Hola Becca and Lauren here
It's the last day of coaching for the week and everyone is tired and looking forward to some rest and relaxation this weekend.
Today has consisted of coaching a number of different ages ranging from 5-17 years old. As a group we have found that the primary aged children are a lot more draining as they require more care and attention, as well as a lot of energy! we spend the siesta time planning more sessions and working hard to improve our skills, so we don't get a chance to have a nap. Whereas they recharge their batteries and come back to us in the afternoon full of beans!
This made us all feel very tired so we were glad to get back to the Hostel and have a little siesta of our own before we needed to start planning for next week, as well as getting showered and changed ready for Dinner. We have all learnt that it is quite hard to spent long periods of the day working and looking after others. We thought it would be easier but we are being kept on our toes, which we all appreciate as it will help our coaching abilities and experience.
After our dinner of pasta we now have some free time to relax, so some of us went to the supermarket, whilst the rest of us wandered back to our hostel and relaxed in our rooms, catching up with Group A and seeing how they are getting on in their school.
We have learnt that this routine is quite tiring, and exactly how important it is to get lots of rest and time for ourselves so that our batteries are recharged too!
We are all looking forward to tomorrow, not the early wake up call but the Valencia game.
Adios
Thursday, 7 November 2013
Day 14: Paella Day and The Beach!
Hola,
Today we are spending our last day making Paella and visiting the beach.
We still had an early morning as it is festival day here in Moncada, and Valencia, so the trams are running at random times. So we had to get a tram at 8.46am! But we made it to our destination with enough time to have a little look around. We had to wait for one of the chefs to meet us as we didn't know where we were going. After a short wait and a brisk walk, we arrived at the Paella workshop. It was really nice and modern and very spacious. Throughout the cooking process we all had a job to do which was nice as we all got involved in our own way. At the end, the Paella looked and smelt amazing; it was a great achievement for the group to make such a brilliant dish. We also made Horchata which is a Spanish drink made with Tiger Nuts and Gazpacho which is a cold Spanish soup made with tomatoes and vegetables.
After we had eaten our 3 course meal, we set off for the beach. It wasn't as warm as we hoped but it was still really sunny. The beach was really nice. It was clean and quiet and the people were really friendly. There was lots of shops and tourist things to do, as well as lots of ice cream shops! I think most people ended up burnt! But it was a lovely change and a great way to end our stay.
We got back to the Hostel and got changed ready for Dinner: Our Last Supper! It was nice to sit together and enjoy the meal we had. It was a swinging kebab skewer with pork and vegetables, and then we had ice cream for desert!
We had an early night as we had to leave our rooms for 4am in the morning!!! Not looking forward to the travel back to UK. We all want to stay longer in Spain!!!
Adios for now,
George and Adam
Today we are spending our last day making Paella and visiting the beach.
We still had an early morning as it is festival day here in Moncada, and Valencia, so the trams are running at random times. So we had to get a tram at 8.46am! But we made it to our destination with enough time to have a little look around. We had to wait for one of the chefs to meet us as we didn't know where we were going. After a short wait and a brisk walk, we arrived at the Paella workshop. It was really nice and modern and very spacious. Throughout the cooking process we all had a job to do which was nice as we all got involved in our own way. At the end, the Paella looked and smelt amazing; it was a great achievement for the group to make such a brilliant dish. We also made Horchata which is a Spanish drink made with Tiger Nuts and Gazpacho which is a cold Spanish soup made with tomatoes and vegetables.
After we had eaten our 3 course meal, we set off for the beach. It wasn't as warm as we hoped but it was still really sunny. The beach was really nice. It was clean and quiet and the people were really friendly. There was lots of shops and tourist things to do, as well as lots of ice cream shops! I think most people ended up burnt! But it was a lovely change and a great way to end our stay.
We got back to the Hostel and got changed ready for Dinner: Our Last Supper! It was nice to sit together and enjoy the meal we had. It was a swinging kebab skewer with pork and vegetables, and then we had ice cream for desert!
We had an early night as we had to leave our rooms for 4am in the morning!!! Not looking forward to the travel back to UK. We all want to stay longer in Spain!!!
Adios for now,
George and Adam
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Day 10: Week 2 of coaching, and Spain V England Football!
Hola, Ronnie here,
Today we were at a secondary and primary school in
Valencia. It was a brand new school so we were all really excited to meet new people (but all secretly a bit nervous too)
I was paired with Lauren in performing handball to 12 year olds. The session ran smoothly throughout the whole hour and everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves and gave us positive feedback at the end. For my second session I was paired with Matty playing rounders with 9 year olds. The session involved a easy game for a warm-up. The warm up game we used was a throw and catch activity which improved their ability in rounders. For the next part of the session we split the group into two teams and played a game of rounders. The session was great and everyone got involved and seemed happy. We did miss a few health and safety things which Tanya helped us with. They were really easy mistakes like leaving the cones and and making sure the batting line was well away from the batting box etc. It does get hard trying to impress everyone at a new school as well as making sure all children are happy and enjoying themselves, and also ensuring that you are doing a good job as a leader. It made us realise how many plates we have to juggle, and how to manage them all and prioritise them so that there are no further mistakes.
