Teaching

Well, as Hart mentioned in the last post, I started my new job teaching at Heritage Christian Academy. I have wanted to blog as I got started and experienced working full-time for the first time of my life, but I have not been able to even sit down and post because teaching is EXHAUSTING! My feet hurt daily, and not just my feet, but my shins, my calves, and whatever else, really.

First, of all, I cannot speak enough good things about the school itself. It is such a sweet place that the Lord pours his Spirit upon daily! They really support us as teachers and give us plenty of time in our rooms to work before the kids get there. A teacher that lives across the street from me works in the Public school system and she had to sit through three FULL days of meetings and only got a total of 4 hours to work in her room. I think I would of gone crazy with stress if that had been me, but instead I had close to 4 days in my room with minimal meetings. It was lovely!

So, I got all ready, and God is so good because he gave me so many provisions from things left up in my classroom on the walls to lesson plans and other things all ready for me to begin teaching 4th grade!!!!

My first Parent Night was so nerve-racking, but it went well! I have 9 families and at least one parent came that night to meet me. The following day we had individual conferences where I got to talk to them about their child. I was allowed to pray with them (this is so freeing!)

Then school started and I had 9 4th graders looking at me above their piles of school supplies and everything else that we had to organize together! I have 6 boys and 3 girls. It really is a teacher dream to only have 9 and now I call them my little ducks because it is like I lead them across to the Upper school and they all follow me! In like fashion, I will say, "Come on my little ducks!" and they will respond, "Quack! Quack!" ahhaha I know it is silly, but it kind of makes it feel like we are a unified group! So, we organized their things and this is the first year that they learn to write on real notebook paper and have a 3 ring binder with dividers! It is a big deal!

Being Specific and telling them what to do has been hard. I have struggled with this aspect of teaching younger children. I am thinking in my head: "Why is it so hard to put things where they go!?" Or "How many times do I have to tell them where to put their name, date, subject on their papers!?" But God just humbles me and puts on my heart that I need to be patient, break things down farther than I could ever break things down, and love them. Of course, there are students that are easier to love because they seem to have it all together and know what they are doing, while others its like....Binder Explosion occurs every day, they write on the wrong side of the paper, and never know where things go! But actually I love the ones that struggle a little more because they are still so precious, despite all that. I have to think that I am just like them. God sees me as an absolute mess and still loves me, He works with me diligently until I start to understand what I am to do! I just pray this will be more of my attitude and not get frustrated and annoyed!

I feel like I have been pointing out the negatives, but through these things, I am learning to be a better teacher. I have realized that I was expecting a little TOO much from 4th graders and that it is only the first weeks so I need to be gentle and loving and full of grace.

After this first week of teaching, I was so tired. I came home Friday afternoon and crashed. I slept for 2 hours while Hart was gone doing sound for a Rehearsal for a wedding and then I just sat in the recliner and Hart made dinner for me and then we watched a movie, only to wake up and watch the movie again while I graded some things.

Okay, well, I am going to stop here for now, and hopefully have more energy this week, to write some more specific things about teaching.