School is winding down! :) I love my students so dearly & will cry when I have to say good-bye, but I am worn out. Trying to finish scrapbooks for them + end of year tests + teaching 1st grade skills to prepare them for next year = very tired, first year teacher.
I have prayed over a very important decision the past several months. I joined my church in Amory to help me become a part of this community I'm living & working in. I have taught preschool-Kindergarten choir, sung in the adult choir, & attended church regularly at this church. My pastor at Calvary, Bro. David, called me last Sunday to tell me he was praying for me & my decision... that it would be clear from God where I should be attending -- the place where I'm growing spiritually & socially.
That was God's answer... I am not growing as I should be at the new church. I feel lonely instead of feeling a part of the church. God's ministry for me has always been youth ministry... I've known this since 12th grade. I can't really do youth ministry here though without second guessing what other people could be saying about me. Questioning my integrity & rationale for working with youth, as a teacher in the schools. No one has ever said this aloud, but I can't help but to wonder if they're thinking it... maybe because I would think it? I don't know.... but I know my integrity & character was not questioned at Calvary. My purpose for working with youth ministry is to teach/minister, help the students see how they can live Godly lives as young people, & to encourage them when times get tough. I've been welcomed by so many dear people in this new town & church, but it still doesn't feel like coming home.
The past 3 weeks at Calvary, I have thoroughly enjoyed the drive to & from church (great thinking/praying time), the Sunday School lessons (Young Adult/Career Sunday School), the worship services, and being around those who love me & understand me. God is making his answer for me as bold & clear as a neon sign.
Friday was my class' Q&U wedding. It was so much fun! I didn't do it the traditional way... with one bride, one groom, & lots of wedding party. Every little girl was a bride, every little boy was a groom. Girls wore veils; boys wore Q bow-ties. They walked down an aisle with QU words all over it... written by two little girls in smocked dresses I was afraid to let go to PE. :) Their vows were to promise to follow each other at the beginning of words forever. Our reception was "homemade" cupcakes & Kool-aide. The kids in my class .... this kills me to even say it, but they have NEVER had real cupcakes. You know, the ones you make with cake mix that are so easy! I baked these cupcakes in literally 30 minutes, & as sweet Riley said, "She didn't even burn them!" On birthdays/parties, we get cupcakes, but they are store-bought (Wal-Mart) cupcakes... and trust me, I understand... it was tempting for me to just go buy those Thursday for the reception, but after I saw those kids devour the ENTIRE cupcakes (not just the frosting), I was a convert. Many said they had never had a cupcake so good, & sweet Reese told me to bring more Monday! :) Ask to see pictures from the wedding when you see me in person... they're in my purse, & the kids are darling! The owner of a ballet studio here in Amory, Sally, taught a manners lesson Friday, too. She taught the kids how to eat soup properly (with punch), how to introduce themselves to others, how to pay someone a compliment, & how to write a thank-you note. The kids wrote thank-you notes to their parents for letting them attend the Q&U wedding. Days like Friday make teaching Kindergarten SO much fun!!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
spring break is coming to an end...
SPRING BREAK came at the perfect time this year. The weather was beautiful (until today..) and I'm refreshed & ready to hit the ground running with my students from now until Kindergarten graduation in May.
It was so good for me to be back with my ministry -- youth. God has shaped me into a Kindergarten teacher, obviously, but I do a much better job within the church working with teenagers. This year, I've been teaching preschool choir on Wednesday nights, which makes for very long Wednesdays. I teach all day, stay late getting cleaned up & ready for Thursday, drive to choir, teach choir for an hour, go to prayer meeting, & then my own choir practice until 8:30. When I say LONG day, I mean LONG day. My patience is so thin by the time preschool choir starts, & it's so hard on me not being able to structure my choir the way I do my classroom. I can't really get on to the kids because it's church, so in turn, it's me against 17 three-six-year-olds, and they run all over me. This doesn't happen at school because I am so structured, but I don't know how to maintain a structured church classroom without stepping on anyone's mama's toes. Next year, I've got to get away from this and start doing what I was designed to do- minister to teenagers.
One of the BIGGEST challenges I've faced this year is figuring out when on earth to assess my students. Supposedly, first-year-teachers typically struggle with classroom management, paper work, lesson planning, feeling secluded, etc... I don't have any of those problems. I had trouble with classroom management until the fourth day of school, when my principal asked me if I needed help getting my class under control. That was enough for me to evaluate what was going on & to get it under control, and I did.
