Let's set the scene: all girls' elementary academy, main office. Characters: Four Secondary Education Majors and a an overenthusiastic secretary. Question posed: Who wants to be in the Kindergarten classroom?
That is exactly what we all walked into yesterday morning for our last Thursday of observations this semester. After observing in numerous grade schools and high schools, each one of my observation friends confirmed that elementary ed is not for them. Except, I had some seconds thoughts. I absolutely LOVE little kids, especially when I can teach them about God (I'm a Theology minor, you know). So, guess who volunteered for the sake of the children to observe the Kindergarten class? ME!
I walked into the classroom, dressed in my business attire and heels. Had I known I would be in the Kindergarten room, I would have worn pants and flats. But alas, God gives us all blessings when we least expect them. And so, we headed to pick up our lovely children from the gym and join them in prayer. It was so great. Finally, we were in the classroom. The first lesson was a Spanish lesson and I simply observed the girls as they learned, studying each girl's personality and knowing which ones would automatically claim me as their best friend. Right away, I spotted a little girl who could easily be described as a "problem" child. However, there was more to her than originally meets the eye. She had a LOT of depth. She was observant but bored. Spanish wasn't her favorite thing. As I sat with her during the next activity, I realized that she is the type of girl I was when I was younger. I wasn't labeled as a problem child but I barely spoke (HUGE shocker, I know) when I was in the classroom. Although I was very smart, I was more interested in helping the teacher or writing or watching. My biggest thing was that I cared A LOT and I wanted to uplift people and make them happy. This little one did that for me. As soon as I walked in, she complimented me and hugged me and sat next to me and held my hand and helped me out. She was so precious.
As the lesson went on, the girls "showed off" for me their skills of reading the "at" family (eg. words like fat, cat, rat, that..) and then we did some group work. The teacher was great in asking me to help lead a small group flash card study. YES! OF COURSE! I had a group of four girls and we talked about the words on the card, what sound their first letter made and anything relative to that picture. We laughed a good deal, and the girls we ultimately beyond that level of smart. Two girls tried to fool me about their names, but I fooled them in return.
After the lesson, we headed to snack. I really didn't want to leave the girls who immediately took a liking to me. On our way down to the cafeteria, one of the girls took my hand and told one of the sisters that I was her new best friend and she loved me a lot. I almost cried. They all fought over who got to sit next to me and I promised to sit at every table. Then as I was leaving, their teacher asked the girls to say good bye and with a goodbye, God bless you, they did. The teacher asked me if I was sure about teaching high school girls, and while I said, I am sure, I decided that I'm going back to school for a double cert in secondary and elementary.
I used to visit my little sisters Kindergarten class every day I had off in high school and being at the girls' academy, I was reminded of how much I love the little ones so much. I love the way they learn and teach me and play. Thank goodness the teacher asked me to come back anytime. I told the girls, as I left, that I was so proud of them for helping me learn so well to be a good teacher and that I couldn't wait to come back and visit with them! God is so good!
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