The activities I
do in my English classes with the primaria students are obviously pretty basic
and primarily designed to get all the kids practicing their English a little
instead of just copying notes. One simple tool I often use is a ball of red
yarn. The kids throw it around the room to pick the next student who has to
talk. We keep throwing the ball until all the kids have practiced whatever we
happen to be learning. This first time I used this game the kids just passed
the ball from person to person, even though I said “tirar” (Spanish for
“throw”). I guess they don’t do much of that in class normally….. without
getting in trouble of course. So the next time I went into the class I took out
the red ball of yarn and lobbed it straight across the room. Any of you who
know my aiming ability understand what a risk this was :-P It worked though;
they started cracking up and next thing I knew that ball was sailing around the
room.
This Tuesday,
however; the ball of yarn was not to be found. I needed to get to school though
so I picked up the first replacement I could find….a pirate turtle named Smee.
Smee and his swashbuckling cohort, Captain Jack, came to Natalie and me from
the Mandalay Bay Hotel Aquarium in Las Vegas, Nevada. In recent history Captain Jack and Smee spent
most of their time discussing pirate-y things while riding the ceiling fan in
Natalie and Mark’s room. Currently Smee lives on my bedside table in Peru;
which is how he found himself in the role of “la Tortuga volante” this Tuesday
morning. Smee got such a warm reception after I explained the missing ball of
yarn that I left him to ride around on my shoulder during class. Smee offered a
basic commentary of “grrrs” and “yars” depending on what the kids were up to.
To fully paint the picture I offer this fairly accurate reenactment; translated
(mostly) for you convenience:
Various
children: look, look…it’s a pirate! The turtle is a pirate!
Me: now we’re
going to throw the turtle to each other, ok?
Various
children: aaa-eee…..a turtle that flies! A pirate that flies! Smeeeeeeeee!
Me: que dice la pirata, chicos? YARRRRR!
Entire class:
YARRRRRRRR!!!!!
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