Paper work takes time, but I'm good about not waiting until the last minute to do things. I've got my kids sample work divided by subject (language & math), we keep a writing portfolio, their assessments are updated & organized.
Lesson planning is time-consuming but it comes pretty naturally for me. Learning to not plan way too much was something I needed to work on at the beginning of the year, but I've got it down now.
Feeling secluded was never, ever an issue. I have a wonderful mentor teacher, Kym, who experiments with my ideas with me, is honest when things are good or terrible, gives me lots of materials & ideas, and ends up mentoring me with other aspects of my life, outside of teaching. She knows more about my personal life than my own family does.
My biggest hurdle is when do you test these babies? It's not like I can put up dividers & give them tests whole-group like you can with older students. We do have to test this way sometimes (Terra Nova, Kindergarten grade-level tests, etc), but for me to know which letters of the alphabet my students know & don't know, I have to test them away from their classmates. Did you know 5 year olds cheat without knowing they're cheating? They do. They can pretend to know the answer just by waiting a half-second after someone else has answered the question & then they'll write it or say it aloud. In college, I was always told, assess while you teach. Give the students a project or activity, and assess the skills as they work, but it is NOT that easy with five-year-olds who are new to the world of cutting, gluing, coloring, and writing. I am proud of my students' progress, don't get me wrong, but the only time I've found I can test my kids individually is during centers *when I should be teaching a guided reading group!!
I was working on my lesson plans for this week... getting so excited about teaching a writing lesson during my small group time & I realized, I've got to be finishing up this checklist... which means instead of teaching my fun lesson, I have to pass it on to my assistant teacher to teach & I get to assess. I wish first year teachers could get student teachers. I got to do all of these kinds of lessons while my supervising teacher assessed, so the kids were able to get it all in. AND oh my goodness, to observe a first year teacher's struggles in the classroom might be awesome for knowing what to expect & overcome the next year. Experienced teachers sometimes forget all that goes on in the first year... I get asked all the time, "Why are you going up to the school today? It's Saturday!" But I don't have materials already prepared & laminated from previous years. Also, I don't do well under pressure. My pencils had better be sharpened before my kids walk in the door or the chaos will make me crazy.
It was so good for me to be back with my ministry -- youth. God has shaped me into a Kindergarten teacher, obviously, but I do a much better job within the church working with teenagers. This year, I've been teaching preschool choir on Wednesday nights, which makes for very long Wednesdays. I teach all day, stay late getting cleaned up & ready for Thursday, drive to choir, teach choir for an hour, go to prayer meeting, & then my own choir practice until 8:30. When I say LONG day, I mean LONG day. My patience is so thin by the time preschool choir starts, & it's so hard on me not being able to structure my choir the way I do my classroom. I can't really get on to the kids because it's church, so in turn, it's me against 17 three-six-year-olds, and they run all over me. This doesn't happen at school because I am so structured, but I don't know how to maintain a structured church classroom without stepping on anyone's mama's toes. Next year, I've got to get away from this and start doing what I was designed to do- minister to teenagers.
One of the BIGGEST challenges I've faced this year is figuring out when on earth to assess my students. Supposedly, first-year-teachers typically struggle with classroom management, paper work, lesson planning, feeling secluded, etc... I don't have any of those problems. I had trouble with classroom management until the fourth day of school, when my principal asked me if I needed help getting my class under control. That was enough for me to evaluate what was going on & to get it under control, and I did.
Paper work takes time, but I'm good about not waiting until the last minute to do things. I've got my kids sample work divided by subject (language & math), we keep a writing portfolio, their assessments are updated & organized.
Lesson planning is time-consuming but it comes pretty naturally for me. Learning to not plan way too much was something I needed to work on at the beginning of the year, but I've got it down now.
Feeling secluded was never, ever an issue. I have a wonderful mentor teacher, Kym, who experiments with my ideas with me, is honest when things are good or terrible, gives me lots of materials & ideas, and ends up mentoring me with other aspects of my life, outside of teaching. She knows more about my personal life than my own family does.
My biggest hurdle is when do you test these babies? It's not like I can put up dividers & give them tests whole-group like you can with older students. We do have to test this way sometimes (Terra Nova, Kindergarten grade-level tests, etc), but for me to know which letters of the alphabet my students know & don't know, I have to test them away from their classmates. Did you know 5 year olds cheat without knowing they're cheating? They do. They can pretend to know the answer just by waiting a half-second after someone else has answered the question & then they'll write it or say it aloud. In college, I was always told, assess while you teach. Give the students a project or activity, and assess the skills as they work, but it is NOT that easy with five-year-olds who are new to the world of cutting, gluing, coloring, and writing. I am proud of my students' progress, don't get me wrong, but the only time I've found I can test my kids individually is during centers *when I should be teaching a guided reading group!!
