*What a great week...so much happened that it's hard to remember everything...I did make it to Thanksgiving, which people say is a feat for a first year teacher. I honestly feel like my student teaching experience was my "first year". This year has been draining, and has taken a lot of time-there are definitely times when I feel like I don't know what I'm doing, but overall it has been an amazing semester so far. I feel like I was made to do this. It feels natural and easy to plan/make lessons because the kids are so eager to learn. Plus, I can handle any fit/crying when the kids hug you after.
*We had school spirit week at school...people always say that classrooms of kids take on the personality of their teacher-well I finally believe that is true. I am pretty competitive. At first my students were not so eager to win, but by the end of the week-they were going crazy with the spirit week. On PJ day ,I didn't want to dress down because I had a serious meeting with a parent and didn't want to dress down. One of my kids came up to me and said: "Mrs...you shoulda told me you don't have no pajamas. I woulda told my mom and you coulda wore her boxers". lol The next day was class color day-our color was gray. Me-Our color is gray, like my shirt. Student-And like my knee-look Mrs! Me-Ask me for lotion tomorrow morning! Lol
*I left my kids with a sub for the first time for half a day on Friday. I was so nervous to leave them-I hope this isn't foreshadowing to the kind of mom I will be-overprotective much!?-Anyway....I was texting teachers to see how my kids were doing...When I got back on Monday, the note said: "Your class did great. We had a lovely afternoon. They all missed you a lot." Several students said: We missed you so much, I'm so glad you're back.
*Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Because we only had a 2 day week, we did a lot of Thanksgiving activities-made a "Thankful chart", read several books about being thankful, and made some turkeys out of cookies/candy with our 5th grade book buddies. One of my kids held up the reese's chocolate candy and said: "Mrs. I love this one that has chocolate, and then something, and then chocolate. I LOVE it." It was so fun.
*I feel so thankful to have a 5 day weekend-my husband bought me a massage for my birthday that I redeemed after school last night. The lady said my back was very tense-I told her that I work with 5 year olds-and she just nodded. I have the best family with the greatest cousins. They are some of my very best friends-I am so excited to play games, eat like crazy, and talk....but still part of me can't stop thinking about my kids...wondering if they're safe, and knowing they aren't having a feast like I am tomorrow. My husband and I are going to get our first Christmas tree on Saturday, going to see the city Christmas tree lighting, dinner with friends, game night, and a wrapping party to start wrapping all the gifts we have for the needy families.
*I asked friends/family for help adopting 2 of my students' families for Christmas-very needy families. When I asked for a Christmas list from them, I asked for sizes/wants for each person in the family...including the moms. One mom wrote: God bless you for doing this. This will help us more than you know. Another mom wrote: All I want for Christmas is for my kids to have a great Christmas. Thank you so much. **I have been so touched by how eager and excited people are to help. I honestly can not believe the generosity of people for kids they don't even know. I love and adore these kids and it means so much that people are so willing to help. It reminds me of the goodness of people...
*I had so much fun fixing hair, rolling up sleeves, zipping coats, and giving hugs this week. I know it seems weird, but it is one of my favorite parts of my job to play momma.
*I also LOVE watching these kids learning to sound out words to write/read. You should see them in the library center/during whole class work-they have learned SO much. It continues to baffle me. They love reading books to each other/quizzing each other like a teacher. They even lick their finger before they turn the pages like I do. So sweet.
*"Mrs...my momma has a hangover". "Mrs..we got a lotta people at my house. I got 8 cousins who live with me-plus my momma and their momma. It's crowded." :( Sometimes I wish they didn't tell me everything.
*"Mrs...I was scared to come to school at first, but I ain't scared no more. I love school. I don't want to go home-I want to stay here with you." Me-You know I love ya! Student-Yea...I know!!
*Today I am thankful for the show Modern Family. No matter what is going on in our week-it ALWAYS makes me and my husband laugh out loud-we don't have cable, so we watch it on hulu. Usually I have to pause it to laugh.
*I am thankful for my job, for my students, for their sweet faces that greet me each morning, for their hugs, for their reminders to me of the Lord's goodness, for my husband, for our home, for our SHORT commute to work/school, for our new friends, for our old, faithful friends, for our families, for how well we fit into each other families, and for time off to refresh with family.
A year ago today, my husband and I were trying to figure out which house to rent. I can't believe how much has happened/changed since then...we graduated college, got married, went on a honeymoon, got jobs, quit those jobs, went to a million weddings, met new friends, and started our careers. It has been an INSANE, crazy year but I have never been happier or more fulfilled. People say if you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life. I would do this for free. Really.