From all these activities I have learned what it takes to be a sport leader, for example having to adapt my speaking skills for younger children who cannot speak English. Another example of how I have developed my sports leader qualifications are being able to see the sports equipment provided and apply that to leading our sessions for the suitable ages.
I was paired with Lauren in performing handball to 12 year olds. The session ran smoothly throughout the whole hour and everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves and gave us positive feedback at the end. For my second session I was paired with Matty playing rounders with 9 year olds. The session involved a easy game for a warm-up. The warm up game we used was a throw and catch activity which improved their ability in rounders. For the next part of the session we split the group into two teams and played a game of rounders. The session was great and everyone got involved and seemed happy. We did miss a few health and safety things which Tanya helped us with. They were really easy mistakes like leaving the cones and and making sure the batting line was well away from the batting box etc. It does get hard trying to impress everyone at a new school as well as making sure all children are happy and enjoying themselves, and also ensuring that you are doing a good job as a leader. It made us realise how many plates we have to juggle, and how to manage them all and prioritise them so that there are no further mistakes.
From all these activities I have learned what it takes to be a sport leader, for example having to adapt my speaking skills for younger children who cannot speak English. Another example of how I have developed my sports leader qualifications are being able to see the sports equipment provided and apply that to leading our sessions for the suitable ages.
Today, Tanya and Chris have managed to organise a
friendly football match against our rep Tonis’s football team. We are all
really excited. It’ll be like the World Cup in Moncada!
That’s all for now; bring on the Football!
Day 13: Last day of coaching and Halloween!
Today went into school; I was paired with Roxy for the day which was nice as we haven't worked together before, so it was really interesting to see how we could lead together.
We started the first lesson leading sport that had an easy nature about them. As we were with primary children, we needed to ensure that the level was pitched correctly at all times otherwise we could have had 20 angry and frustrated kids on our hands! We introduced a game called tails, and then a game called stuck in the mud. This session went really well and the kids really enjoyed it and knew how to play the games.
My second session was English with 11 year olds. In this lesson we started by singing a song called Apples and Bananas. In this song you use all the vowels AEIOU, we decided to do this song because its educational and very catchy.
Next we introduced a game called hangman whereby you have to guess the word by using letters from the alphabet. The words the kids had to guess were to do with the subjects they were learning which was countries and nationalities. This session was good because all the kids got involved and enjoyed the lesson and games that we done.
Tonight we all dressed up for Halloween. We brought different costumes with us that ranged from Mario to Giraffes! Not very scary but we had such a brilliant night. The owners of the restaurant thought we were crazy but laughed a long with us.
We started the first lesson leading sport that had an easy nature about them. As we were with primary children, we needed to ensure that the level was pitched correctly at all times otherwise we could have had 20 angry and frustrated kids on our hands! We introduced a game called tails, and then a game called stuck in the mud. This session went really well and the kids really enjoyed it and knew how to play the games.
My second session was English with 11 year olds. In this lesson we started by singing a song called Apples and Bananas. In this song you use all the vowels AEIOU, we decided to do this song because its educational and very catchy.
Next we introduced a game called hangman whereby you have to guess the word by using letters from the alphabet. The words the kids had to guess were to do with the subjects they were learning which was countries and nationalities. This session was good because all the kids got involved and enjoyed the lesson and games that we done.
Tonight we all dressed up for Halloween. We brought different costumes with us that ranged from Mario to Giraffes! Not very scary but we had such a brilliant night. The owners of the restaurant thought we were crazy but laughed a long with us.
Only two more days until we leave which is sad news for us; we wish we were staying longer!
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Day 8: The BIOParc Zoo
Hola, Charlie and Melissa here
First actual weekend in Valencia since we arrived a week ago. Had a brilliant lay in until half eight as we have been having early starts from getting up at half 6. The week really drained us as the weather was extremely hot so we become tired very quickly throughout the day. We didn't let this effect us whilst we was teaching as we wanted to show are full ability's towards the children/teenagers .
Transport to the Bio Park Zoo was fine. We had help from Schola Reps for directions to the Zoo which was really helpful of them. By then following with a 10-15 minute stroll through the park. which we then found out this was once a river a couple of years ago. This stroll through the park was a totally different surrounding to what we are used to. Some of the things we noticed are; loads of fitness fanatics, their was a different lane for bikes, running and walking.
After arriving at the Bio Park Zoo, we got our tickets and got told a meeting point for a certain time. We then strolled off in different groups of our choice. Firstly we went to the Zebra's, we saw that the animals where mixed together. By taking another long stroll through the Zoo, we saw that normally in England the animals are a far distance away from us. But in this Zoo, they where very close to us near the window.
