One teaching week in...Apparently it feels like 100 days...

Day 20: Wednesday, August 29

A new teacher came to live with me last night. She is staying here until her house is ready. We aren’t sure how long that will take, but it’s okay because she’s very sweet and I really appreciate the company! I've been alone for a full week, so it's nice to have someone at home to chat with. She’s teaching Grade 4 because the former teacher is unable to be here right now. I had a lovely Wednesday morning - enjoyed the sunrise behind our house (hadn’t really noticed it before, but I took the time to catch it before driving into work!) I have had a full week of teaching now, so I suppose I was feeling a little more accustom to the routine - I was able to relax and feel a bit more confident this morning.

I had a little meeting with Al however, and I felt a little shaky, but it went well. I have a “tips for new teachers” book which offers me some helpful advice - I read that and felt very encouraged! Anytime I’m reminded that SEVERAL others have started scary new careers and survived through it - I’m encouraged!

One of my students brought in an orange plastic microscope today and I thought that was pretty cute, since we’d briefly talked about microscopes during our read-aloud in health the day before. Once again - it’s proof that they’re paying attention! This morning, the Lord’s prayer wasn’t over the intercom so we said it together anyway and then I said a quick prayer for our class right after...the kids didn’t object, so that’s good!

I was explaining a little bit about the importance of talking with God when one of my students randomly raised their hand and started talking about a monkey....huh?! Oh Grade 2 brains - they’re always amusing to me! I asked my class if it felt like we had been together five days already - some said it felt shorter, because time is flying...some said it felt longer - like 100 days! I’m not sure how it feels to me...still way too new to be 100 days though.

We read a Whinnie the Pooh book about Tigger losing his stripes, feeling like he lost his identity....after some soul searching, he spoke with Eeyore who reminded him that he’d always be Tigger, even without his stripes - it’s what’s on the inside that counts...awe! This was a nice story to read, I enjoyed it a lot. I’d like to thank my Mom and Glennys Eddy, a lady from my church. They both sent me with some childrens‘ books which have provided me with a great start to my classroom library. The kids are enjoying them in morning read-aloud and personal quiet read time!
My VP & the Meadow Lake Tribal council superintendent came into my classroom at one point, I honestly can’t even remember what we were doing when they were in there, but we did show him one of our songs! He seemed impressed...it was the calendar song. 

I’m just listing some random thoughts that I have listed from the day...
Before heading home for lunch, one student said: “I like school.” I responded with “I’m so glad, I like when you come to school!”
All of my parent surveys have been returned - praise the Lord!
We had thunder/lightning in the afternoon and it was SO DISTRACTING! 
One student informed me that “angels cry when you lie.”

I have been teaching gym since I started, but soon the regular gym teacher will take over my class and that time will become my prep (three times a week for half an hour). Today was gym and I had my class lined up outside the gym when their normal gym teacher walked by they said: “Miss Henderson doesn’t know how to teach us gym” - I felt a little deflated...but it was also SUPER funny - and it’s true, I’m not sure HOW to teach these seven year olds gym - they are a HANDFUL in the gym. They want to run, play and be free - which is good for them, but it stresses me out to have them running around like a bunch of wild kids with equipment. I’m not quite at that comfort level yet...

One of my students wasn’t paying attention....so I used her full name...she replied with: “you said my name wrong .. and proceeded to tell me her ENTIRE name, including her two middle names. It was shocking to hear the attitude but also so cute and funny.

We had a discussion this afternoon about what school is for. Here are some of my students’ opinions:

“School is about having fun and learning and being kind to each other so that you aren’t dumb when you grow up!"

“School is about fun and you have to care and you can’t be mean and you have to take care of others and you could love each other, and then you could play with people. You have to learn and get different teachers.”

“School is having fun, not hurting each other and going outside. The higher the grades, the higher the numbers on math.”

“School is about at recess if you have snacks, you have to share with people and don’t be mean and don’t fight.”

Today felt like a Friday, probably because our first week of school was only three days long.

