I was flipping through my planner today and realized that I'm getting down to only having 3 months left of college. My 11 weeks of being the full-time teacher starts tomorrow. Half of me is so excited that what I've been waiting and working for has gotten here...and the other half of me feels so inadequate and uncertain. What can I hold on to that IS certain? You got it. My Savior. He's going to be there when I have a great lesson and the kiddos make progress, and He'll be there when my lesson completely tanks and I get 20 blank stares (gulp). No matter what, it'll be fine. I need to remember that I'm NOT a teacher yet, and this is what student teaching is for! I'm growing and changing. I'm starting to think like a teacher and understand how things really work. If you think of it, pray for me tomorrow! :)
On another note, I had a GREAT weekend. A couple weeks ago, Mrs. Meriweather said to me, "I have something for you to do in a couple weekends. We're having an all women's PJ party at church, and Mrs. Carter and I want you to come with us!" So that's what I did! I hung out with my teachers on Friday night, and Hannah came with me! I cannot believe how much fun it was. We played games in which I witnessed Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Meriweather dancing like nobody's business (Oh, Han and I did, too!). I got to see my supervisor, who watches me teach, up on stage playing charades. Mrs. Meriweather even started a marshmallow throwing war that lasted a good 10 minutes. The women from their church were so welcoming to Hannah and I. Seeing some of the women in my life in a completely different context was so fun. Teachers are real people too, ya know?
Then last night some of my friends and I got together to celebrate Ryan and Maddie Ledbetter, who are done with Cedarville and will be leaving for Arizona next week as Ryan starts his spring training for baseball. We ate lots of food and played hilarious games. I haven't laughed so hard in a while! I have been very blessed with great friends during college. It's weird to think that within the next 6 months, I'll potentially be moving somewhere, trying to settle down, and meeting new friends. A new season will begin.
Being a senior is such an adventure! It's exciting and horrifying all at the same time. How can one girl handle so much change at once?! I know. With a God who goes before her and has everything in His hands. Today, I am thankful for the consistency of my Savior. I am thankful that He is always the same, no matter what life looks like, where I am, how I change, or what season I'm in. His character is perfect, His word is true, and His love is persistent. James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is not variation or shadow due to change." What a lovely reminder. EVERYTHING good is from Him. Not from myself, not from anyone or anything else. Just Him. Even though I so easily forget things like this, He is patient with this finite girl. Just like Psalm 103: 14 says, "He remembers our frame; he remembers that we are dust."
How great is our God?
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Teacher or Student?
Hello, friends!
It's time for another post. One of the most interesting, yet best, things about student teaching is how much I'm LEARNING. My professors at Cedarville have always told us that teachers never stop learning, and that we should have teachable attitudes and spirits. MAN, am I realizing what they are talking about!
I have a group of students who are very different and have a few challenging needs. However, they LOVE coming to school, they LOVE learning, and they treat each other very well. I would take this group over a smart, yet unloving and disrespectful group any day! Even though it's frustrating at times, I am learning a lot about differentiation, accommodating my students, being an expert observer of my kiddos, and a lot about PATIENCE. I have learned that I will never have the perfect class. There will always be students who struggle to keep up. The important thing? Taking them from where they WERE, and getting them as far as they can go during my time with them. I am thankful for this challenge! And I am also thankful for the great group of teachers who are surrounding me and so willing to help me and answer my "rookie" questions. ;)
Want to know another exciting thing? I have a phone interview on Friday, and will be talking to another school about setting up an interview soon! 2 interviews already? How cool is my God?? How gracious is He?? I'm not going to say where they are or with which schools (just in case they don't work out;)) Those will be coming up soon!
Aside from teaching, I'm learning a lot about the different facets of my Savior, and how those apply to my weird phase that I'm in right now. I'm in a constant back-and-forth dialogue with myself about being okay with not knowing what my future holds, and being completely freaked out about not knowing. Growing up is such a strange thing! I want my desires to be what His are. I don't want to force anything, but I also realize that God gives us desires for a reason.
