Is there anything better than fresh play-dough?

Three phrases I have learned to use quite frequently:
¿Comó?
¿Mande?
¿Otra vez?
All three are different ways of communicating that I have no idea what was just said and would appreciate it if someone could try again slower and with simple vocabulary. I am now in an environment devoid of English, what a learning experience it has been!

Well, my first two weeks at la Buena Tierra are finished. I'm not sure I can even begin to give this experience justice simply in words.

As the education system in Mexico is quite different from that in Canada, I will take a minute to explain what the Buena Tierra is. A kindergarten is a three year school for kids between the ages of about two and five. The first year is called Kinder Uno, the second Kinder Dos, and then Pre-Primaria. I work primarily with the first two, the "chiquitos" or little ones.

The first few days were mainly for the purpose of observing the daily routine at the kindergarten which can be characterized by an incredibly efficient way of managing chaos. La Buena Tierra is comprised of three classrooms, an office, a small supply room, a small kitchen, and a washroom all centred around the courtyard which multitasks as a breakfast dining hall, a gym, a playground, a choir room, and a general all-purpose gathering place.

After the first few days, I began to actively participate in the daily schedule:

School starts at 9 with breakfast for all the kids and teachers. After about half an hour, the oldest kids clean their tables and brush their teeth. After they are finished, it is my turn to supervise Kinder Dos' teeth brushing. Being generally around four, they are considered old enough to do this on their own. After this comes Kinder Uno. They are sent to the washroom two by two. One uses the toilet while I brush the other one's teeth, then they switch and head back to class. Besides this daily activity, I also assist with the various structured recreation times - basically I get to play with bouncy balls, march in lines, and stretch - as well as supervise they're unstructured recreation time - I "eat" a lot of plastic food that the kids "cook" for me, talk to my mom on a "cell phone", and hold "crying babies" until the kids are ready to take them back.

This generally leaves about an hour and a bit of time left in the day. Some days days I get to lead play-dough classes. With about six kids, we make the play-dough soft, then make tortillas, then cut shapes out with cookie cutters. As I alluded to in my title, I have rediscovered a love for play-dough!

The last fifteen minutes of the day are always spent out in the courtyard once again. The kids sit in the middle while Maestra Lizy reads a story after which a few songs are sung and the kids are finally dismissed to their parents at 1:15.

My favourite part of the week so far has been the after-school tutoring. Twice a week older kids come to la Buena Tierra for tutoring. I get to tutor math - something which requires very little vocabulary or verb tenses and is the same no matter what language is being spoken!

I have also begun to get settled into my host family. I live with:
Doña Juana - my host-mom
Carlos - Doña Juana's son who works in another city but comes home to visit once in a while
Gaby - Doña Juana's daughter-in-law
Luis - Gaby's son, age 13
Blanca - Gaby's daughter, age 10
Azul - Gaby's daughter, age 1 and a half
Erica - Doña Juana's daughter
Maritza - Erica's daughter, age 12

This is a very full household. But in typical Mexican fashion, this extended family holds close bonds and there are often other sons/daughters/cousins that visit the house on a regular basis.

My Spanish continues to prove to be lacking, but I am diligently striving to improve my communication skills. In this busy, fast paced, noisy environment, it takes extra energy to focus and to think in Spanish. However, this is how I need to learn Spanish. A classroom setting is definitely not applicable in real, every-day life!