A good week...

Yesterday was a really good day. Two of my strugglers in math were really getting multiplication and were getting SO excited about it. It was really, really neat.

Also, we talked a little bit about September 11 (the kids I am teaching were one year olds!!! I felt sooo old. I couldn't believe it!! It is so, so recent in my mind.) Anywho...we had an amazing discussion about Islam and a little bit about the beliefs and how we could respond to it. It was beautiful to see and hear the faith of children...answering how they would share Jesus' love and God's word with someone who didn't know the truth. Then kids starting sharing answers of times they'd shared with neighbors, relatives, etc. about Jesus. So incredible!

Then...we did Science class. I gave each of the students a book and they could choose an animal and read a little about their animal. They were so excited about it and were telling me all kinds of cool facts they found. The room was filled with a joy for learning.

Today was really good as well. I really started to like the kids...I know that sounds funny. I have loved them all along, but today started to enjoy them so much and laugh at their humor. I have been teaching them powerpoint and each student is making their own presentation called "My Story." It has been so neat to learn little things about each child.

We also continued with the animals in Science and they continued to be really excited about them and share with me various animal stories. It was really enjoyable!!

The weather is BEAUTIFUL and it is going to be a good evening. I'm slightly overwhelmed with the things to do to finish out student teaching 1 strong and to prepare for leaving for student teaching 2. I'm so thankful for Todd! :)

Still learning

I am thoroughly enjoying my weekend so far! Today has been very relaxing and there is still a lot of time left!

This week went well. A new added difficulty was actually stemming from an unexpected source--my co-op. She has been having some stresses in her life and shared them with me this week. It came very unexpectedly and I still feel confused about a lot of what she shared. It has been an interesting challenge to attempt to be an encouragement for her as well this week. Please pray for her to be reminded of the overwhelming love of our Father for her!

My teaching went relatively smoothly this week. The students did fantastic with the science tests and seemed to remember things so well! It was great. I'm really regretting not using this unit I taught for a "teacher work sample" I have to do for a Student Teaching...bummer! I just think I had a lot of good ideas and the students did well with the material...oh well.

I am still trying to figure out different things about classroom management, but I continue to grow and improve in this area.

I will be observed this week and also add English to my list. I really, really enjoy teaching! I can't believe this will be the last full week at Messiah...the next week is National Lutheran School's week (which will be CRAZY!) and only four days! There is so, so much to do before we leave. It is kind of scary.

I will write again soon!

Day off!

I have been enjoying a day off today. I had Methods class this morning and then have been working on crossing off items from my "to-do" list. It has been GREAT to be home a lot this weekend!

I am really looking forward to the week. This week I will add math and computer to my teaching responsibilities. We also finished up our "Stone Fox" book for Social Studies, so I will be moving back into the textbook. I will continue with Science as well. It is really fun to add responsibility. I really enjoy adding more subjects and it really makes the day go quickly!

Todd and I had our formal interview with Amazing Grace in Seattle on Sunday afternoon. I was pretty nervous beforehand, but Todd was confident and I think that helped! It went smoothly and we are very, very excited about the likelihood of us serving there this coming year.

Again, thank you for your prayers and interest in this teaching adventure! I am excited to see how I've been stretched and have grown through this experience!

It's been awhile...

I'm not sure why I haven't written in so long. Obviously it's been busy, but I just haven't made time for this!

This week has been a good one. I really, really have enjoyed teaching. I have found it very rewarding.

We had a substitute teacher today, so that was very interesting. I basically was a "teacher aid" for her and made copies and such. It was kind of strange...I have been teaching quite a bit and she had an art project and worksheet packets for the students to do and my lessons were cut in half. I just don't think good communication happened and she didn't really expect a lot from me, which was disappointing. Anyways...we are very behind where I wanted to be with our Science unit, but that's okay.

Todd and I went to a "Valentine's Adventure" at his school in Utica. The K-2 students put on a dinner (with lots of parent help!). They were dressed SO cute and had special roles, passing out certain items and telling people where to sit. The K students did a very funny presentation where the teacher had asked them questions and they filled in what came to mind. The teacher asked things like, "Why did your mommy marry your daddy?" and other questions like that. Todd and I were laughing so much! It was really enjoyable. I have been thinking a lot lately about whether I can teach children that young...and today my heart was really filled with a love for children that age. :)

I am feeling slightly stressed with upcoming things: ST 2 in California, figuring out housing stuff, our possible first job in Seattle as a kindergarten teacher, some things I have to finish up for my endorsement in May, etc. There is a lot that is weighing on my mind.