If you have any wise words for anything I've talked about, please comment or message me sometime! I love listening to people who have walked this road before me. I definitely know that I'm young and don't know everything. I want to be a sponge that is....teachable. ;)
Until next time!
It's time for another post. One of the most interesting, yet best, things about student teaching is how much I'm LEARNING. My professors at Cedarville have always told us that teachers never stop learning, and that we should have teachable attitudes and spirits. MAN, am I realizing what they are talking about!
I have a group of students who are very different and have a few challenging needs. However, they LOVE coming to school, they LOVE learning, and they treat each other very well. I would take this group over a smart, yet unloving and disrespectful group any day! Even though it's frustrating at times, I am learning a lot about differentiation, accommodating my students, being an expert observer of my kiddos, and a lot about PATIENCE. I have learned that I will never have the perfect class. There will always be students who struggle to keep up. The important thing? Taking them from where they WERE, and getting them as far as they can go during my time with them. I am thankful for this challenge! And I am also thankful for the great group of teachers who are surrounding me and so willing to help me and answer my "rookie" questions. ;)
Want to know another exciting thing? I have a phone interview on Friday, and will be talking to another school about setting up an interview soon! 2 interviews already? How cool is my God?? How gracious is He?? I'm not going to say where they are or with which schools (just in case they don't work out;)) Those will be coming up soon!
Aside from teaching, I'm learning a lot about the different facets of my Savior, and how those apply to my weird phase that I'm in right now. I'm in a constant back-and-forth dialogue with myself about being okay with not knowing what my future holds, and being completely freaked out about not knowing. Growing up is such a strange thing! I want my desires to be what His are. I don't want to force anything, but I also realize that God gives us desires for a reason.
If you have any wise words for anything I've talked about, please comment or message me sometime! I love listening to people who have walked this road before me. I definitely know that I'm young and don't know everything. I want to be a sponge that is....teachable. ;)
Until next time!
Saturday, January 10, 2015
The Semester of Lasts
Well, it has certainly been a long time since the last time I posted! I really kind of forgot all about this blog. However, I think I'm going to start it back up again because I want to keep track of my journey of my last semester at Cedarville, and my student teaching! For those who read this, now you can have updates on what's going on and can pray for me! I'll definitely need it.
Here is the background of my student teaching:
My spring semester last year I was placed at Cherry Hill Primary in a little town called Washington Court House about 40 minutes away from campus. I was placed with a second grade class and a teacher whose name is Mrs. Carter. We had such a great relationship! Not only did she share her class with me for a month, she taught me how to be a better teacher. She took me under her wing, as did the other women in our pod. Here's how Cherry Hill works: there are 8 second grade classrooms, and they are split in half. 4 teachers are considered one "pod," and the other 4 are another. The teachers in the pods work closely together and collaborate on a daily basis and have weekly meetings. The teachers who were in my pod last year are the same I am with now. Mrs. Meriweather, who is who I'm with currently, was right next door to Mrs. Carter and I. I got to know her pretty well, and she requested me for this year for my student teaching. How good is God?! So this summer, we were emailed and told that if we wanted to be placed somewhere specific for student teaching, we needed to let Cedarville know so they could start that process. Well, I may or may not have forgotten to do that. BUT, one day in July, I believe, I received an email from our placement lady that said I had been placed at Cherry Hill, in second grade, with Cyndi Meriweather. The Lord completely dropped it in my lap. I could get teary just thinking about it!
