It has been one month since I have journeyed to the UK! Hard
to believe…although, that is a theme for this year so far haha.
For the last 2 weeks I was in Clevedon, which is a lovely
small town on the western coast of England. I stayed with one of the teachers
and was graciously adopted into her family. My very first day in Clevedon was a
hilarious adventure. Not only did I learn about how “Glee” is a great teacher
for those who want to master the American accent, but I also learned that the West
Country is a fine producer of ciders. My cider experiences were pretty limited,
so quickly, it was decided that we would take a trip to some pubs in order to
sample some of the local brews. The first place that we went could definitely
be called a “hole in the wall” establishment. It was a farm house on the side
of the road that sat pretty much on its own. The layout was still very much set
up like a house, in fact, I believe that someone might still live on the top
floor. The inside smelled like a wet dog and they had an excellent collection
of cassette tapes. Best of all though, they had some great ciders! After we
tackled the “off the beaten path” pub, it was decided that we should try a more
mainstream place. The afternoon was great and a fantastic introduction into the
place where I was staying!
I went to Clevedon in order to go to a Montessori nursery,
and goodness, was I impressed! I had an absolutely wonderful time at the
nursery. The staff was very friendly and welcomed me in. This was my first time
in a Montessori environment, so I really did not know what to expect. The
nursery is small, with two classrooms, and is in the basement of a home. What I
loved the most about the environment was that the children were free to move
in-between the two classrooms. Both of the classrooms had different materials
that the children could use. Montessori is more academically focused, and they
had a lot of activities that involved counting, fine and gross motor skills,
and practical life. I was very impressed with the level of independence that
the children had. A child would pick out an activity, set it on the table or on
a mat, and when he/she was finished, the activity would return to its home on
the shelf and the station would be cleaned up. Children essentially ran the
classroom, and worked on their own or in pairs for the entire morning. It was
also great to be able to work with smaller children. I have not had the chance
to work with little ones yet, and I forgot how little children actually are,
haha, I know that sounds redundant. But really! One morning I worked with children
on cutting—cutting! Cutting may seem easy to you now, but to a 2 or 3 year old,
cutting can be a challenge. Grasping the handles with one hand instead of two,
pushing down on the handles and pulling them apart. This is hard stuff! It was
so amazing to watch children learn these skills. One great opportunity that I
had at the nursery was working with children one-on-one. It was such a gift to
spend time with each child and work on one thing. The best part was when the
child would get excited about mastering the skill. It is such a great feeling
to sit next to a child and have her smiling up at you because she completed
something or learned something or figured something out. J
In addition to spending time with the children in the
classroom, I also got to accompany them on a fieldtrip to the Bristol Zoo! It
was such a fun time from start to finish. We had spent the previous week
learning about the Arctic, especially penguins. We all walked around the zoo,
watching monkeys and seals and had a picnic lunch. A fun part of the fieldtrip
was the “Arctic Experience” that we got to do. We all went inside an “Arctic
tent” classroom and learned more about what it was like to explore the Arctic
and the kinds of animals that live there. The most impressive part was when one
child correctly identified the picture of a Narwhal—A NARWHAL! To which the
woman running the presentation said, “wow, I didn’t learn that word until Uni,”
and I thought, “wow, I didn’t learn that word until ‘Elf.’”
Another fun Clevedon happening was Bonfire Night. I had heard the “Remember, remember the 5th
of November” poem before but I never really knew what it meant. In the UK, they
celebrate Bonfire Night on the 5th of November. Bonfire Night does
not celebrate Parliament almost getting blown up, what I originally thought and
was very confused by, but the fact that Parliament still stands. There are
bonfires where they burn a “Guy Fawkes” dummy and people set off fireworks. Now,
people don’t just set off fireworks for one evening, it kind of happens
throughout the week. And they are not just sparklers or bottle rockets, but
HUGE, full scale fireworks! People set these off in their backyards, their
backyards with are right next to houses, haha, I was shocked. When I told my
host friends that in the States you could only buy fireworks in some places, I
received the response, “Wait, so you can own a gun, but you can’t buy
fireworks?”
One of my favorite excursions while I was in Clevedon was a
walk in the Cheddar Gorge—home of Cheddar cheese and cider shops. We went on a
walk in the valley of the gorge and were greeted with fresh, squishy mud! Haha,
it was a poor decision to wear my sneakers that day. Despite the mud, it was
absolutely stunning. I am completely in love with the English countryside. I
love the random stone walls that are all over the place, the grassy hills, and
the frequent farm animals. It is just beautiful!
Some other fun tidbits:
-I had some serious language instruction regarding English
slang and the Bristolian accent. If you would like to learn more about the
Bristolian accent, I would recommend this guy, I fine instructor of some
graciously useful phrases.
-The English also celebrate a unique version of “No Shave
November” called “Mo-Vember.” Mo-Vember is when the non-shaver must grow a mustache
in November. Lord I am glad we don't celebrate it like that in the States.
-I learned that dinner is also called tea and that lunch is
also called dinner. And that pudding is not pudding, but dessert. These made for some confusing meal expectations.
One thing that has really hit me this week is how hard this year is going to be in terms of saying goodbye. Anyone who knows me is aware that I have trouble saying goodbye. I have only had to do a few goodbyes so far, thankfully, but I know that there are many more to come. The good news is that on the other end of the goodbye are memories that I know are not temporary. :)
Now I’m back in Bristol for a few days before I go to
Scotland. Unfortunately recovering from the the stomach bug...haha working with children for a couple of months, I was bound to get sick at some point.
I’m heading up to Scotland this weekend to attend a conference ON PLAY! I am
actually super duper stoked! While I’m up there I am also connecting with some
organizations that support play. I had no idea that there were so many,
especially in Scotland. I’ll leave you with this little ballad from a folksy
band from Western England that I was introduced to while staying in Clevedon. I asked if they were a kid's band and was laughed at.