Thanks for the prayers!

Another good day...

Today was pretty good. It went quickly again...and I was excited about my two lessons.

Stone Fox Ch. 2 went well. The students seemed excited to read it again and are anxious to keep going. It is wonderful to have them engaged!

I also did baseball review for our science class. All things considering, it went well! This class can really over-do things and tends to go crazy in fun activities, but this one went pretty well. My back-up was to do the book review as a class in case it got crazy. Two boys were SO competitive and argued with me about number of outs and score and all kinds of stuff! It makes me sad that they are so distracted by that. We had a chat that the point of this is to review the science material...I really hope to make some strides with these two.

Off to plan for tomorrow...another chapter or two of Stone Fox and a Science test!

Quick Day!

Today flew by...I'm not really sure why, but it went really quickly! I was excited to go to school this morning. It was beautiful outside. The bushes, trees, and plants were covered with a light snow. I really enjoyed the drive to Lincoln.

I introduced "Stone Fox" today, a book about a young boy who enters a dogsled race to save his Grandfather's farm and is racing against fierce competitors! It is an excellent book and I am very excited to use it with this class! Today we looked at the author, shared stories about our relationships with dogs, made predictions about the title, and read Ch. 1. The students were pretty excited and wanted me to keep reading--which is great!

I also taught Science. We watched a video--Bill Nye "Pollution Solutions." It was excellent! We discussed the video, I did an experiment, and we read from our text in groups. I then had each student make a "commitment card" about their personal choices to improve how they treat God's creation. I told them to tell their parents about it and hang it on the fridge as a reminder.

I am doing a review tomorrow for my Science test (we are playing a baseball game with review questions) and also doing more with Stone Fox.

**Big news! Found out today Todd and I will be at St. John's Lutheran School in Orange! We had been hoping and we were told this morning that it is final! I will be in 4th grade and Todd in 6th.

Thanks for the prayers! I feel like I am learning SO much.

Ups and Downs

I am excited to share! I had a very interesting week. I continued to teach Science and we will be taking a test on Wednesday. This is definitely a test for how well I was able to get the material across to the students and if they are able to remember and perform well. I am excited to learn more about testing and preparing students for a test.

My down day was Thursday. The students were boisterous alllll day. We had boys getting into fights (physical and verbal) over the football game at recess, where they were standing in line, what color someone's hat was in a movie, you NAME it! I felt like I was in some sort of school working solely on teaching behavior. It was a very difficult day, a real test. In Science, we were working in groups and I had two boys near tears over things that were said. I was very surprised and disappointed by the way they were treating one another.

After the students left, my co-op said, "What a day, huh?" and the tears began to flow!! She told me that was one of her most difficult days yet. She also informed me that this has been her most difficult class ever (she has taught for 11 years) because of the dynamics of the students. The boys' personalities really clash. She also said that many of the students are the oldest in the family and some are only children, so that adds challenges as well. She also told me that had considered not having a student teacher due to the difficulties of this class. I was pretty disappointed and frustrated by this information, really wanting to be in a welcoming environment where I can thrive and not a place where I am breaking up fights and solely managing the students.

Todd treated me wonderfully when I returned home with dark chocolate and a pizza. I had a relaxing evening and spent time journalling and praying.

Friday I went to school with a renewed attitude, hoping to be able to reach the students with love. I was supposed to teach religion, so I scratched the original book and wrote a devotion/lesson on God's great love for us and the love we can show others through the power of the Spirit.

We had a good discussion and I had the students journal about things they've struggled with/messed up on and how we can work to improve it. I had one boy write, "I am often angry with some of my friends, but I know that God can fill my angry spots with his love." How wonderful!

My co-op had rearranged the students and had a few strategies to try, providing many opportunities for students to work together on different assignments. It was beautiful to see their cooperation and love when the day before had went so poorly!! I was truly energized by the students. What a great feeling!

My co-op said it was the best and most refreshing day she'd had all year! How wonderful. Praise Jesus!

Thank you for your concern, love and prayers.