There is a replacement janitor cleaning the school right now. He’s a community member filling in until they hire someone full time. He’s so sweet...We’ll call him X for the purpose of this blog (we agreed upon that nickname). Sometimes after school, he turns the lights out on me once he’s done cleaning my room, as if to say “go home”... last night, he said...“as they say in hockey, get the puck outta here.” :) He always asks me, “what’s the matter Lucy?” and if I ask him how he is, he’ll say “okay” in Dene. We have some neat little chats and I’m thankful that someone is teaching me something about the language here! Anyway, there’s a little blurb about X. He usually brightens my day!

It’s amazing how productive you can be when you’re procrastinating...(I started planning after midnight tonight.) Part of my procrastination involved going through various teacher resources...I came across this and was really refreshed to read it: 

As a first-year teacher, you are going through a transition from being a student to being a professional educator. A transition like this involves a redefinition of your own identity. You are probably recognizing that this new set of professional expectations is demanding. It is not unusual for beginning teachers to feel overwhelmed by a workload that at times involves working late into the night, on weekends, over lunch and at recess. Does this sound like you? (YES!) Are you possibly getting pressure from your family to spend more time with them? Do your friends wonder why you’re not meeting them for coffee anymore? When you do catch up with them, do you find your mind drifting to what you are going to do in your second period class?

The first years of teaching are filled with high expectations, excitement, anticipation and lots of change. You are facing a challenge that all beginning teachers face – striking a balance. Balance in our lives does not happen incidentally; it needs to be planned for. 

[Side-note: now that I'm a month in, I'm learning to PLAN for the balance and God's been SO gracious to me in giving me time to get things accomplished - as well as some personal and family/friend catchup time! It's still tough, but it's getting MUCH better - especially in comparison to way back here!]

I had some country music playing and the other teacher staying with me said, “oh, you’re a country girl eh?” I didn’t mind that one bit, I think I am a country girl...which is probably why I feel right at home in Patuanak. It is a tiny little town, incase I have left that detail out. I think there are around 800 people total. We have  a Northern store, gas bar, church, post office, band hall, health clinic, school and a youth centre. I think that’s it? I love it! Everywhere is familiar and people are SO friendly.

Lacking creativity in this title: it's a Tuesday.

Day 19: Tuesday, August 28

I got my official first teacher apple, from a new student who hadn’t been to class until today! I was feeling hungry after school so it was the perfect little gift. Some of the students were explaining that she wouldn’t be coming to school, they said “Um, Miss Henderson, she isn’t coming to school anymore. She doesn’t want to meet you.” (I should know better than to believe everything that these children tell me...because soon after, she showed up with an apple for me!) When the new student came in, the kids were excited to see her again, they greeted her with hugs and some showed her our attendance system (such a proud moment for me as a new teacher) - each day we have put our red apples onto the tree to show who is here (the apples have their names on them. A very special thanks to Mrs. Stewart for those apples!

Wardrobe accusation of the day: “you’re wearing the same pants, I think.”  Oh heaven forbid, I wore black pants two days in a row.

We spent a good portion of the morning reviewing the rules - mostly for the student that had just joined us, but I figured it never hurts to drill the routine into the rest of them...as they are already forgetting a lot of the rules. I was AMAAZED and impressed with how many rules they remembered! They kept mentioning things....such as the star sticker achievement chart, our magnet warning/discipline system, our Classroom promise board, borrowing books, areas that are off limits, hand signals and instructions, WOW! I was so thrilled to hear my students (after four days) recalling most of the rules. Well, even if we haven’t all learned to read and write yet - we know most of the rules. Awesome. Does that mean they’re always followed? Absolutely not - and that’s okay. I have to be okay with that. I don’t always follow all of the rules, either.

I typically have a morning message on the white board during carpet time - and today it said .... “Today is Tuesday. What is another word that starts with the same letter?” Several students suggested “T” words and even one of my students who typically has a hard time staying focussed, he answered with the word “TANK” and I was so happy. It felt like a huge victory at the time.

I was trying to sit with 5 students and go over some language that was much too difficult, and one girl was clearly distracted, she asked: “are you wearing makeup? I like your eye shadow.” Wow, talk about off topic! I probably shouldn’t even bother wearing makeup...

