Halloween Kindergarten Lesson in Thailand

So tomorrow is Halloween *squeals* and tonight there will also be a full moon, which is apparently the first one on Halloween night for several years, spooky! I love Halloween and will sure be settling down with some popcorn to watch 'Hocus Pocus' later. Something I do ever year. Yep. Living in Thailand won't stop me celebrating! There are no 'Trick or Treaters' unfortunately, but luckily for me I have a bunch of giddy Kindergarten that love sweets and a bit of a scare.

Told you.

I thought I would show you my Halloween lesson for my kindergarten students in Thailand.

It's a really simple lesson as I only had half an hour to teach!

I found trying to explain the story of Halloween to my Kindergarten (4-5-year-olds) quite tricky (my Thai is not THAT good). I nevertheless managed to summon the words for 'ghost, witch, wizard and haunted house' and a few other things in Thai! Go me! Being able to translate certainly helped and added to the fun!

If you're interested here is what they are...

GHOST:  [Pee]

Witch: [Mer Moss]

Wizard: [Par Moss]

Haunted House: [Ban Pee Sing]

Scared: [Glua]

The flashcards I used were from here:

http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/topic/faiths-festivals-celebrations/halloween.html#.VjMbAmThAy4

Sparkle box is such a fantastic resource for flashcards.

For the game I simply used some tack to stick the flashcards to the whiteboard and these:

(Bought from Central Department Store)

The students basically had to run, pick up the spider and hit the right flashcard then put the spider back in its' web :)

There was of course candy for the winning team.

www.youtube.com/teachercola

Lots of love 'n' stuff 

Cola

x

Thailand Has Changed Me.

I know living in Thailand has changed me, I've been living here for four years, it must have! I guess I just wasn't sure how exactly. That is, until recently. My mum came to visit me in Thailand and this highlighted a few ways in which my actions were different. Also, some of the things that she was saying and doing were echos of my own words and actions; of what I would have said and done before.

I realised when my mum was here that I was being very generous, offering to pay, buying things I thought she would like and just generally not being too concerned over who was paying for what. Before I came to Thailand I don't think I would have been as quick as to offer to pay for a meal, a drink or just buy something for someone just because. But now it seems I would and I think it's because I've been shown the same generosity in Thailand. There have been a significant number of times I've been given something for free here, be it food, drink or a helping hand. And I think it's rubbed off on me. I've become kinder.

Another way Thailand has seemed to rub off on me is the fact that they go with the flow a lot more. Before I think I would of gotten a little angry if someone was five minutes late (I probably wouldn't have said anything to their face being oh so English and oh so polite) but now I'm more flexible. I used to be more on a schedule and had everything planned out. Now I'm more relaxed.
What's the big rush anyway?

Finally, I think I'm far less fussy and more adaptable. I find myself thinking 'Mai pen rai' i.e 'no worries' to things that would have bothered me before, such as squatting toilets and broken lamps in hotels. Obviously, I'd still prefer a nice toilet and a working room but I just don't think that stuff bothers me as much as it would before. Now I've learnt to adapt, get on with it and enjoy the rest of my day.

I think overall I've learnt to live in the present moment a lot more.
And let's be honest, what more is there really?

So thank you Thailand :)

My top 5 Tips For Teaching in Thailand

Hello, everyone! I've been teaching in Thailand for over four years now. Crazy I know! I really love it here now but when I first arrived I found it quite hard to understand completely what was expected of me and I had a few problems understanding the culture and settling into my school. And that's why I'm writing this! I wanted to make this blog in case it would help any teachers who are just about to come and teach in Thailand.

Tip 1: Be punctual

Whilst "Thai time" is definitely a thing, it does not apply to working hours, so remember to be on time! The other teachers will not appreciate it if you are late. Also, remember if you're coming to Thailand to teach because you mainly want to travel Thailand, keep the travelling outside of the teaching hours, again, in Thailand they won't appreciate if you're off sick a lot because you've been off galavanting (or island hopping).

Tip 2: Dress politely

Teachers are very highly respected in Thailand so it is of the utmost importance that you dress polite conservative 'teacher' clothing! Girls, they like it if you wear skirts, make sure it's on your knees or below your knees, failing that wear some tailored trousers (if you can stand them in the heat!). Boys, you have no choice unless you can rock a skirt.  Everyone will need to wear shirts which cover their shoulders and that are in no way see-through too (students will pick up on that bit of bra showing, trust me.) Finally, you will need to wear closed-toe shoes.
Oh and if you have any tattoos on show, try and cover them up.

Tip 3: Smile

Thailand is known as the land of smiles as you probably will already know and they really like it when you smile! From my experience, I've learnt that Thai people tend to like teachers who smile a lot and try and communicate. Students will love it if you're smiley and happy too!

Tip 4: Have fun

Have fun whilst teaching! Students love to play games and just laugh! 

Don't try and make the teaching too serious, that will probably just scare the students and make them not want to learn English. A lot of students in Thailand are fine at things like grammar and writing, as they learn this a lot from the teachers - they're just not confident in speaking English. So yeah! Make your lessons fun and try to give the students a chance to speak and hopefully, this will build up their confidence with English!

Tip 5: Don't stress

Thailand can be a bit disorganised sometimes. Not in a really bad way, they just aren't as planned out as we are in the West.  Try not to stress about it and just go with the flow because one thing I have learnt is that things in Thailand thing just have a funny way of working out!

 I have no idea how but they just do!

:)

Lots of love 'n' stuff

Cola

Watch the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbAwcVcsOAg