Paso doble and corrida

I don't know if I said it here, but I'm Spanish teacher. My students are children between 2 and 13 years old. I give privite lessons and teach in kindergartens and in a day-care center. The last one is my favourite work place. I just love the children from there! They are really cute, direct and not yet crafty like their oldest friends from the kindergartens. They give me kisses, hug me, do a swing from my legs when I'm sitting on the floor... They show me theirs little scratches, new clothes or toys. They tell on other child which kick or hit them... The girls also comb me. Of course, many times they run around the class shouting and aren't obedient, but they never complain about the contents of the Spanish lessons.

However in the kindergartens it happens that the children aren't interested in the materials I prepared. I should follow the outlines that my boss delivered me, I can't do whatever I want always, although sometimes I change it and I add or omit activities. I have to be flexible, because my work depends on each group, on how they work. In one group I'm able to do all the activities, in other not. At the beggining it stressed me a lot, I'm a person who like to do things that are completely planned. I wasn't very spontaneous, but it changed thanks to this work.

And now is the time to explain what have in common my work with folk. So, in one of the kindergartens where I teach only three children (two three-year-old girls and one six-year-old boy) I couldn't do the contents from the outline, because the children didn't collaborate. They always want to draw, but when they are bored with the drawing too, everything turns more complicated... Then I have to invent something extraordinary that catches their attention. In the last class I invited them to dance flamenco and do a corrida that is a bullfight. With my jacket and jersey I did skirts for the girls and using the castanets I imitated a paso doble rhytm. Although the jersey wasn't red, I did with it the rug for the bull that was Max, the unique boy. We enjoyed the lesson a lot and I convinced that culture and folk elements really works!! Maybe they are stereotypical, but it have to starts with something.