I was working on my lesson plans for this week... getting so excited about teaching a writing lesson during my small group time & I realized, I've got to be finishing up this checklist... which means instead of teaching my fun lesson, I have to pass it on to my assistant teacher to teach & I get to assess. I wish first year teachers could get student teachers. I got to do all of these kinds of lessons while my supervising teacher assessed, so the kids were able to get it all in. AND oh my goodness, to observe a first year teacher's struggles in the classroom might be awesome for knowing what to expect & overcome the next year. Experienced teachers sometimes forget all that goes on in the first year... I get asked all the time, "Why are you going up to the school today? It's Saturday!" But I don't have materials already prepared & laminated from previous years. Also, I don't do well under pressure. My pencils had better be sharpened before my kids walk in the door or the chaos will make me crazy.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Spring Break
My Plans for Spring Break:
(check) Calvary!!!
___ Finish Beth Moore's new book, "So Long, Insecurity!" I had no idea I was insecure until I began reading this book.
___ Babysit my niece & her little sister for two days while her mom picks up her daddy from the airport -- he's coming home from Iraq!!!
___ Spring clean my ignored house.
___ Back Yard Bible Club with Calvary Youth
___ Mission trip to Memphis with Calvary Youth
___ Winter Jam Concert with Calvary Youth
___ Lesson plans for next week.
___ Go up to the school for only one day to clean & get ready for next week. I repeat to myself... one day.
___ Start planning end-of-Kindergarten scrapbook pages.
I love Spring Break. I have missed my sweet youth so much this year! It's hard going from having a ministry at your church that you are totally invested in for five years to a brand new church struggling to find your ministry. I love FBC Amory, but I have learned this year that teaching preschool choir isn't my ministry. God didn't design me to teach choir. It takes a special, patient, possibly non-teacher to teach 3-6 year olds. And I'm alone with 17 of these preschoolers & Kindergarteners. Next year, I may work with youth. That's my forte at church, I think. :) I love little sweet kids at school, but they know their boundaries with me at school & I can be firm with them & they know I still love them. At church, it's kind of hard to be firm with the kids because it's... church. Today, I went to eat lunch with Kathryn Wynn, Katie Cagle, Shelby Davis, & Lindsay Newell & I realized how much I miss working/hanging out with youth girls. It's my God-thing, & for me to be useful in this little bitty town of Amory, I think I need to do my God-thing.
(check) Calvary!!!
___ Finish Beth Moore's new book, "So Long, Insecurity!" I had no idea I was insecure until I began reading this book.
___ Babysit my niece & her little sister for two days while her mom picks up her daddy from the airport -- he's coming home from Iraq!!!
___ Spring clean my ignored house.
___ Back Yard Bible Club with Calvary Youth
___ Mission trip to Memphis with Calvary Youth
___ Winter Jam Concert with Calvary Youth
___ Lesson plans for next week.
___ Go up to the school for only one day to clean & get ready for next week. I repeat to myself... one day.
___ Start planning end-of-Kindergarten scrapbook pages.
I love Spring Break. I have missed my sweet youth so much this year! It's hard going from having a ministry at your church that you are totally invested in for five years to a brand new church struggling to find your ministry. I love FBC Amory, but I have learned this year that teaching preschool choir isn't my ministry. God didn't design me to teach choir. It takes a special, patient, possibly non-teacher to teach 3-6 year olds. And I'm alone with 17 of these preschoolers & Kindergarteners. Next year, I may work with youth. That's my forte at church, I think. :) I love little sweet kids at school, but they know their boundaries with me at school & I can be firm with them & they know I still love them. At church, it's kind of hard to be firm with the kids because it's... church. Today, I went to eat lunch with Kathryn Wynn, Katie Cagle, Shelby Davis, & Lindsay Newell & I realized how much I miss working/hanging out with youth girls. It's my God-thing, & for me to be useful in this little bitty town of Amory, I think I need to do my God-thing.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Ooblek Recipe
Recipe for Ooblek (I used more of everything since I made enough for 21 Kindergarteners).
2 cups of corn starch
3 drops of green food coloring
enough water to make a thick mixture (about the texture of pancake batter) I usually measure equal amounts of water and corn starch, but mix water in slowly.
