Preschool/Kindergarten/First Grade Bilingual Program

I taught Infantil III, IV and First Grade during my three years at Leonardo da Vinci. I learned a lot throughout the processes! It is a fast paced- learn as you go- work environment. There is constantly a lot going on within the program, whether special events, presentations, new projects, reorganization of procedures, it can be a lot to keep up with. That coupled with long work days can be very exhausting! This program is not for someone looking to go on vacation- it is a well paid (for Brazil), hard working program. Although Vitória is beautiful and the weekends can be your mini vacation, during the work week it is all work! However this leaves a lot of room to learn and grow as a teacher. The program offers a lot of freedom to the teacher as far as lesson planning and procedures inside the classroom. This can be really refreshing to a teacher. It allows you to be able to design your lessons to the strengths and weaknesses of your class. There are a lot of resources at the school and supplies are easy to obtain. The school is large with many spaces that allows the teacher to be creative. The thing I really appreciated about this program is that it is a true bilingual program that allows "English Teachers" to teach various material like math, geography, art, literature in English, without having to only focus on teaching the English language itself. The kids love Science or Geography and don't even associate it with English Language Learning as they are talking about the scientific processes or countries around the world in English. It makes class fun!

I taught Infantil IV at Centro Educacional Leonardo da Vinci for two years. Pros- The Bi-lingual team there is great. If you need any help creating lesson plans or with coming up with ideas, there is a lot of support. There are also always all the materials you need (except for things that aren't available in Brazil, like flat coffee filters). Cons- The work day is long, and there are not many breaks. For me that meant that I didn't have much energy for social life or going out except for on the weekends. There is not very much preparation time, and that means you will spend a lot of your personal time preparing your materials. (That is pretty normal for us teachers!) This job is exhausting and challenging and rewarding. This is not a teaching position for someone who wants to use teaching abroad as a chance to travel. This is a teaching position for someone whose first priority is teaching. Also, beware of the visa process. It is a thousand-step head ache, but the school will help to make it as easy as possible. Do all the paperwork well in advance. Also be aware that the contract is for two years and the school will expect you to honor it. Overall, it was a wonderful experience. I made great friends with teachers there, and learned a lot. I would recommend it for experienced and dedicated Kindergarten or English teachers, especially those who already have a background in Portuguese.