Having a walk through the park was again good looking at the surrounding. At this time though, it wasn't very packed as it was not ten o'clock in the morning.
Getting the train home was eventful, everyone was laughing and making jokes. We would of thought everyone would of been tired after walking all day, however the members of staff are a laugh. Again walking back to the hostel everyone then started to become tired after all this walking.
Everyone got back and had a shower and had some free time, before getting ready for tea. Tea was delicious, we had a variety of different choices what pizza we wanted. Walking back to the hostel was again tiring. Then had about half an hour free time to chill out as we didn't have any planning to do as we done it on Friday when we had 3-4 hours free time which only took us 1 hour to do between 5 of us. Then sleep arrived!!!!
First actual weekend in Valencia since we arrived a week ago. Had a brilliant lay in until half eight as we have been having early starts from getting up at half 6. The week really drained us as the weather was extremely hot so we become tired very quickly throughout the day. We didn't let this effect us whilst we was teaching as we wanted to show are full ability's towards the children/teenagers .
Transport to the Bio Park Zoo was fine. We had help from Schola Reps for directions to the Zoo which was really helpful of them. By then following with a 10-15 minute stroll through the park. which we then found out this was once a river a couple of years ago. This stroll through the park was a totally different surrounding to what we are used to. Some of the things we noticed are; loads of fitness fanatics, their was a different lane for bikes, running and walking.
After arriving at the Bio Park Zoo, we got our tickets and got told a meeting point for a certain time. We then strolled off in different groups of our choice. Firstly we went to the Zebra's, we saw that the animals where mixed together. By taking another long stroll through the Zoo, we saw that normally in England the animals are a far distance away from us. But in this Zoo, they where very close to us near the window.
Having a walk through the park was again good looking at the surrounding. At this time though, it wasn't very packed as it was not ten o'clock in the morning.
Getting the train home was eventful, everyone was laughing and making jokes. We would of thought everyone would of been tired after walking all day, however the members of staff are a laugh. Again walking back to the hostel everyone then started to become tired after all this walking.
Everyone got back and had a shower and had some free time, before getting ready for tea. Tea was delicious, we had a variety of different choices what pizza we wanted. Walking back to the hostel was again tiring. Then had about half an hour free time to chill out as we didn't have any planning to do as we done it on Friday when we had 3-4 hours free time which only took us 1 hour to do between 5 of us. Then sleep arrived!!!!
Day 12: Week 2 of coaching, with a bit of English thrown in!
Hola,
Wednesday 30th of October, another bright early
start for group B, we had to leave the hostel at 8:30am meeting Toni outside.
We were two members of group B down as illness hit the group, James and Shane
were bed bound all day and had to miss out on the sessions throughout the day.
The day started off with a 5-10 minute walk to the school,
which is located in moncada, the school we arrived at was called San Jaime
Postal Of Moncada, we were allocated our teacher classes and followed them to
the classes that we were about to teach in, me and Kane were put into the class
off English kids, we started off in a English lessons where a teacher produced
a lesson on countries and nationalities, learning what countries speak which
language. The teacher then passed the lesson over to me and Kane we then done a
few games which included hangman which we kept along with the lesson aim and
done hangman which the word was only allowed to include nationalities and
countries, this helped the kids understand a lot easy as it was a fun way to
learn. We then ended the lesson on a fun game for the kids to play which was Simon
says, this game was very easy for the kids to understand which also kept them
active and helped with their concentration skills.
We then changed teacher and helped with another English class
supporting the teacher with her lesson plan, myself and Kane then produced a
fun and active last 20 minutes of the lesson with games and songs, learning
about the human body parts. This helped the kids understand body parts and
where they are located in English but in a fun way.
We then left the school at 12 o’clock returning to the
hostel, we had an hour of free time but we decided as a group to produce
lessons plans for tomorrows days, we then left the hostel at 1 to have dinner
at half past, we had really nice dinner at the local restaurant where we sat
down and had a pasta carbonara with a cheese sauce, ham and bacon. We left the restaurant
at 1:45pm returning to the hostel at 2pm, we had another free hour off free
time where many of us went to the supermarket to refill our water supply for
the next day in hand.
We returned back at the school for 2:50pm where we met Toni
outside the school, as a group we got given our lessons for the afternoon, for
the first hour of the afternoon we helped alongside the teacher in English exam,
pushing the kids for the answers to the question they had asked but not giving
the answer away without them thinking about it. For the second hour of the
afternoon we had full hour of fun lesson with 8 years old where me and Kane done
some fun activities with the children, behind the games there we an educational
faction in them.
We then left the school at 5:05pm returning back to hostel
for 5:15pm, as we received our lessons for the next day of school, as a group
we spoke and planned lessons for the next day. We then received free time and
started to get ready for the evening meal, where hopefully it will be another
nice tea to eat.
Another day done and dusted!
Adam
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