One student said she wasn’t going to bring her books home because her parents wouldn’t read them to her. It was convicting, because I know she tries to come and visit me at my house sometimes, and it would be a good opportunity to read with her, but selfish Miss Henderson wants a break in the evenings. We’ll have to figure out a system or a time for them to come over and we can think about reading together.

I had to talk with one student TWICE today and after our second discussion today about what she had done to get so many warnings, she asked to place her hand on our Classroom Promise board. Marn gave me the idea of making a bulletin board where we could post the rules we came up with, and we could all trace our hands and sign them - to put our high five / handshake promises up there....so before heading outside, this little girl asked me if she could put her hand on the promise board. CUTE. “Of course you can.” It was as if she was re-promising to try and keep the rules. I loved that moment. I put my hand on the board, too. :)

Toward the end of the day, I was totally losing my students. “I want your friend that got married to come here...and Seth, too.” (They’re like celebrities in my class now haha.)

Two of my students hugged me before leaving...I think we’re making progress. How dare I assume that they would have loved me after the first day? These things take time.

I GOT MAIL TODAY: The Principal brought it down and I welled up with tears....Mom had sent me a super encouraging card, sealed with a kiss print on the envelope! THANKS MOM!

I got an email from a dear family member and was encouraged to checkout:

1 Peter 5:8-11.....⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

 He warned that I will likely be under spiritual attack this year, and I believe it. It's going to be a good time of testing though!

Okay, this next part is quite personal, but I want to share some deeper reflection from this particular Tuesday - after getting the email from my Uncle, I was apparently feeling convicted and this is what I wrote...(very thankful for your prayers!)

I am faced with making several decisions each day - (we all are) - I want to reflect Christ, and yet I’m still caught up in pleasing man. It’s time that I really look to CHRIST - to know HIM more, to know what HE would have me do. I want to dive in like never before. I know that God has me here for many purposes...and one of them is for personal spiritual growth (He always wants us to grow and in growing, to glorify Him, right? I often forget this). Unfortunately, I’ve been frantically TRYING on my own strength to keep up an appearance. I still want to be a good friend, daughter, roommate, teacher, Patuanak resident...I want to learn to keep up with cleaning a house, cooking meals....and then I’m here to start my career and pour into the lives of students. Hm. This is impossible for me. It is absolutely, 100% impossible. I’m being faced with this reality and it is convicting. I want to sincerely thank you all for your prayers. I was emailed by someone today who is convinced that this year will be a huge spiritual battle - and it’s becoming more and more apparent...so I feel the need to share it. I appreciate your prayer more than ever, but in return - I have to put on the Armor and FIGHT. I need to fight by praying, and praying for you, too. You’re all on awesome adventures of your own and you have the opportunity to glorify God’s name wherever you are. Are you doing that? I have not been doing that. There needs to be less of me and more of Him - I need to let JESUS‘ name be exalted. My blog is called “livingpsalm111” - but am I really living it? Am I really living out of reverence for my Lord? Am I really living to praise His name, or am I more concerned about my own comfort and reputation? Hm.
I need to abide in the Father...I need to count on HIM to develop the fruit of the spirit within me. How can I be a teacher who exemplifies GOODNESS if I’m not in Christ? How can I be a faithfully determined teacher if I’m not in Christ? How can I be full of patience for my students and fellow staff if I’m not in Christ? How can I live in JOY if I am not in Christ? How will I experience true peace apart from Christ?

Beautiful Beginning of the First Full Week!

Day 18: Monday, August 27

I know for a fact, I am TRULY not the 'best teacher'
- but these children are SO full of
grace and forgiveness and love,
I'm very thankful for that!

I had an encouraging start to the morning, Marie (ERI teacher) said to me “tomorrow will  always come, and some days the kids will be too busy or distracted to get their work done.” I was really relieved to hear that from an experienced educator. Basically - I need to relax. One day at a time.

The Lord’s prayer wasn’t over the intercom, so we said it anyway! I was able to tell the kids I had been praying for them. I’m not sure WHAT exactly that means to them...but God sure is giving me SEVERAL opportunities to mention His name, it’s very comfortable here.

