Talent at Guiyang No. 4 Experimental Primary School

As our time at Guiyang No. 4 Exp. Primary School is winding down, I found myself getting a little sentimental.  The students here are lovely and talented and I wanted to share more about them.  And, today was one of my favorite days.  My students and I shared a lot of laughs and I was treated to a private impromptu piano recital by one of the fifth graders.

These third graders are the best!!!  

Today, my lesson for third grade was on toys and one of our vocabulary words was robot.  Of course, I had the students show me how robots move.  The students LOVE performing and are great at it.  One student even mimicked the morning exercises in a robotic way, eliciting a roomful of laughter from his classmates.  We had a great time.

My little robots

One of my favorite things about having to walk up and down five flights of stairs repeatedly throughout the school day is that the walls are lined with student artwork.  A variety of pastels, paintings, calligraphy, embroidery and batik are on display for all to enjoy.  I am impressed with the quality of the work and hope to observe an art class before I'm finished student teaching here.

Here are collages of some of the work in the halls.  The photos are at weird angles because of the glare.  I will try to get better photos if the opportunity presents itself.




The playground is also decorated with vibrant murals.  


During our first week we were treated to an exhibition highlighting the students musical abilities.  The sounds of the children singing in music class frequently resonates through the halls.  Students also practice various musical instruments, many play piano.

Today, as I walked into the auditorium to set up for my lesson, I heard a boy practicing a song on the piano at the back of the room.  I set up quickly and had 10 minutes to spare so I sat with the boy and listened to him play a song so beautiful my eyes welled up with tears.  He seemed pleased that I was sitting with him but was nervous to speak to me when he finished practicing.  I think he could sense that I could have listened to him play this song forever.  Fortunately, I was able to say, "Hěn piàoliang" which translates to "Very Beautiful." 

Please enjoy.  The title of the song translates to "The Wedding in the Dream."

I have to remind myself constantly that we only have one full week left in the school.  The students have finally warmed up to us.  They make a point to sit with us during meals and two of Lizzy's students, twin brothers who insist on being called Tony 1 and Tony 2, walk us most of the way home after school.  

Tony 2 and Tony 1

My goal for our last week is to spend as much time with the kids as possible and take more photos. Whether it's in the lunchroom or on the playground, I want to make myself available for the students to practice their English outside of the classroom.  

Natalie

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