Issue No. 3 Brought to you by Kyle

Greetings Friends and Family!

This is Mr. Settles positing his first ever issue.  Amy and I have been very busy as we have finally settled in here in Togiak.  We have gotten to know many locals, kids, and dogs and they all seem to love us.

I started school last Monday and it has been a very unique experience.  My first day of teaching went much better than anticipated.  My nerves were definitely present, but quickly melted away once every single kid in my class ran up to give their new teacher a hug.  I have 11 boys and 1 girl in my first and second grade room, so you can imagine what that is like.  To put that girl into perspective, I guarantee that if I asked her how many girls were in the class, she would probably say five.  She is obviously outstanding.

The first day of school was filled with new games, routines, procedures, more games, and introductions.  A few of my students were quite shy to their new teacher, but I was sure that would quickly change once they realized how strangely unique I am.  Most of my kids were out of steam by about 1:00 pm, so the afternoon was filled with more games, reading in our classroom library, and building with math manipulatives.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Day two was very similar to day one as I continued to familiarize myself with my new Yupik students.  They play the same games, listen to the same music, eat mostly the same food, and act the same way as other 7 and 8 year olds do in Michigan, California, Mississippi, etc.  My students were blown away when I showed them Michigan on the map, and were excited to hear new stories. 

The rest of week one continued in a progressive manner.  I introduced only a few new concepts, as I wanted to primarily focus on getting routines and procedures down perfectly.  I found out several things this week: 7 year old boys love to fart, 8 year old boys cannot physically sit still for more than 16 seconds,  all kids should be required to wear those bungee shoe laces, and that I love my job!  All awesome things to realize in a week!

Week two begin with 8 kids in my room.  I cannot even begin to tell you how AMAZING that is as a teacher.  I also have a full–time native aide who does a lot of tremendous work with my kids.  One of my squirreliest students, Mr. Bo, spent an entire day with his left shoe on his right foot, and his right shoe on his left foot.  He did not think it was nearly as funny as Mr. Settles did. 

All in all it has been an incredible experience.  I continue to look forward to work everyday and seeing the progress that each kid is capable of.  How awesome is it that I get to work with 6,7, and 8 year olds instead of grumpy adults?!