One student asked about Seth & Micaela :) So I showed them a picture I had printed of Kaitie, Jess & Micaela - and my face on a stick! They were giggling and thought it was so funny. To this day, they still ask to look at the picture and they comment on it. They also make comments about Micaela’s eyes - they are SO fascinated with her eyes. Not many people around here have blue eyes and Micaela’s are especially expressive and big, so they find her very intriguing! I’ve included a few pictures of the cards they made for Seth and Cael in this blog post.

This was pretty special: our class leader chose “Goldilocks & the 3 bears” as our read-aloud in the morning, so I told my kids about when I was in Grade 2: for public speaking, I went to the gym and told the story of Goldilocks to my whole school. I went up there with 3 teddy bears and the kids seemed to think that was neat. It blew my mind to consider that I was THEIR AGE when I did that...now I’m teaching them. I’m a little surprised I didn’t start bawling at that moment. Anyway, I’ve included a picture of myself in Grade 2, on that storytelling day. Somehow we also got sharing sleepwalking stories, so I was able to tell them about a time when I walked out of my room, down the hall, my arms full of books because I was “going to the library.” We had some good laughs that morning.

For the math lesson, they worked at a little booklet of worksheets - to see where they’re at...some flew threw the sheets and wanted more - some struggled....they showed me many different ways of figuring out addition: counting with fingers and your chin, writing/drawing pictures to count or using plastic counters...It was eye opening for me! My prayer is that they’re learning as much or more than I am!

I was helping one student and he insisted that “in Grade 1 math, 2+2 was 3!” I had some students helping each other - how beautiful! Unfortunately, ‘helping each other’ consisted of showing each other the answers...(insert a mini-lesson on helping versus copying here.) At one point, the maintenance man came into my classroom (as he often does) and offered to go and setup any of my furniture that hadn’t already been setup, yay! I gave him my key and thanked him a lot. There wasn’t much left to be done, but our living room tables and a couple of random things.

Grade 2 students are INCREDIBLY observant: they notice everything! If I change something in the classroom - like if I put something up on the wall, or even today, I was warm so I changed my shirt at lunch time ... instantly accused: “teacher, you changed your shirt!” Why yes, yes I did. I like how they catch me on absolutely EVERYTHING and yet there are still things that go over their heads...it’s very interesting. I don’t think this paragraph makes much sense - but I’m still trying to figure out their mentalities.

We tried a calendar song today (inspired by the lovely Grade 1 teacher, Ms. J - we used the same tune but I changed the words slightly and added spontaneous actions) - “Today is Monday, today is Monday, all day long, all day long! Yesterday was Sunday, yesterday was Sunday, tomorrow is Tuesday, tomorrow is Tuesday!” They seemed into it! 

I had a student come up to me and say “you look pretty.” Leave it to children to encourage you when you don’t feel so pretty!

For a health class, we reviewed the five senses - they should have learned about them in Grade one, and they did. I asked “why do we have five senses?” The expected answer is “to explore the world around us” - so that we can see, hear, taste, touch, smell. I was thinking to myself, “God wanted us to have five senses to enjoy and experience his creation...” I was SO excited when one of my girls said “because God made us that way!” :)

Incredibly stressful first experience: lost a student...well, sorta. I had been warned that this particular child would randomly take off - sometimes I should go and retrieve him, sometimes it’s impossible to round him up and it’s not a good idea to leave my 14 other students...I called home after school to explain that he took off during gym and I didn’t realize he had actually LEFT the school (sometimes he just roams the halls and because of his attention, I think he needs to) but he actually left, so I called home to ensure he made it safely...unfortunately, he wasn’t home at the first place I called...they called back to let me know he was at his grandparents - thank the LORD! Oh boy. What am I getting myself into. I think I cried a little bit, mostly with relief...and some fear at what was to come. The VP and another teacher reassured me that they weren’t concerned, this is a very typical scenario and it’s a safe community, so we don’t have to worry too much. All I can do is call and keep the parents/guardians informed. Okay. The VP also said, “make sure you don’t stay here all night, eh?” That was nice to hear, I don’t want to be a workaholic (and I’m DEFINITELY not) - but as a new teacher (and a slow one), I tend to stay at the school for a couple of hours, tidying up, making plans, thinking, etc. I felt her blessing to leave early some days. 