Happy Thanksgiving! We have SO much to be thankful for!
:)
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
I can speak it too!!
*This week was kind of a rollercoaster of ups and downs. One of my students is starting to become a behavior problem-while in the lunchroom, he punched another student. I had to take him to the principal after lunch and he had to miss out on our first field trip. Just really praying about how to reach him and help him succeed. It's taking its toll on me. He is a good kid and has improved SO much academically, but it's like he has no impulse control. If someone cuts him in line/helps him clean up when he doesn't want it/etc. he hits/throws a fit. All of the kids in kinder are learning how to interact with others, but he's my one who's coming along much slower than the rest. It's hard not to feel like a bad teacher when a kid is starting to lose it.
*It's hard to explain to kids why it's not ok to hit someone....when you have a strong hunch that they are being hit at home.
*On a good note-we went on our first field trip on Friday. We went to see the play based on the book: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. My kids were SO excited. As I was explaining the trip to the kids, one girl raised her hand with a worried look and asked: You're going to go too, right?! :) My kids behaved perfectly and laughed so much. It was a GREAT production. During the play, the kids kept looking back at me to make sure I thought it was funny too. They were so cute and had so much fun! I loved riding on the bus with them and leaving our area of town to experience something new!
*After centers we were lined up, getting ready to leave the classroom to use the restroom. A hilarious student that I write about a lot was still at his center picking up trash off of the floor. Me-"Thank you for picking up the floor, my friend, I really appreciate that". Student (Looking at me like I'm crazy)-"Mrs., I didn't pick up the FLOOR, that's WAY too heavy. I picked up the trash OFF of the floor. Will you please start callin me Mr. Trash man?!" **WOW!**
*A lot of times my kids are pretty sleepy acting in the morning during calendar time. They have a glazed look on their face for the first 20 minutes of school. I was up at the front acting like a clown-singing songs, smiling, trying to get my kids to wake up. Student: "Mrs., you sure do have a LOT of energy this morning. I have never seen a teacher with so much energy."
*About half of my students are Hispanic, and about 4 of them knew VERY little English at the beginning of the year. Although they are learning like crazy, sometimes I still translate some of my instructions into Spanish when they are looking at me like they have no idea what's going on. During math centers, I was explaining the instructions to a game in Spanish to one of my students. One of my black students looked at me and said: "Mrs....ahahskdjlskjfdlkan. See! I can speak it too!" Another said: "Mrs. I don't speak that language, so I have no IDEA what you're sayin". I had to turn away to laugh!
*In my last post I wrote about a student who, when given her Book-It for a free pizza at Pizza Hut, was very worried about how she was going to get there. My husband and I were planning on taking their family to a pizza buffet the day before Thanksgiving, but we decided to go this weekend instead. I went to pick up the family and we went to Pizza Hut to feast. It was so fun! We went all out with breadsticks, pops, salads, and pizza. I was so glad to see them interacting with my sweet, kind husband-I know too much about their father who is not so sweet and has hurt them in more ways that I want to know. They were very shy around him at first, but as lunch went on, it was so fun to see them open up and laugh with him. Probably the highlight of my week.
*I am excited for the holiday season-it is our first Christmas married-so excited to buy our first real tree, make some ornaments, share holidays between our 2 wonderful families, go to new church services, go to parties with friends, etc. I went Christmas shopping for my husband after lunch today. It was so fun because for the first time I have a full time job and can buy my cheap husband some things that he has needed for a long time...but it's also hard to find the balance between buying things that we want and looking around our house and seeing HOW MUCH WE HAVE in comparison to these kids that I work with. As excited as I am to eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family (my FAVORITE holiday)...I think about what my students are going to be eating that day and it breaks my heart. We are adopting several families for Christmas-I know some of our wonderful friends/family are going to donate to help make these sweet families' Christmas a great one...I am just struggling with the inbalance...I know material things do not give us joy-but having food to eat & clean clothes to wear seem pretty important.
*My favorite idea I've had all year was my class "Thankful turkey". The feathers I got back touched me so much-"We are thankful for Jesus and His love." "I am thankful for my teacher: Mrs. and for my family" "We are thankful for a job and a place to live" And my favorite one from a sweet GIRL student ;): "We are thankful for a job, a house, our family, and how much "Susie" has learned all thanks to his teacher." A pronoun there lost in translation....but I got the point. So sweet.
