Yet another reason NOT to miss the bus.....

For approximately a week now I've been having the following conversation with a sweet student in my class every single morning:
Student walks through the door. I call him over and say repeatedly, "I love you." To which I NEVER receive a response .....until I say, "Do you love me?" he always replies, "YES," with a Huge smile on his face. Then I continue to ask him if his Mommy loves him, if his Daddy loves him, if his friends love him and so on. With each question his smile gets larger and he always responds, "YES." Everyday after these questions are asked and the same responses are given I say, " how do you know we love you?" And he replies, "Because we love with our hearts."

Well yesterday after he replied" Because we love with our hearts," I asked, "why." And he said," the Bible says so its in the verse...." I continued to ask what verse for several minutes and he finally says, " Love the LORD with all your heart, that's what the Bible says."

I don't know when the last time I recited this verse was but immediately I began to say out loud, "Trust in the LORD with with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge HiM and HE will direct your paths!"

I swear I couldn't control the tears for the next five or ten minutes. God is so HUGE and he is using a four year old to lead me to scripture. I was amazed and in awe of what took place.

I know that this life that I'm living is not my forever life. I understand that I am "walking through" what feels like "the shadow of death." But I do trust and believe that He is going to give me the strength to get through it.

Thanks to HIM I didn't "MISS THE BUS" yesterday! I see the real picture. And I'm so thankful that HE uses even the smallest of the small to make sure we know HE is right with us when the going gets tough.

MY STOREY

If you would have asked me what I wanted to be when I was four, I’m sure I would have told you that I wanted to be a teacher.  I loved school and my teachers.  I attended a private preschool in Dublin, GA called “The Learning Tree.”  My teachers were loving, creative, and fun!  My positive schooling experience continued as I walked through a door covered from floor to ceiling with an apple tree on the first day of Kindergarten.  I vividly remember searching for my name on those red apples, excited about being in Mrs. McClendon’s class. 

Being born to a Minister of Music/ teacher, and teacher candidate at Tift College, in Forsyth, GA I spent most of my waking hours in church or in a classroom.  I didn’t have much of a chance to escape from the profession when I really think about it.  As a senior in high school I had the opportunity to spend two hours a day in a kindergarten classroom as part of a sociology class.  Although I enjoyed my experience, I entered Mercer University in the fall of 98’ and declared Psychology as my major. At the end of my first semester sophomore year I had begun to think that psychology might not be my best option.  My advisor met with me and suggested that I think about the school of education.  Within days I was enrolled in education courses and on my way to becoming a teacher.  Five semesters later and perfect grade point average in the school of education, I knew I had made the right decision. 

My first year of teaching is somewhat of a blur.  I survived!  As most teachers do, I learned a great deal about what not to do the following year.  After a year in South Carolina, I was craving Georgia soil beneath my feet and I set my sights on Atlanta.  I was hired to teach kindergarten at Riverdale Elementary School in Riverdale, GA.  During my five years at Riverdale Elementary I was mentored by my literacy coaches and counselor. I really began to plant my feet firmly in Best Practices.  As a Reading First Title I school, we lived and breathed reading.  I am thankful for the opportunity this provided me to receive in depth on the job training in Reading instruction. 

At the end of my five years at Riverdale Elementary I married my high school sweetheart and decided to take some time off to travel with him.  It wasn’t long after we moved to Seattle that I realized that I had to find my way back to the classroom.  I spent the next year substituting and looking for a teaching position in Chicago.  Fifteen interviews and two job fairs in Chicago landed me a job in Macon, GA.  How, I’m not quite sure, but life has a way of figuring itself out. 

I spent my first year back in Macon teaching Math to kindergarten through fifth grade students.  I learned one thing during that 180 day school year.  My heart belongs to young children.  I spent the summer as a paraprofessional in a Pre-K Summer school program.  The program targeted pre-K students that needed extra support before entering kindergarten. 

That summer changed my life.  I knew that I enjoyed my profession.  I knew that I loved teaching kindergarten. I knew that I loved a five-year olds’ enthusiasm for learning. What I didn’t know was that I am a Pre-K teacher. One day into the program I was begging the Pre-K director to help me find a job.  Walking into the classroom that summer I felt more alive than I’ve ever felt.  Like the students, my imagination was allowed to run wild with ideas of themes to teach, experiments to try, new things to explore.  The possibilities were endless. 

I was hired at Springdale Elementary school during pre-planning. My classroom would be an addition to the program.  I started the first day of school with twenty chairs, two tables, a carpet, a paraprofessional, and twenty students.  To me it didn’t matter.  These empty walls became the canvas for all types of adventures.

Student-centered learning became a reality.  Ideas for the next theme to teach came from discussions we had as a class.  My training from Riverdale Elementary came in handy as I incorporated differentiated instruction through small groups.  Most of my students were reading before the year ended.  More importantly, I know that what we do in Pre-K is developmentally appropriate for children.  Imaginations soar, ideas flourish, students live daily in community with others t, and they love to learn.  Each day they come to school like fresh sponges ready to soak up any information that you give to them.  Each day is a new adventure with new things to see, and experience.  Some days superheroes walk through the door, other days a rock band with a stage made from hollow wooden blocks appears during work time, no adventure any less enjoyable than the day before. 

See, the thing is I have the best job, in the best school, with the best administrators teachers, and staff, with the best students and parents, but I want more.  I teach everyday like it’s the last time I’ll stand before students and impart knowledge.  I work harder everyday than the day before.  I try to stay one step ahead.  I love what I do, I feel blessed to wake up everyday and do it.