I was supposed to start my student teaching on Tuesday, but we had a snow day! I was kind of bummed, but also thankful because I really didn't sleep well Monday night. I've never been able to sleep very soundly the night before a new field experience starts. So it was a rather restless sleep. I was woken up around 5:45 am to my phone ringing. "Good morning, dear. This is Mrs. Meriweather. School is closed today!" My sweet mentor teacher called me. So no school! I used my extra day to pick up my roommate, Hannah, from the airport, clean out my desk, and just relax. Wednesday came, which brought a 2 hour delay. I could hardly contain my excitement as we (2 other Cedarville students are at Cherry Hill with me!) pulled into the parking lot. At about 11:00, the students started trickling in. It was SUCH a good day. I immediately started trying to memorize all the students' names and figure them out. Thursday we had ANOTHER snow day. I was pretty disappointed. It was hard getting all geared up for our first week, and then hardly be there! But I guess that we are being taught flexibility, which Mrs. Carter taught me is a HUGE part of being a teacher! Friday we had ANOTHER 2 hour delay, but at least I got to go! I have the students' names down, began planning for when I start teaching next week, and I got to do a read aloud with the kiddos!
I'm going to try to post here as much as possible for those who are wanting to keep up with my life at Cedarville and my student teaching! As things get busier...who knows that this will look like :) Hopefully once a week, at least.
I can't wait to see what the Lord teaches me this semester, and how He uses me! Please pray that I will be a willing vessel for Him, and that I am balanced with my life and that I don't get too stressed.
Until next time!
Here is the background of my student teaching:
My spring semester last year I was placed at Cherry Hill Primary in a little town called Washington Court House about 40 minutes away from campus. I was placed with a second grade class and a teacher whose name is Mrs. Carter. We had such a great relationship! Not only did she share her class with me for a month, she taught me how to be a better teacher. She took me under her wing, as did the other women in our pod. Here's how Cherry Hill works: there are 8 second grade classrooms, and they are split in half. 4 teachers are considered one "pod," and the other 4 are another. The teachers in the pods work closely together and collaborate on a daily basis and have weekly meetings. The teachers who were in my pod last year are the same I am with now. Mrs. Meriweather, who is who I'm with currently, was right next door to Mrs. Carter and I. I got to know her pretty well, and she requested me for this year for my student teaching. How good is God?! So this summer, we were emailed and told that if we wanted to be placed somewhere specific for student teaching, we needed to let Cedarville know so they could start that process. Well, I may or may not have forgotten to do that. BUT, one day in July, I believe, I received an email from our placement lady that said I had been placed at Cherry Hill, in second grade, with Cyndi Meriweather. The Lord completely dropped it in my lap. I could get teary just thinking about it!
I was supposed to start my student teaching on Tuesday, but we had a snow day! I was kind of bummed, but also thankful because I really didn't sleep well Monday night. I've never been able to sleep very soundly the night before a new field experience starts. So it was a rather restless sleep. I was woken up around 5:45 am to my phone ringing. "Good morning, dear. This is Mrs. Meriweather. School is closed today!" My sweet mentor teacher called me. So no school! I used my extra day to pick up my roommate, Hannah, from the airport, clean out my desk, and just relax. Wednesday came, which brought a 2 hour delay. I could hardly contain my excitement as we (2 other Cedarville students are at Cherry Hill with me!) pulled into the parking lot. At about 11:00, the students started trickling in. It was SUCH a good day. I immediately started trying to memorize all the students' names and figure them out. Thursday we had ANOTHER snow day. I was pretty disappointed. It was hard getting all geared up for our first week, and then hardly be there! But I guess that we are being taught flexibility, which Mrs. Carter taught me is a HUGE part of being a teacher! Friday we had ANOTHER 2 hour delay, but at least I got to go! I have the students' names down, began planning for when I start teaching next week, and I got to do a read aloud with the kiddos!
I'm going to try to post here as much as possible for those who are wanting to keep up with my life at Cedarville and my student teaching! As things get busier...who knows that this will look like :) Hopefully once a week, at least.
I can't wait to see what the Lord teaches me this semester, and how He uses me! Please pray that I will be a willing vessel for Him, and that I am balanced with my life and that I don't get too stressed.
Until next time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)