*My dad came to visit my classroom this week. He was shocked at how much I have to be "On my toes"....he was tired and had to leave after a few hours. :) ha. He also suggested that I be a little more "endearing" with my kids-after one of my students threw a fit and pushed a chair across the floor, I had to get in his face and send him to time-out. My dad patted his back. I never yell at my kids, but sometimes it's necessary to be a little harsh to get through to them. My dad is a sweet, awesome man...but he hasn't spent much time in the hood. My class is very well behaved and follows instructions really well-they get compliments from other teachers all the time. I know they know I love them-I hug them all the time and joke with them a lot, but if I let my guard down for a second--they would be OUT OF CONTROL! :) I wished he understood a little more-every girl wants her dad's approval. It was still fun to have him there--"Mrs. tell your dad to come over here so I can show him how I know my ABC's...I bet he likes the ABC's!!" Another student: "Are you her GRANDPA?!" haha
*My husband saw a mouse in our house the other night. My response was: "Let's move!!" I can handle spiders, bugs, etc. I am terrified of mice!!! My husband set up traps all over the house and I went through closets, and deep-cleaned the whole house. We've only caught one mouse-so I guess that says our house wasn't over-run. Still..GROSS!!
*Can I just say how thankful I am for the family I married into and for my family too?! Can I just say how thankful I am for the principal that I work for?! (Seriously...she is the NICEST, most dedicated boss I have EVER had!!) I am so thankful for my students, for my house, for my husband, food to eat, the BEAUTIFUL fall weather, candy, my treadmill to help me wake up in the morning, Diet Coke, that I live 3 minutes from work, our new friends/Bible Study in KC, our life-long friends in Wichita, weekends to catch up around the house & to spend some time on my couch resting.
*Most people like to take days off from work. Not when you're a teacher. It means so.much.more.work! My husband is in a wedding next weekend so I have to take a half-day off on Friday. I am excited to go spend some time with my family, but am so scared to leave my kids with a sub. They are good kids-I know they will be ok-but it is HARD to trust them with someone else for a few hours. Does that mean I'm gonna be one of those crazy moms!? ;)
*I am now a HUGE fan of the crockpot. I made chili last Sunday and it was SO easy. We ate it for leftovers several times this week. This week I am going to make something else. The cold weather makes me want to cook...well...sort of. :)
The Lord is good-I am learning. Thank GOD for His grace and patience.
:)
*It's hard to explain to kids why it's not ok to hit someone....when you have a strong hunch that they are being hit at home.
*On a good note-we went on our first field trip on Friday. We went to see the play based on the book: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. My kids were SO excited. As I was explaining the trip to the kids, one girl raised her hand with a worried look and asked: You're going to go too, right?! :) My kids behaved perfectly and laughed so much. It was a GREAT production. During the play, the kids kept looking back at me to make sure I thought it was funny too. They were so cute and had so much fun! I loved riding on the bus with them and leaving our area of town to experience something new!
*After centers we were lined up, getting ready to leave the classroom to use the restroom. A hilarious student that I write about a lot was still at his center picking up trash off of the floor. Me-"Thank you for picking up the floor, my friend, I really appreciate that". Student (Looking at me like I'm crazy)-"Mrs., I didn't pick up the FLOOR, that's WAY too heavy. I picked up the trash OFF of the floor. Will you please start callin me Mr. Trash man?!" **WOW!**
*A lot of times my kids are pretty sleepy acting in the morning during calendar time. They have a glazed look on their face for the first 20 minutes of school. I was up at the front acting like a clown-singing songs, smiling, trying to get my kids to wake up. Student: "Mrs., you sure do have a LOT of energy this morning. I have never seen a teacher with so much energy."
*About half of my students are Hispanic, and about 4 of them knew VERY little English at the beginning of the year. Although they are learning like crazy, sometimes I still translate some of my instructions into Spanish when they are looking at me like they have no idea what's going on. During math centers, I was explaining the instructions to a game in Spanish to one of my students. One of my black students looked at me and said: "Mrs....ahahskdjlskjfdlkan. See! I can speak it too!" Another said: "Mrs. I don't speak that language, so I have no IDEA what you're sayin". I had to turn away to laugh!
