Monday, January 31, 2011

Encouragement

Romans 1:12 "When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours!" 

   I am so beyond blessed for the amazing people I have in my life. This weekend and today I was overwhelmed with an abundance of encouragement. For starters, the weekend. I have the BEST, i really mean it BEST parents in the world. I know everyone says that but I really mean it and will happily lay out every reason why! :) It was saturday and when I got out of the shower I had a message from my dad saying that he and mom were thinking of coming to Greenville just to see Shelby and I! I wish I could put into words how excited I was! What spontaneous fun parents I have! :) It was just what I needed at the PERFECT time! Sometimes absolutely nothing will do but your parents/family and that is what I got! God is sovereign is all I gotta say! (Ain't it so Daddy :) We enjoyed a nice dinner and dessert, beautiful weather and most of all just enjoyed being with one another!
  Today, as you know, was my first official lesson, which turned into more of my first day of teaching. My teacher was out so I kind of took the reigns which was good for me and really helped me pinpoint areas I need to work on and where I can continually grow. Needless to say, I am quite tired and it will be nice to have Ms. Pruitt back tomorrow!  Anyhoo, I was a little nervous about my lesson (my supervisor came) and so I sat down to look over my lesson plan and I had a note from my precious roommate Kristin. For those of you that do not know Kristin, she is my best friend and I just love her to pieces. She has such a compassionate heart and a loving spirit. She will be the best nurse ever! (shhh don't tell the others :) She encouraged me with a bible verse and a little note that really just gave me a peace before I taught my lesson! I also had text messages and tweets (boo-boo) that were so encouraging! I taught my lesson and it went well, my supervisor liked it, thank goodness, but I definitely did struggle with the management/discipline. That will come with time but its something I will be continually  looking for what works and what does not as well as growing as a teacher. 


     Not fifteen minutes after I was home, I got a text message from Mrs. Leigh! Ahh I just look up to her so much and just love her family! She is a family friend from home and I babysit for them! She was a fabulous teacher (still is as she stays home with her children) and from the beginning has been willing to help, offered lots of helpful advice, as well as many many encouraging words! I am thankful for their family and what they mean to me!
 Are they NOT the cutest children you EVER did see?!? :) 

  All that being said, I am so beyond blessed with AMAZING friends and family! Such an answer to prayer that I have friendships that are in Christ and encourage me to surrender and seek him in all that I do!  

Friday, January 28, 2011

Finally...PICTURES!

   Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." 

    It feel so so good to be FRIDAY! I tell you what, all day (and all week) with five year olds will wear you out :) This week has been a fun one and I am really feeling comfortable and enjoying my time here! We have been discussing animals that hibernate and their habitats this week so the kiddos made some animals out of clay and painted them, made their habitats and we had hibernation day! Too fun!

Here are a few pictures of the classroom: (use your imagination for set-up :) 
We have such a nice big classroom with lots of space! Notice the bulletin board in the background, with the snowman, that is the one that my teacher just whipped out in no time and hand painted it all! Well the snowballs are the children's writings about snow but everything else she did! A little envious of her talent I must admit...


  Thanks for all your support and prayers. The Lord has really done wonderful things this week and has taught me a lot about surrendering to his plans, humility, and flexibility! I teach my first 'real' lesson on Monday morning and my supervisor is coming so prayers are much appreciated! 

Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." 

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

It's that time of year...

   Kindergarten quote of the day: (while walking to activity)
       Conner: "Miss Salley, how much do you weigh?
       Me: "Conner, word to the wise, you never ask a girl that...but much more than you!"

   What time of year is it...you guessed it, FLU season! Yuck! Out of our 25 students today we had TEN out sick! I'm sorry but that is a whole lot of sick children. My immune system has not quite built up that strong yet, so lets all cross our fingers that I stay well! (although the past two days I have been so achy)

   It is yet another week in kindergarten and no I am not totally 'all there' quite yet but it is slowly but surely getting there. This week I started doing some small things in the classroom like morning read aloud, attendance, lunch count, and the morning news show. On monday, my teacher and I were also working frantically all day to do math assessments! Report card grades were due TODAY...don't worry she got them done an hour and a half early! :) We are having some visitors tomorrow also, so we were working hard today to spice up the room a little bit with some more art work! We, by we I mean Ms. Pruitt, made the most precious bulletin board in absolutely no time at all! I must say that I was VERY impressed! The children and I finger painted some snowmen, needless to say I came home with paint EVERYWHERE!

