I'll start off with the introductions of my two "6" year olds. Remember, a 6 year old in Korea is anyone born in the year 2005 (they're born 1 and become a year older at the new year). Depending on their birthdays, they could be anywhere from 4-5 years old.
This is Gina. Her Korean name sounds like Eugene, so we called her Gina because a lot of times the moms add an "a" sound to the end of names for a nickname sound. She responds to it every time, so it's a good fit. She's even able to write her name perfectly. Here she is showing it off:
Meet Joshua. He can barely say his name, let alone write it. My only boy, he will test my patience. He's cute as can be, but he's pretty rambunctious. He's usually last to finish his coloring because he has much better things to do, like stare into space or speak Korean to himself.
And now for my 5 year olds (born in 2006: anywhere from 3-4).
Ah, little Steffany. My helper teacher, Sara, named her because she really likes the name Steffany. Steffany liked it, too, so it stuck before I even had a chance to whine that it was too long and hard to teach. She spelled it with two ffs because it makes phonetic sense, but obviously isn't how the name is traditionally spelled. She rarely responds to it, and I often have to say her Korean name. Even then, she sometimes ignores me... so I don't think it's the name, I think it's her punky attitude. I love it.
Here's bitty, squeezable Dain (pronounced Dine). Her Korean name is Dah een, which said really fast sounds like Dine, too. She's my mama bear. She keeps Steffany in line - grabs her pencil and does her work for her, etc. Today, a student was asking me something in Korean that I couldn't understand. Dain said, "Teacher, bathroom." Glad she was there to help out, that could have been a disaster.
Last, but certainly not least, baby Alice. She's Jasmine's little sister and I love her because of it. However, if she wasn't, she would drive me crazy because, unfortunately, she's nothing like the apple of my eye, Miss Jasmine. She's fiesty, a wee bit cranky in the afternoon, and has no desire to out shine everyone else. Dain and Steffany are bffs, Joshua and Gina have a 6-year-old bond, and little Alice sits by herself most of the time, content in it. She's probably closer to the 3 year old side of the Korean age 5, but we'll see how it goes.
Don't you just want to eat them!?!?
I heard a rumor today that there is another 6 year old joining us soon. I'll keep you posted.
Pics of the new apartment coming soon (probably Saturday)!
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