*In my last post I wrote about a student who, when given her Book-It for a free pizza at Pizza Hut, was very worried about how she was going to get there. My husband and I were planning on taking their family to a pizza buffet the day before Thanksgiving, but we decided to go this weekend instead. I went to pick up the family and we went to Pizza Hut to feast. It was so fun! We went all out with breadsticks, pops, salads, and pizza. I was so glad to see them interacting with my sweet, kind husband-I know too much about their father who is not so sweet and has hurt them in more ways that I want to know. They were very shy around him at first, but as lunch went on, it was so fun to see them open up and laugh with him. Probably the highlight of my week.
*I am excited for the holiday season-it is our first Christmas married-so excited to buy our first real tree, make some ornaments, share holidays between our 2 wonderful families, go to new church services, go to parties with friends, etc. I went Christmas shopping for my husband after lunch today. It was so fun because for the first time I have a full time job and can buy my cheap husband some things that he has needed for a long time...but it's also hard to find the balance between buying things that we want and looking around our house and seeing HOW MUCH WE HAVE in comparison to these kids that I work with. As excited as I am to eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family (my FAVORITE holiday)...I think about what my students are going to be eating that day and it breaks my heart. We are adopting several families for Christmas-I know some of our wonderful friends/family are going to donate to help make these sweet families' Christmas a great one...I am just struggling with the inbalance...I know material things do not give us joy-but having food to eat & clean clothes to wear seem pretty important.
*My favorite idea I've had all year was my class "Thankful turkey". The feathers I got back touched me so much-"We are thankful for Jesus and His love." "I am thankful for my teacher: Mrs. and for my family" "We are thankful for a job and a place to live" And my favorite one from a sweet GIRL student ;): "We are thankful for a job, a house, our family, and how much "Susie" has learned all thanks to his teacher." A pronoun there lost in translation....but I got the point. So sweet.
*My dad came to visit my classroom this week. He was shocked at how much I have to be "On my toes"....he was tired and had to leave after a few hours. :) ha. He also suggested that I be a little more "endearing" with my kids-after one of my students threw a fit and pushed a chair across the floor, I had to get in his face and send him to time-out. My dad patted his back. I never yell at my kids, but sometimes it's necessary to be a little harsh to get through to them. My dad is a sweet, awesome man...but he hasn't spent much time in the hood. My class is very well behaved and follows instructions really well-they get compliments from other teachers all the time. I know they know I love them-I hug them all the time and joke with them a lot, but if I let my guard down for a second--they would be OUT OF CONTROL! :) I wished he understood a little more-every girl wants her dad's approval. It was still fun to have him there--"Mrs. tell your dad to come over here so I can show him how I know my ABC's...I bet he likes the ABC's!!" Another student: "Are you her GRANDPA?!" haha
*My husband saw a mouse in our house the other night. My response was: "Let's move!!" I can handle spiders, bugs, etc. I am terrified of mice!!! My husband set up traps all over the house and I went through closets, and deep-cleaned the whole house. We've only caught one mouse-so I guess that says our house wasn't over-run. Still..GROSS!!
*Can I just say how thankful I am for the family I married into and for my family too?! Can I just say how thankful I am for the principal that I work for?! (Seriously...she is the NICEST, most dedicated boss I have EVER had!!) I am so thankful for my students, for my house, for my husband, food to eat, the BEAUTIFUL fall weather, candy, my treadmill to help me wake up in the morning, Diet Coke, that I live 3 minutes from work, our new friends/Bible Study in KC, our life-long friends in Wichita, weekends to catch up around the house & to spend some time on my couch resting.
*Most people like to take days off from work. Not when you're a teacher. It means so.much.more.work! My husband is in a wedding next weekend so I have to take a half-day off on Friday. I am excited to go spend some time with my family, but am so scared to leave my kids with a sub. They are good kids-I know they will be ok-but it is HARD to trust them with someone else for a few hours. Does that mean I'm gonna be one of those crazy moms!? ;)
*I am now a HUGE fan of the crockpot. I made chili last Sunday and it was SO easy. We ate it for leftovers several times this week. This week I am going to make something else. The cold weather makes me want to cook...well...sort of. :)
The Lord is good-I am learning. Thank GOD for His grace and patience.
:)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
You KNOW her?!
What a GOOD week. I feel energized this weekend. I am going to spend today cleaning my house & cooking. I took a very busy friend's advice and made a menu for my week so that my poor husband won't be stuck eating cereal everyday for dinner. :) I am excited to get some things done today! My husband is so stressed studying, so that leaves me time to get my house back in order.
