Week Without Walls: Day 3

2 hours of salsa/merange/electric slide dancing + 2 hours of transportation via BART/bus + 200 candid photos/videos + 20 inner city Oakland students= infinite unbelievable memories. Today was another day of fun in Week Without Walls: Get your groove on with SALSA DANCING!

9am- Every team needs a uniform. For our Salsa dancing team we created our own uniform with T-shirts and spray paint. Our students used their natural talent for spray painting (jkjk) to make graffiti art on their shirts. I was very impressed on how snazzy the shirts turned out and how creative the students got.

10:30am- Walk to the bus stop. We've finally got the timing down right; only a 20 minute wait today! We had the boombox blaring and the students hanging out so it wasn't all that bad.

11am- We get off the BART station in West Oakland. We had 20 students, and suddenly we have 17. Oh no. We split up calling names and searching the station. We KNOW they got off the BART, but who knows where these students went. 5 frantic minutes later we find them; the 3 boys were hiding from us behind a corner. They were laughing. Ms. Q and Stra. Braun were not.

12-2pm- DANCING! Today we finished our SEXY (and oh do I mean sexy) salsa dance. It involves dips, diva walks, bootie shaking, spins, and oh yeah, the standard salsa steps. It is not the "traditional" salsa I expected, but let me tell you the kids love it! Keep your eyes peeled for a youtube video :)

4pm- We finally get back to school, absolutely exhausted, stressed out, and dragging. My feet hurt. My eyes are heavy. I smell. I am carrying a large bag of half eaten snacks, ban aids, and garbage. So this is what being a mother of 20 kids is like. Even after a crazy day like this, I think of my chicas doing their dance, and I can't help but smile. :) I truly love my students so much!

At the end of every day, we give out SUPER STAR buttons to students who did something outstanding. Over the week we have had students get their SUPER STAR buttons for being the first to get the courage to dance in front of everyone, helping the teacher's prepare the activities, and even for giving up their seat on the bus for an elderly couple. These are the moments when I fall in love with teaching kids again (trust me, this feeling won't last long. Next week is FINAL's REVIEW! duh duh duh).

Tomorrow: Last day to learn the dance.
Friday: Get your grove on with the LIVE performance in front of the school!
Saturday: Plan plan plan. Only 3 more weeks of school!

<3 Ms. Q