Scouts and Halloween prep

 The rest of this week flew by. The only night I don’t have scheduled activities is Thursday, and this week I spent it testing recipes for paper mache and silly putty recipes in advance of the littler scout group’s (1st-4th graders) meeting.  [Lessons: For paper mache-use white flour, not grainy whole wheat flour, and hot water works 10,000 times better. For silly putty, epsom salt is not a substitute for corn starch, but pudding mix is.] 

Future bat pinata.

The director at the school here is great. Yesterday, she decided the scout groups need their own room and gave me the key to an unused classroom. We wasted no time in putting it to use. The little group started making Halloween-themed piñatas. For Halloween, the scout groups are helping with preparation for a party at the school and brainstorming ideas for a coinciding fundraiser (no ready-made cookie/magazine subscription infrastructure in place here). This coming week, the big scouts (5-8th graders) will be working on collages and we’ve already posted scout laws and mottos. Having a classroom is also way more convenient for me, now I don’t have to haul two bags of activity materials to and from the school each time I visit.  

Nine new adults showed up to my beginner English class this week. I love having new students and am impressed by their interest, most are well over 40 years old. I hadn’t expected it, since the week before no one new attended. Like last year’s beginner group, there is a wide range of levels: some know a handful of words and simple present tense grammar, others need the alphabet. It's fun, and a lot easier after a year of practice; plus, my old students were super helpful. 

I brought home my half of the jars! So far, no indication of spoiling (no puffed lids).