*My birthday is coming up and I asked my husband to let me splurge just a little. I have an appointment scheduled for a massage, a pedicure and I'm going to pick up a piece of cheesecake on the way home to split with my husband. Best birthday EVER!? YES!! I feel like I've been working non-stop, so it will be awesome to have a 5 day weekend for Thanksgiving with family too!!
*I get to take our kids on our first field trip on Friday. I am so excited. You should have seen them when I was explaining what a field trip is, where we're going, etc....They were on the edges of their seat and when I finished, several of the girls started clapping. Pure joy. So sweet.
*I got a new student this week...I was really proud of my students for how helpful and sweet they were to her. It was fun to see how welcoming they were.
*In my classroom we share our supplies...so we have table boxes in the middle of each table with pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, etc. I was starting to get annoyed that some tables are not keeping them very organized, so on Tuesday night, the "Clean Fairy" left candy at the table whose box was organized. The next day when the kids got to school, I told them the Clean Fairy had come and was so happy to see one table was very clean, and that she left a present for them. "Is she like the tooth fairy but for clean? You KNOW her?!" And later when writing time was over..."Put the pencils back nice-the clean fairy might come!!!":) I have a volunteer who comes every Thursday to help with center time. When she pulled a chair to help one of my struggling students with writing, he said "Are you the fairy?!!" She looked at me totally confused. ha My classroom has never been more clean. Problem solved.
*In running club we have been training for a 5K...it's this Sunday. We ran our last training run on Thursday after school. My partner ran in dress flats and skinny jeans. 2 miles. That is dedication. It is going to be so fun to run the race tomorrow!
*I started teaching money and the value of the coins. We started with the penny-colored a penny, cut it out, and put it in our "Piggy Bank". Then on the spot, I made up this cheesy song "A penny's worth one cent, a penny's worth one cent, a penny's worth one cent, woohoohoo!" It went over well. "I love this song!" "That's a fun song!" We sang it several times, and then as I was helping students with math later, my whole class broke into the penny song. Put something to music or rhythm and kids will remember it!!
*I was an ABSOLUTE clown teaching Social Studies on Wednesday. I finished my lesson early, so did a short lesson on not rushing to be at the front of the line/pushing in line/etc. It was called: "What is Mrs. doing wrong?!" I was running, pushing, knocking chairs over, etc. The kids were laughing so hard. One of my quietest students: "Mrs., my mom says you're a REAL good teacher-and I think you're REAL funny too!"
*We're making a class turkey. I was ready to leave one night after school until I got a good idea. I called my husband and said I'd be a little late, but it was a good reason. I sent home a "feather" with each family and asked them to write something they are thankful for. When they send it back, the feathers will go on our class turkey. Even when people have very little, they still have so much. For one-they have these AWESOME kids. When I wrote my feather as an example, I wrote: I am thankful for my class. They said "For US?!" Their faces were full of pride. :)
*We do pizza hut book-it in our class...If the parents read to kids and keep track of the minutes, at the end of the month they get a coupon for a free pizza. One of my families filled it out, but when I passed the coupons out, said: But we don't have a car, how are we going to go get that pizza?" It got me to thinking about how excited I am for Thanksgiving...food, family, fun, 5 days off school!!!, but that most of the kids will not have very much to eat that day. My husband and I decided we're taking one of the families who has really reached out for help (and my student who asked about the pizza) to a pizza buffet the day before Thanksgiving. Is it sad that I'm more excited for that than to eat my Thanksgiving meal!?
I found this awesome quote on Lecrae's facebook: "You can impress people from a distance, but if you want to impact them, get up close."
*There is a good chance that my dad might come up to visit and volunteer in my classroom this week one day. I am so excited for my students to meet him-a sweet, kind man. What an example he will be to the kids! Plus he's a banker, so they can sing the "cool" penny song for him. hahaha
*We went out to a trendy place for dinner last night and walked around First Friday art shows. It was SO fun-I could only handle so much modern art before we hit up Blockbuster for a funny chick flick. ;) At least we were cultured for part of the night!
I love to zip coats, give kids clean pants when the have accidents, tie shoes, and play momma all day long. These kids bring out a better side of me. I have changed so much in the last 4 months and I am so glad. I feel like I am constantly feeling the presence of the Lord, and that I am desperate for the Lord's strength everyday. I don't want anyone to think I am a good person for doing what I am doing or to give me any credit-I seriously feel totally blessed to have this job with these kids. I always tell my husband, I'm doing what anyone would do in this situation! The need is SO great. We have to open our eyes to help!!
