In the morning, we prepared our next presentation. We would show videos Nick had taken of two specialists at our school. One video is called “Miss Val Runs a Gym Class,” and the other is “Miss Veronica and the Hedgehog.”

Instead of going to our “office,” we were brought to the room in which  our meetings with the staff were held.  This worked out well, because that room is air conditioned. Our breakfast was brought to us, a fried egg sandwich and a packet of milk.

We heard a class entering the baking room. We walked over and were waved  in by the teachers. The children were wearing their baking aprons, sleeve protectors, and hats, and they looked even more adorable than they always do! The teachers were putting icing on half of a bun of some kind. The children dipped the icing-covered half-bun into something, put the other half  of the bun on top, and made a sandwich. The teachers collected the finished sandwiches.

Then Headmistress Chen took us on a tour. She doesn’t speak English, and I don’t speak Chinese, but we explained ourselves by dramatization. She showed us a classroom area that had a stage, teacher made speakers, a teacher made microphone, and dress-up clothing.  What fun the children must have pretending to be performers on stage! She also showed us a housekeeping area (a play kitchen), and a  supermarket fully stocked with props.  At Earthplace, classrooms don’t have enough space for both areas, so the teachers sometimes change the housekeeping area into a supermarket.

Next, we saw music equipment, such as bells and tone blocks. That was followed by an area of table toys, and Sudoku puzzles!

After that, we saw a gym class. Pairs of children had a Nerf ball and Nerf paddles, and they tried to throw and catch the balls. A later gym class rolled balls back and forth on the floor.

Our mid-morning snack was pistachios, cashews, cookies, and blueberries. Lunch was  egg drop soup, fish, a veggie combination, and rice.

At 1 PM the staff and headmistress arrived for our meeting.  After showing them our videos,  there were questions.  Some questions had easier answer answers than others. I’m going to share the questions. Email me if you would like to discuss my answers, or what your answers would be

From the headmistress: 1) How do we celebrate the world’s festivals at Earthplace?

2) How do we celebrate Christmas at Earthplace?

3) How much time do parents spend with their children?

4) How can they get parents to value self-esteem, creativity, and independence in their children?

And from a teacher: What would you do if a child took off all his or her clothes and refused to put them back on?

I took every questions seriously. The final question told me that children are similar all over the world, because I had that very thing happen in my class.

Here is a photo of my wonderful friend and translator, Area, me, and Headmistress Chen.

Nick was given a given a “doggie bag” of cookies to take home and the end of the day.