Day 3 of Teaching: San Pablo Village

          Today was another amazing day at San Pablo. It is such a wonderful feeling being greeted each morning at the van by all of the kiddos! They are truly excited to see us each morning and sad to see us leave in the afternoon. Multiple students have asked if they could come home with us. The students love interacting with us during each of the breaks. We fill our break times, plus some extra time, with playing volleyball, football (soccer), Frisbee, and many other fun games! 
          Today many of us got the experience of walking to the waterfall today with our students. The river and waterfall were beautiful and seeing the pure joy on the students’ faces when they jumped in the water is indescribable. They did not want to go back to class after swimming. Many students have asked me when I am going to swim with them. It looks like next Tuesday I will be taking a swim! 
          It is interesting teaching the students here and seeing what they have learned this far. Coming into the experience I was unsure of what to expect of the students’ prior knowledge. The students have exceeded many of the expectations that I had for the them. The students in my classroom are used to being taught to memorize the procedures; however, when I’ve used hands-on activities the students have excelled and seem to enjoy doing it. 

-Ashley Barnes Standards V and VI