As I was driving home from school that day, I drove by a boy wearing a camouflage blanket, just wandering down the dirt road by himself...of course, that was my little runaway. Such a cutie.

Weird and Wonderful Weekend

Day 16: Saturday, August 25

Talking with a special friend, so cute!

(My second weekend in the Patch was nice...strange, but nice. It is SO weird looking back through my old journal notes to write up this blog - soon I should be caught up! I’m confusing the tenses as I write...sometimes I write as if it’s in the present and sometimes it’s in the past...please bare with me! Eventually I plan to condense and leave out a lot more detail - but for now, I've got lists of things to share!)
If you recall, I had a bit of a scare last night (Friday night) because of the wind/door situation. Al called on Saturday morning to check on me and I really appreciated that. The school counselor ALSO called to check on me, I suppose Al was really concerned about my comfort - that was reassuring. I felt like such a baby when I had to explain it was only the wind and I really was okay. Overall, it was a humorous situation. Turns out Al was planning to head to Meadow Lake that morning, but because of the rain, he decided it wasn’t worth risking that gravel road tour! It gets PRETTY rough when there has been enough rain. Be warned of this if you come to visit :)

sweet little girls and some sweet music

Two neighbourhood girls came over and asked about my piano, it was sitting out in the living room. I asked if they wanted me to play and they said yes, so I began to plunk away (it’s been awhile since I’ve practiced regularly)...They had never heard anyone play piano before, wow! I played “Come, now is the time to worship” and then they took a turn. It was so precious, I really enjoyed that time with them.

Saturday evening was nice; the smell of food cooking (cuz my stove finally works!), the sound of rain and fourwheelers whizzing by...and my dining room furniture was being setup by my new teacher friend Chester! I cooked some supper for us and he assembled my table/chairs - awesome! 

mmm, seems like fresh veggies
don't last long around here...

THANK YOU CHESTER! (he offered to do this!)

Jess - this makes me miss you!

SNAZZY diningroom set - thanks ERFN!

I like Saturdays. I haven’t done much teaching prep, but tomorrow after I go to Mass, I plan on devoting most of the afternoon to teaching stuff.

Day 17: Sunday August 26

Mass was at 10:30, I went in and they were praying, mostly hard to understand...I think it was in Dene? The sweet thing about being in church, among believers - is that I can just pray too and really, God understands all of us - so that was cool.

It was actually literally QUITE cool in there - it’s a structure but not a closed in building....today was a dreary day so I had quite a chill, even though I was wearing tights, dress pants AND a big long sweater! 

I was sitting by myself in a pew near the front for the first while, until a friendly familiar face from the Northern store came to sit near me. There was a lot of prayer, choruses, standing, sitting, some structured rituals, some reading from the ‘word of the Lord.’ It was a beautiful service, but definitely very different from what I’m used to. The gospel message was preached - the priest talked about how we need Jesus to pay for our sins, and we serve ONE God who alone is Holy. The Priest/father welcomed us to the “celebration of God’s love” and I really did feel God’s love. It was a bit dark and dreary and unfamiliar...but I’m glad that I went, I think it was more valuable than not. I was happy to be in a room with other people who at least believe in God or the idea of Him! There were mostly middle aged to elderly people there...I noticed ONE child below the age of 10, and she's from my class, so that was neat. They were sitting directly in front of me.

There was a man who was playing guitar at the front of the building and I recognized him. He said hi after the service and asked if I was the new teacher. We had met at the beach, he’s one of the elders. I reminded him of my name and told him that I’m teaching Grade 2....his response was: “ah yes, I have to be back to grade 2”... Hmm...no thanks!

I met the husband of the lady from the Northern Store and he asked, “What religion are you?” I explained that I have faith/relationship with God, Jesus (or something to that effect) and he answered with: “Oh, everyone here is catholic.... perhaps you’ll switch by June!” That was an interesting chat!

Later that afternoon, I headed to school to get some planning/organizing done and a few students were in the school because the gym was being used for sports. One girl said to me, “You’re from Ontario?” I wish I was from there...so that I could see Justin Bieber!” The girls were helping me rearrange desks in my classroom.

Alright, time to head into my first full week of teaching!