2 cups of corn starch
3 drops of green food coloring
enough water to make a thick mixture (about the texture of pancake batter) I usually measure equal amounts of water and corn starch, but mix water in slowly.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
I love the fact that I'm thinking about end-of-the-year scrapbooks... the year is coming to a close! My class is absolutely amazing. I have so many little readers now, & they blew their MAP test out of the water! I had so many students who scored 30-40 points higher on this test in March than they did in December (out of 100 points)!! I hope they know how grateful I am for that... my students' scores are nearly identical to the veteran teachers' students!! I'm not sure if that's a big deal, but it reassures me that I've taught them something this year. :)
Dr. Seuss week was by-far the best week of Kindergarten... If my students voted right now, the boys would all pick Ooblek on Friday.. no questions asked. The girls might, too, but I saw sweet smiles out of 2 boys who would rather be in a tree or in a mud puddle than in my class some days. "Bartholomew & the Ooblek" is a very insanely long book for Kindergarten, but my kids listened so intently & every single one of them made a 100 on their AR test (that NEVER happens). They knew listening would result in playing in ooblek that afternoon.
Next year, I am going to do so many things differently, but overall, I have to say year one has been so much fun. :)
Dr. Seuss week was by-far the best week of Kindergarten... If my students voted right now, the boys would all pick Ooblek on Friday.. no questions asked. The girls might, too, but I saw sweet smiles out of 2 boys who would rather be in a tree or in a mud puddle than in my class some days. "Bartholomew & the Ooblek" is a very insanely long book for Kindergarten, but my kids listened so intently & every single one of them made a 100 on their AR test (that NEVER happens). They knew listening would result in playing in ooblek that afternoon.
Next year, I am going to do so many things differently, but overall, I have to say year one has been so much fun. :)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Half-way done. :)
It has been an adventure.... teaching Kindergarteners. I absolutely love it, & I truly cannot picture myself doing anything else.
It is VERY HARD though. Children at this age are at VERY different levels. While half of my class is reading or very close to reading, the other half varies from knowing 2 letters of the alphabet to knowing all of the letters but not understanding sounds. I am teased for staying up at the school all the time by... everyone, but I honestly don't see how everyone gets it done by 3:30. My room is a mess, I've got paperwork falling from my ears, & I have to call a handful of parents back to tell them whether or not they should be concerned over a test score taken by their children on a computer that lasted over an hour.
Deep breath...
I still love it. I love it because of my students. I love it because even though I'm stern, they throw their arms around me & tell me that they love me. I love it because each of my students are turning into success stories.... and I love it because every day, I learn something new. I feed off of constructive criticism & I do better the next day. My classroom may be a mess some days, but learning is going on every day. We learn about manners.... one student came in saying "What???" and now he says, "Yes ma'am." We learn about people & ourselves, science, nature, weather, time, money, numbers, addition, subtraction, patterns, letters, sounds, words, writing stories, writing sentences, poetry, rhymes, holding a pencil, holding scissors, moving our bodies from side-to-side, moving in rhythm to music, left vs. right, geography, artists, musicians, ..... and this is in one day! :)
Really... when I type my lesson plans for the week, it is ridiculous how many objectives I have to select, but it's very true. We cover a lot in a single day of Kindergarten through singing, dancing, centers, computer activities, read alouds, reading big books, pocket chart activities, guided reading, calendar/carpet time...
Deep breath again...
I'm studying the book of Esther right now using Beth Moore's Bible study. I think God is revealing a lot of things to me that I've been putting on the back-burner while all of the before-mentioned things have been made such priorities in my life. Don't get me wrong... Christ is still my rock & salvation, but I've put a lot of things in regards to my spiritual life in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place to teaching. I've got quite a history for doing this to myself... letting my perfectionist tendencies get in the way of my health or my relationship with Christ or my family/friends. A precious woman in my church has become my 2nd mother here in Amory, and she knows it. She will stop me in my tracks at school (she is an assistant right next door to me) and look me in the eye & tell me to slow down and stop trying to prove I can do this. She told me a week ago that my goals for myself as a teacher are extremely high, much higher than the expectations set for me by the administrators in our district, & their expectations are very high. I think my Amory mama is right ... actually, I know she's right. I'm making this a 24/7 job, and I can make time to relax, spend time with Jesus, & perhaps, go to a gym -- I'm thinking this will have to happen in January. :) Church happens on Wednesdays & Sundays, but honestly, when my Amory mama sat me down and was talking to me, I realized that I'm making church another chore to get done after school... I'm not doing it for the right reasons. Wednesdays are especially difficult because I go straight from school to church to teach preschool choir... then I go to prayer meeting, & sanctuary choir practice is until 8:30. I am exhausted & starving by that point...