   It's only Tuesday and I've already been excited, frustrated, frazzled, but most importantly have learned a lot! What my eyes have really been open to is looking past 'what appears' and really looking and 'investigating' what is! (we have been doing science investigations this week-the word is on the brain) I am talking about my teacher! At the beginning I thought, this is never going to work, however she is a WONDERFUL teacher! I am so enamored by her artistic ability! She integrates every subject into art and the children just love and I think it is so fun! If you know me at all you know that my art talent is severely lacking. :) I can be creative, but artistic...absolutely not, therefore I am so jealous of her talent. She does it on such a whim as well, whereas I would question whether it would look good! She told me today that she works best under pressure, is a huge procrastinator, and an overachiever-none of those go together AT ALL but she seems to make them work so well! We are very alike in that she is not going to do something if it will not be great and she is an overachiever...HALLELUJAH similarities! :) Anyway, after all that rambling, I am continuing to see all that I can learn from her! Still seeking to build a relationship with her and make this a wonderful semester!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Week One

     My first time in which the Lord is saying, "Kendall are you going to surrender this to me or do it on your own", was week one of student teaching! I was just kind of in a funk the first few days and wondering, wow can I really do this EVERYDAY for four months! I am in a Kindergarten class at Blue Ridge Elementary with 25 children, who are just so stinkin' cute! My teacher is a phenomenal teacher and there is SO much I can learn from her. We could not be more different but as the week wore on, I have discovered that will be a great thing for me. Like I said, I am not one to go into something with not much structure and organization and I nearly had a panic attack when I saw this classroom, so care-free, easy going, and FUN! I could not imagine me teaching, which I will slowly begin next week, and figuring out how I, with such a type A personality, was going to fit in the mix of things. I could just hear the still small whisper in my head saying "let go" of the idea that everything needs to be so structured and go MY WAY. In case you did not know, structure should not be in the vocabulary for a kindergarten classroom. Therefore, as I learn to surrender my life to my sweet savior, I believe that my cooperating teacher and kindergarten class are going to play a big part in that process.

   What I found on Tuesday, day one, was that my heart was literally broken for these precious children who, a lot of them, literally have nothing. I just came home and cried to Mom, who for those of you that do not know, is the most AMAZING woman on this planet, and she was so encouraging, as she always is! She said something that really stuck with me! It was along the lines of, this classroom, these children, these teacher, and this school are my ministry right now. In an email she said "God has you there for HIS purpose...He will use you greatly!" Goodness, the Lord has spoken right to me through my wonderful mom to continually encourage me to surrender. So that is my prayer that I will surrender and be used for the Lord's purposes and will rather than my own.

   Now, a little about my class-I will post pictures soon, when I remember to take my camera to school :) There are 25 adorable children, 1 teacher, 1 assistant teacher, and then me! The past four days, have been slightly trying in regards to this experience but every day got a little better and baby steps are being made! My cooperating teacher has two young boys of her own and they are adorable! She is busy but her passion and zeal for children and teaching is so evident. My assistant teacher has four children, is very sweet-spirited and is very comfortable to be around. It has been somewhat difficult for me to just really be myself and to get comfortable with everyone! What I did find though is that loving every single one of those children has come pretty naturally! They are all so sweet, say very funny things, and are unique in their personalities and stories. So as this semester goes on, as I continue to learn about teaching, and these precious children it is my hope and prayer that I will be a vessel for the Lord, completely surrendering to him, and that I love those children with all that I am!

  On a side note...five year olds say really funny and off the wall things and I hope to not forget them, so it is also my hope to post funny stories and sweet memories! :)

Surrender

   As I journey through the semester of student teaching, a last semester Senior, and having NO idea where life takes me next I thought that this might be a good time to start blogging. This semester will prove to be exciting, trying, and most of all a great learning experience for yours truly. :)
  
    The Lord has really just laid on my heart the word SURRENDER lately. As I was talking with a friend about somethings going on with her, I gave her a bible verse about surrendering all to the Lord. As I was doing this, the Lord was clearly speaking to me and saying "hey Kendall, you should probably start doing what you are telling others to do!" Being in full surrender does not come easily to me, I am a very type A personality and I like to have a plan,stick with that plan, and be quite organized in the process. Little did I know, God was really going to rock my world!
  
    I do not know what the Lord's will for my life is and walking in His will is often quite difficult because I often want to go ahead and do what I WILL instead of just waiting patiently. In Psalm 46:10 it says "Be still...!" When is the last time that I was really 'still' and waited patiently for the Lord's direction in my life? It is not easy in the hustle and bustle of life and wanting to just go go go! However, Mark 14:36 just really spoke to me a few weeks ago and I am holding strong to that verse. It says " Abba, Father, ALL things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what YOU will!" If this is not a perfect picture of surrender I am not sure what is!