teaching, and have been working in small groups. We had done a bit of fund raising to buy more toys for the nursery and I was pleased to find that the school had received some lovely toys from another source...which immediately got me going to set up a 'freeflow' play area. The idea of children playing independently is a bit of a scary concept for the staff, especially as each class holds up to 60 children with only one or two teachers. So we are working each morning this week to 'train' the children up in playing independently (with a teacher present) so that next week they can try working in three groups, with a group playing on their own. You might remember that one class was working under the house...now this space is empty, so we set up the play house in a cosy space under the house - a perfect size for the wee ones to play! We've also done some lovely work on 'Feelings' as the teachers are keen to see some Emotional Literacy lessons in practice.

Kindergarten B's mind map on 'Homes'...

...following a 'think, pair, share' session

Kindergarten A are the older class - more like a Primary 1, so I thought I'd try a bit of critical thinking! The initial session went really well but we did get to a point where it was really hard for the children to think due to the noise of rote learning coming from the two Grade 1 classes, each with 40+ children in the class... So 150 children are sharing one building with just a screen to separate each class - it's a bit of a racket!!

Meanwhile, across the sandy building site in the new Grade 5/6 building, Irvine was having a wee scottish moment making kilts (Linda Martin eat your heart out!) ... in preparation for a spot of Ceilidh dancing at the end of the day - you can imagine the sweat coming off us after an hour of Gay Gordons, Dashing White Sergeant, St Bernard's Waltz and a Strip the Willow to finish!!!
What fast learners these children are and what a great way to finish the day!

Think, Pair and Share Our Burma Book

Sheila worked with Grade 4, 5 & 6 today, reminding them of the images they'd etched of Burma and showing them the books we have made for the first time.

These boys were liking the etchings of the toddy tapper, who climbs toddy trees and takes the sap. It's used for many things, one of which is toddy beer but the boys liked it because the man climbing the tree is very skilled and very brave. They also liked the bridge to an old pagoda because it reminded them that Burmese people are clever architects and many beautiful buildings are in Burma.

Next, the children who had an etching in the book, found it and stood up. Mimi had made an amazing etching of a Kayan Padaung Mother and Son. The mother has many rings on her neck, which makes her very beautiful.

These boys are THINKING about which is their favourite etchings.

THINK I found it - it's an elephant!


Actually, no, most of us THINK it's Our Lady, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

That's who we love.

Now you have thought who your favourite is,

SHARE it with a friend.

Finally, one person from each pair SHARED what their friend had liked and why.

OUR BURMA BOOK EXHIBITION

opens in Borderline Gallery, Mae Sot

on Thursday 16th July 2009.

I've ridden on a motorbike and enjoyed a Songtime for the first time EVER!

That's how Irvine summed up Tuesday in Hle Bee.

Today, Irvine and Guardian Angel had to go to pick up 3 boxes of OUR BURMA BOOK books on GA's motorbike. GA had one box at his feet, Irvine had one on his knee and one behind him that he had to hold on to too. Wish I had got that photo but here's a posed subsitute.

That's the school behind Irvine at the end of the lane.

Our hotel rooms are the rooms on the first floor to Irvine's right.

That's how close we are to Hle Bee.

Emma, the Canadian student's on her way home too with her little helpers.

At the end of today, we gathered the whole school together for Songtime. We used to do this in the kindergarten room but it was very small so we had to squash the school in and the tin roof meant we lashed buckets of sweat as we sang. Today we went into the new building at the back of the school that is home to two Grade 2 classes. It has a natural grass/straw roof and is much cooler.

Thazin had gone to market to buy a speaker for the CD player.

It was enormous!

So we gathered - all 350 - to sing Fischy songs, As We Go Now, I'm the only I, Build Up, You are a Star and our new toothbrushing song. Geoff played the guitar to start us on the Toothbrushing Song.

This is an unmissable sight for Forthview School.

Mr Wright enjoying a Songtime!



So were the Hle Bee teachers.....

Hle Bee's baby

This is the adorable baby of a Hle Bee family that Louise spent hours playing with when she was 8 weeks old last year. She can walk.