So, goals for 2010, starting now:
1. Make time for listening to God, talking to and praising God, & reading scripture every day.
2. Leave school as others leave. Remember, it will all still be there tomorrow, or bring some stuff home & work on it while chilling on the couch. On Wednesdays, leave school at 3:30 & go home for a little while!
3. Make use of that fancy new iPod sitting under the Christmas tree in Tupelo, & go work-out. (This may help me accomplish #2)
4. Spend time with people I've put on the back-burner this semester.
It's been a good beginning to teaching, but it's time to get myself back to being Julie. After all, God's called me to be doing this very thing, why should I be treating these experiences as if I'm accomplishing yet another chore?
"Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs." Zephaniah 3:17
It is VERY HARD though. Children at this age are at VERY different levels. While half of my class is reading or very close to reading, the other half varies from knowing 2 letters of the alphabet to knowing all of the letters but not understanding sounds. I am teased for staying up at the school all the time by... everyone, but I honestly don't see how everyone gets it done by 3:30. My room is a mess, I've got paperwork falling from my ears, & I have to call a handful of parents back to tell them whether or not they should be concerned over a test score taken by their children on a computer that lasted over an hour.
Deep breath...
I still love it. I love it because of my students. I love it because even though I'm stern, they throw their arms around me & tell me that they love me. I love it because each of my students are turning into success stories.... and I love it because every day, I learn something new. I feed off of constructive criticism & I do better the next day. My classroom may be a mess some days, but learning is going on every day. We learn about manners.... one student came in saying "What???" and now he says, "Yes ma'am." We learn about people & ourselves, science, nature, weather, time, money, numbers, addition, subtraction, patterns, letters, sounds, words, writing stories, writing sentences, poetry, rhymes, holding a pencil, holding scissors, moving our bodies from side-to-side, moving in rhythm to music, left vs. right, geography, artists, musicians, ..... and this is in one day! :)
Really... when I type my lesson plans for the week, it is ridiculous how many objectives I have to select, but it's very true. We cover a lot in a single day of Kindergarten through singing, dancing, centers, computer activities, read alouds, reading big books, pocket chart activities, guided reading, calendar/carpet time...
Deep breath again...
I'm studying the book of Esther right now using Beth Moore's Bible study. I think God is revealing a lot of things to me that I've been putting on the back-burner while all of the before-mentioned things have been made such priorities in my life. Don't get me wrong... Christ is still my rock & salvation, but I've put a lot of things in regards to my spiritual life in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place to teaching. I've got quite a history for doing this to myself... letting my perfectionist tendencies get in the way of my health or my relationship with Christ or my family/friends. A precious woman in my church has become my 2nd mother here in Amory, and she knows it. She will stop me in my tracks at school (she is an assistant right next door to me) and look me in the eye & tell me to slow down and stop trying to prove I can do this. She told me a week ago that my goals for myself as a teacher are extremely high, much higher than the expectations set for me by the administrators in our district, & their expectations are very high. I think my Amory mama is right ... actually, I know she's right. I'm making this a 24/7 job, and I can make time to relax, spend time with Jesus, & perhaps, go to a gym -- I'm thinking this will have to happen in January. :) Church happens on Wednesdays & Sundays, but honestly, when my Amory mama sat me down and was talking to me, I realized that I'm making church another chore to get done after school... I'm not doing it for the right reasons. Wednesdays are especially difficult because I go straight from school to church to teach preschool choir... then I go to prayer meeting, & sanctuary choir practice is until 8:30. I am exhausted & starving by that point...
So, goals for 2010, starting now:
1. Make time for listening to God, talking to and praising God, & reading scripture every day.
2. Leave school as others leave. Remember, it will all still be there tomorrow, or bring some stuff home & work on it while chilling on the couch. On Wednesdays, leave school at 3:30 & go home for a little while!
3. Make use of that fancy new iPod sitting under the Christmas tree in Tupelo, & go work-out. (This may help me accomplish #2)
4. Spend time with people I've put on the back-burner this semester.
It's been a good beginning to teaching, but it's time to get myself back to being Julie. After all, God's called me to be doing this very thing, why should I be treating these experiences as if I'm accomplishing yet another chore?
"Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs." Zephaniah 3:17
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)