:)
*My birthday is coming up and I asked my husband to let me splurge just a little. I have an appointment scheduled for a massage, a pedicure and I'm going to pick up a piece of cheesecake on the way home to split with my husband. Best birthday EVER!? YES!! I feel like I've been working non-stop, so it will be awesome to have a 5 day weekend for Thanksgiving with family too!!
*I get to take our kids on our first field trip on Friday. I am so excited. You should have seen them when I was explaining what a field trip is, where we're going, etc....They were on the edges of their seat and when I finished, several of the girls started clapping. Pure joy. So sweet.
*I got a new student this week...I was really proud of my students for how helpful and sweet they were to her. It was fun to see how welcoming they were.
*In my classroom we share our supplies...so we have table boxes in the middle of each table with pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, etc. I was starting to get annoyed that some tables are not keeping them very organized, so on Tuesday night, the "Clean Fairy" left candy at the table whose box was organized. The next day when the kids got to school, I told them the Clean Fairy had come and was so happy to see one table was very clean, and that she left a present for them. "Is she like the tooth fairy but for clean? You KNOW her?!" And later when writing time was over..."Put the pencils back nice-the clean fairy might come!!!":) I have a volunteer who comes every Thursday to help with center time. When she pulled a chair to help one of my struggling students with writing, he said "Are you the fairy?!!" She looked at me totally confused. ha My classroom has never been more clean. Problem solved.
*In running club we have been training for a 5K...it's this Sunday. We ran our last training run on Thursday after school. My partner ran in dress flats and skinny jeans. 2 miles. That is dedication. It is going to be so fun to run the race tomorrow!
*I started teaching money and the value of the coins. We started with the penny-colored a penny, cut it out, and put it in our "Piggy Bank". Then on the spot, I made up this cheesy song "A penny's worth one cent, a penny's worth one cent, a penny's worth one cent, woohoohoo!" It went over well. "I love this song!" "That's a fun song!" We sang it several times, and then as I was helping students with math later, my whole class broke into the penny song. Put something to music or rhythm and kids will remember it!!
*I was an ABSOLUTE clown teaching Social Studies on Wednesday. I finished my lesson early, so did a short lesson on not rushing to be at the front of the line/pushing in line/etc. It was called: "What is Mrs. doing wrong?!" I was running, pushing, knocking chairs over, etc. The kids were laughing so hard. One of my quietest students: "Mrs., my mom says you're a REAL good teacher-and I think you're REAL funny too!"
*We're making a class turkey. I was ready to leave one night after school until I got a good idea. I called my husband and said I'd be a little late, but it was a good reason. I sent home a "feather" with each family and asked them to write something they are thankful for. When they send it back, the feathers will go on our class turkey. Even when people have very little, they still have so much. For one-they have these AWESOME kids. When I wrote my feather as an example, I wrote: I am thankful for my class. They said "For US?!" Their faces were full of pride. :)
*We do pizza hut book-it in our class...If the parents read to kids and keep track of the minutes, at the end of the month they get a coupon for a free pizza. One of my families filled it out, but when I passed the coupons out, said: But we don't have a car, how are we going to go get that pizza?" It got me to thinking about how excited I am for Thanksgiving...food, family, fun, 5 days off school!!!, but that most of the kids will not have very much to eat that day. My husband and I decided we're taking one of the families who has really reached out for help (and my student who asked about the pizza) to a pizza buffet the day before Thanksgiving. Is it sad that I'm more excited for that than to eat my Thanksgiving meal!?
I found this awesome quote on Lecrae's facebook: "You can impress people from a distance, but if you want to impact them, get up close."
*There is a good chance that my dad might come up to visit and volunteer in my classroom this week one day. I am so excited for my students to meet him-a sweet, kind man. What an example he will be to the kids! Plus he's a banker, so they can sing the "cool" penny song for him. hahaha
*We went out to a trendy place for dinner last night and walked around First Friday art shows. It was SO fun-I could only handle so much modern art before we hit up Blockbuster for a funny chick flick. ;) At least we were cultured for part of the night!
I love to zip coats, give kids clean pants when the have accidents, tie shoes, and play momma all day long. These kids bring out a better side of me. I have changed so much in the last 4 months and I am so glad. I feel like I am constantly feeling the presence of the Lord, and that I am desperate for the Lord's strength everyday. I don't want anyone to think I am a good person for doing what I am doing or to give me any credit-I seriously feel totally blessed to have this job with these kids. I always tell my husband, I'm doing what anyone would do in this situation! The need is SO great. We have to open our eyes to help!!
:)
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