MICAELA AND SETH ARE GETTING MARRIED TODAY!

Day 15: Friday, August 24

I woke up to a beautiful pinky red sky and some lovely clouds. Thanks Lord! I thought...of course the sky is beautiful, two of my most beautiful friends are getting MARRIED TODAY! (Yes Seth and Cael, you were one of my first thoughts on that day.) 

Some of you may know, upon receiving this job offer - I was presented with (honestly) one of the toughest decisions I’ve personally had to make (I know, I’m fortunate that this is one of the toughest) - I knew that upon accepting this teaching position, I would not be home for the wedding of one of my childhood best friends! It’s a big deal. I was honoured to be invited to stand up with them and after an evening of tears, prayer and talking with many trusted and loved ones, I decided to accept the job and backout as a bridesmaid. Micaela (and her family/other friends) were MORE than supportive in encouraging me to take advantage of this opportunity. (THANK YOU!) I felt very selfish for taking the job but also recognized the importance of work...either way, I felt caught. However, in the end, I certainly felt a lot of peace and blessing in taking the job and moving up here. Micaela is so understanding and handled the situation with a lot of grace. I had to get over myself and live with the consequences of my decision; it was humbling for me, because God slapped me in the face with this: “Um, Micaela does not need YOU to be there! She’s marrying SETH, remember? It’s about them getting married and ME (God) being glorified...it isn’t about Mars being there to watch, wear a pretty dress and take pictures!” Oh. Right. It was then I realized that I’m selfish for wanting to stay and for wanting to go because I really WANTED to be there (for them AND for me...I love weddings... and I kinda love those two! :) 
That explanation became a very strange and confusing paragraph...But those are SOME of my thoughts surrounding missing their wedding!

 Anyway. Enough about that! All this to say, I was happy that morning, excited for my two friends and excited to tell my kids all about it. I was able to call Micaela the night before and we chatted a bit, it was really a beautiful little chat, before she fell asleep on the eve of her marriage beginning!

It was my first Friday as a teacher and that meant that I could wear JEANS - hallelujah! I brought in the shoes from Cael’s wedding and set them on my desk. I had the teal-coloured flower headband from the wedding shower in my hair and of course, the kids commented on that! 

I got into school and one of the special education staff members handed me more helpful resources. I was so happy and thanked her, to which she replied... “well, I want you to stay!” That was an encouraging start to the day, she is the mom of one of my students.
I was in the Grade 1 room chatting with my ‘informally-declared mentor teacher’ (LOVE HER) - and I explained that one of my very best friends (born two days apart AND related) - she was getting married...she was SO understanding of my position and it was then that I started to tear up. God quickly dried the tears that were forming and I walked into my classroom feeling excited and reminded that I was SUPPOSED to be there.

I explained at the start of the day that my friends were getting married and a lot of questions came up (of course) - “what is a wedding?” This gave me an opportunity to BRIEFLY inform them about a forever promise that two people who love each other make. This led to them discussing babies, etc. haha...so cute. I told them that later on in the day we would make cards to send to Seth and Micaela...it was the third day of school and we were still getting to know each other. I figured a little activity like this would show them the importance of friends, marriage and doing nice things for each other! I still have to send the package away, but I know my students are anxious to hear Seth and Micaela’s response! I showed them a picture of Seth and Micaela and we made a little “congrats video” to send as well.

The brief marriage talk NATURALLY led into this question (it went something like this): “Teacher, when did you be married?”

“Oh, I’m not married.” (smiling)

“When will you?”

“Ohh, maybe someday...”

“Then you’ll get a big belly?”

AH, I love these children and the things they come up with.

So, as I’m sure you can guess - we had a great Friday at school! One girl mentioned Jesus at carpet time - she was talking about how Jesus took her baby brother because he was ‘too good’.... and then when we were doing our alphabet and coming up with “J” words - one girl said JESUS! I instantly reacted with “he’s my favourite!” :) it was super exciting. What a sweet privilege. I didn’t have to mention Jesus’ name - some of my kids KNOW about Him. God’s making it VERY clear to me that He is alive and working here - it’s not so much about “me bringing Jesus to these kids” - but letting Him shine through and be glorified in whatever way possible. I’m not so sure that Jesus took her brother because he was too good...but I like the fact that these kids can find comfort in the person of Jesus Christ. 

