school is in session!

We made it through our first month of school!  The teachers are doing a great job, the kids are settling in, and learning is happening!  Praise God!  Because of the public school schedule, we won't be able to take a class of four-year-olds like we were hoping, but we have plenty of work focusing on kindergarten, first grade, and second grade!  Dalexi, Antonia, and Dudu have really stepped up to the task of everything that I have asked them to do - they've been willing to make lots of crazy changes to the way we do class, the way they teach, the way we discipline, everything.

An unexpected change to my job (already, I know...) is that I am once again teaching first grade.  This year I'm co-teaching with Dalexi.  We have 18 little guys; I teach phonics, reading, and handwriting through the Rod and Staff curriculum and workbooks for an hour each day.  Then I get them settled in their centers, supervise center time, and help them clean up.  Dalexi teaches the last 45 minutes of class, teaching math, helping the kids do their public school homework, and reading them a story.

I LOVE teaching.  I love being in the classroom with the kids.  I'll take teaching over office work any day, even on the days when the kids are out of control and I almost lose my voice by the end of class.  They have stolen my heart - all of them.  It's been fun to get to know their little personalities.  And we've managed to learn all 5 vowels so far!  I'm looking forward to starting reading groups during center time soon and being able to work more individually with them.

Please keep praying for us as we continue in the school year.  Pray for continued energy, wisdom, and creativity for us teachers.  Pray that God would open the minds of the kids to learn to read and their hearts to learn about him.  Pray that we will show God's love in every interaction we have with the kids.

Here is a link to the photo album of pictures from our first few days of school.

Here are my first graders.  So cute!  They bring me lots of joy with their precious smiles, hugs, and yelling "prooooofeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" (that's really how they yell it!)  Remember to click on the picture to make it bigger.