Week #6

I am halfway through student teaching and it hardly seems possible.  This is a huge time in student teaching, as it comes with great excitement, nervousness, fear, joy...and the list could go on.  I am peaking the hill, only to find time going quicker, and my heart falling more in love with my students, the staff, and this school in general.

I was mentioning today how much I enjoy grading papers.  I know...you don't hear that too often.  If I have to do work in the evenings (which is almost always), I would rather grade papers then write lesson plans.  I say this because grading papers is a time I grow close to my students, and my eyes are opened to their personalities, their strengths, and their needs.  I see areas in need of improvement, and am provided with areas in which I may praise them.  I find this time very revealing as it grows my love and passion for these dear little ones.

Student teachers have said before "this is your first ever class, and they will always hold a special place in your heart".  This could not be closer to the truth.  These are the students patiently going through this experience with me, and teaching me so much.  What an awesome experience this has been.

Week #6 was insanely crazy as we had Dr. Seuss week, mixed with a week of snowy weather.  The weather brought a snow day, and two 2-hour delays.  My teacher self shone brightly, as I questioned "how am I going to teach them what they are supposed to learn this week when I don't have enough time?"  Don't misunderstand me though...I loved those extra hours too!  It was a week of stretching me in flexibility (which I told my professor at the beginning of the year I needed to work on this...a key attribute needed by every teacher).

We had spirit days, extra assemblies, and my host teacher and I tried to tie Dr. Seuss in every place we could.  For math, I used goldfish as manipulatives for the day when we acted out Dr. Seuss' famous book, One Fish, Two Fish, Blue Fish, Red Fish.  I created story problems into relating to Dr. Seuss, and we did crafts every day.  An art lesson I taught was in making a Lorax paper bag hand puppet.  They turned out so cute!

In starting math this week, I learned 30 minutes is simply not enough time at all to teach math.  I have so many fun games I want to do with the kids, and not enough time.  This was also revealing to me in how many times you have to teach a concept before they actually get it.  This has been teaching me patience.

Week #7 is quickly approaching, and that means FULL CONTROL.  My host teacher is in the room (most of the time), but I am the teacher, teaching everything and leading every activity and minute of the day from when they walk in the room, until they walk out the door to get in the car to go home.  I am excited about this, yet also nervous as this brings a lot more responsibility, and a lot more paperwork.  Being at week #7, I find myself completely overwhelmed with the paperwork and extra side requirements.  I am frantically trying to keep up and to [as I am constantly reminding my students] do it for the Lord, not for man!  I ask that you join me in praying that I not be overcome with paperwork, but instead that I endure in this journey, and that I seek to please the Lord above all else.

On a side note from student teaching, I am submitting another resume to a school down in North Carolina.  A friend of mine knows this church and spoke with the school administrator last week, who expressed great interest and said to "send the resume".  I am eager to begin hearing back from the schools and to learn more.  This particular school is just under a mile from Daniel's and my apartment.

Which brings me to...Daniel is moving into our apartment this week!  We are thankful for the housing that the Lord has provided for Daniel thus far, but are also very excited about the realities we are seeing in our future life together.  His parents will help him move in, for which we are so thankful.  Moving here will cut his commute to work just about in half.  How special it is to watch the Lord work.

Considering the time, I am going to close off this blog entry.  Yes, I am busy, but I appreciate those of you who use this to pray for me (and Daniel).  You are a blessing in my life, and I want to keep you updated on how He is answering your prayers.  Check back next week to hear how FULL CONTROL week went!