First Friday - happy weekend! It was only 3 days, but it was exhausting...

I came home to have THIRTEEN new voicemail messages - not to brag, but I was feeling overwhelmingly blessed! Of course, there was one from my mother, updating me on the weather for the wedding day...started off as a rainy day, but of course - the sun shone through for the outdoor ceremony at Micaela’s house. Of course my thoughtful Mom even called when Pastor Steve was welcoming everyone to the ceremony - it was so neat to hear a voicemail with the intro to the wedding! She filled me in on Seth tearing up as Micaela came grinning down the aisle...she gave me a nice little play-by-play and said it looked like they had fun - of course they did. Thanks Mom - that helped to make my day SO special! The rest of the messages were from various loved ones - saying hello, updating me on the day...Dalton and Pam made sure I knew that my mom looked AWESOME in her red dress! ;) I won’t write about all of my messages haha - but thanks to everyone whose voice helped to make me feel like I was there! Mom called again that evening and put the BRIDE AND GROOM on the phone (they happened to be walking by her when she called)! I am actually spoiled. I shrieked out loud and got a lil choked up when on the phone with them, but they sounded so happy, I pulled myself together. (Bawled when we got off the phone, it was bound to happen eventually.) 

Auntie Janine had also rushed home after the ceremony and sent me some video clips of the ceremony - everyone looked AWESOME and what a GORGEOUS day! That was really sweet/thoughtful of her.

Joe’s message was really cute and funny, I typed it out: “Hi Marzipan, wish you were here! Hope all the kids are abiding by the rules and stuff.” For the most part, they are abiding!

That night, I was on the phone with Holly when the SCARIEST sound ever happened at the door...it sounded like someone was trying to break into my house! I panicked a little bit - looked out the window and could NOT see who was at the door...I saw my flimsy little outside door was open...but it sounded like someone was banging into the door and trying to turn the knob! Holly reminded me to pray so we had a sweet little time of prayer on the phone - thanks for that Holl! I didn’t have the RCMP number written down, but I had Al’s number so I called him up and he drove over...He laughed at me when we realized it was just the door blowing open and hitting up against the other door. He called and left a message later to check in on me and remind me that people around here don’t normally give the teachers a hard time. It was very kind of him to check on me. The school counselor called the next morning to check on me too. This should give you an idea of how sweet the people up here are!
I called Holly back and she read me this verse:

Deuteronomy 31 vs. 6 - a much needed reminder!
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

I hadn’t really ever felt very scared upon moving here...but that night, I was reminded of my deep need to trust in the Father and NOT give in to fear; it gives the devil such a foothold.

My uncle left me a cute phone message implying that he was very worried about me (I was behind in my blogging, as I still am). I’m hesitant to add SO many details but I don’t want to leave significant things out...much of what I type won’t necessarily be significant to all of you, and I’m updating it a couple of weeks late, but it’s neat to go through the details of each day - such an adventure. Thanks for being patient readers of my rambles...and for praying! Our God is real and I pray that you experience that wherever you are.

Here we go again...Day 2 with the kiddies!

Day 14: Thursday, August 23, 2012

I woke up feeling refreshed...asked the Lord to take over the day...Mom sent me a few emails that caused me to cry before heading into work for the day, but I was feeling much better and less overwhelmed than the night before. She sent a beautiful story and an inspirational poem about teaching. I want to LOVE AND TEACH THOSE KIDS and not be distracted by “the job” and the heaviness that comes with responsibility.

At this point, I need to be constantly reminded that it takes TIME to transition and adapt as a teacher - and it will be that way throughout my entire career...seeing as there are always new things to face. I actually caught myself saying at the end of today “wow, I’m turning into a Grade 2!” I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not...?

It felt more normal today...I felt happy and more excited when I got to school. This morning I was reading a story at the carpet and it was called “DINOFOURS” and it was about a little girl dinosaur who went on a trip with her class to the ocean. She was SO scared to try swimming...but then she thought back on all of the brave things she had done, all of her valuable experiences, and that helped her to feel more ready for swimming in the ocean. Her teacher encouraged her and offered to hold her hand. With each wave that came, the little Dinosaur had more fun and felt more comfortable. This is how I feel about teaching! (Not only the fact that I have a responsibility to encourage and help these children to try new experiences...) But I also feel like the scared little dinosaur, jumping into the waves! I know that’s incredibly cheesy - but I can’t simply ignore a good analogy like that!

At the end of the story, the Dinosaur sang a song about swimming in the ocean. I made up some random tune...some of the boys plugged their ears - so I decided to try rapping...they seemed to like that much more!

While I was reading the story...someone ‘let one go’ - it was quite obvious...a couple giggled and one girl went “EWW” - I quickly said “everyone toots, don’t worry about it” and kept reading - I didn’t hear any comments or laughter after that!

One little girl brought some things from home to put on her desk - the Holy Bible was one of them. I pointed to it and simply said “Hey, that’s my favourite book!” God is giving me many sweet little opportunities throughout the day.

I drew a cartoon teacher on a piece of paper today and asked the kids to tell me what a good teacher is...one girl said “they should wear their hair up” (I was wearing mine down) - “Oh, you don’t like my hair?” and she shook her head. It was so funny!

I use a ‘magnet’ system for management. The attendance is done with apple name tags stuck on the blackboard, so if I have to give a student a warning about something - I put a yellow magnet on their apple. If I have to warn them AGAIN - I put a white magnet on there which means that we have to have a chat about their behaviour. If they do it AGAIN after the chat, then I put a blue magnet on and that means we need to agree on a consequence for their behaviour. (They suggested a timeout but I’m not so sure that sitting out of work or activity is the best plan.) Also - the colours are totally random based on what magnets were on my blackboard...it was a fairly spontaneous strategy! Today I had my first “chat” with one student...she looked so innocent and cute - she even reminded me at recess that we needed to have a chat. We sat down and I asked her if she knew why we were chatting and she quickly responded... “yes, because we need to respect the teacher when she’s talking.” How can you possibly be hard on a child like that?! I definitely need to work on being a little more stern. I thanked her and explained that she is respectful some of the time, but sometimes she interrupts me so she has to be careful. It was a nice chat. I hope that I don’t have to do many more of those!

Here are a few little smile-stories that I remember from my second day...

We filled out an “All About Me” poster today to put on the bulletin board outside our  classroom door (when Miss Henderson FINALLY puts up the background and border...) and one of the boxes on the poster is “I want to be when I grow up...” - and one girl said, a VAMPIRE. Oh dear. Hilarious.

We talked about being good vs. being perfect. I said... “who in here is perfect?” One girl raised her hand. “I am, I am perfect.” That led into an interesting discussion!

There are many sweet moments throughout the day, one today was a girl looking at my rings, she said she liked them and that the green one is her favourite. :) I was happy to call home afterward and tell Mom, she gave it to me for graduation.

Today as my kids were leaving out the door, one turned to me and said... “Teacher, I met you yesterday?” .... I thought about it for a second and said yes, yes you did - but it seems like it’s been longer than that, doesn’t it? She agreed. I think that’s a good thing? Hard to say...

We three primary teachers are ALREADY dressing alike - we all had tan capris on today...each of us wearing a brightly coloured shirt - me in blue, Grade 1 teacher in pink and Grade 3 in purple. I love coincidences like that.

After school, my teacher friend (also new to Patuanak) came to ask me some questions - he wanted my list of teacher websites from my year at good ole Nipissing! He also helps me out tech-wise and gives us little lessons...so helpful!

I also chatted with the Grade 1 teacher about plans - reassuring. And I wrecked the laminator. She gave me fair warning on how to use it and what to watch for...it was going SO well for SO long - I laminated most of my calendar pieces but then the plastic role started to run out and I didn’t notice.

thank you for the encouragement, Jess!

 Thursday night was the first night that I could cook at home....(the super nice maintenance guy fixed my stove - twas a breaker issue again!) - and I fried an egg. Pathetic first meal to cook, I know. YUMMY though, and it’s exactly what I wanted!

pre-wreckage of the laminator...