ABC's and 123's

hi. :) soooooo i'm starting to finally feel like a real teacher! not like i wasn't a teacher in the past...when i was technically doing some "teaching"....it's just different this time. this whole student teacher thing is a blast! and like, the real deal! 

i've made it through the first week of school. well, three days of it. i'm feeling worn out. but trying not to complain about being tired too much when i have a mentor teacher who is one wonderful teacher, a wife, a mother of a precious  three year old little girl, and twin boys that are 4 months old! she's kinda like super woman. literally! i don't know how she does it, but it's awesome. i couldn't have asked for a better mentor this semester. i've already learned so much from her!! not only do i enjoy "working" with her, but i love just hanging out and talking to her. i've made a lifelong friend...and i thank God for that! the same goes for the other two 3rd grade teachers (whom i love!) and so many more of the lavaca staff. they're some of my favorite people to be around!!!

i am spending my days in a classroom with 21 of the cutest, smartest, most talkative little 3rd graders. right now, i take LOTS of notes and just hang out observing and trying to absorb all that i am seeing. it's a lot! i pretty much write down everything my mentor teacher says and does. i need all the help i can get! ;-) we have a lot of fun in room 16, that's for sure. i love to just walk around the room (or sit at my desk) and watch these kids. i hear some of the most random conversations, i see them helping each other with their work, they argue, they play, and each have their own little personalities! have you ever just watched the wheels turning while a kid is thinking? if not, try it! there really is nothing like watching as that light bulb turns on....and they understand something new. and it's at those moments that i'm reminded of what i'm doing there. or why i put myself through the stress of school...because it's so worth it at the end of the 4 1/2 years! 

so...i'm pretty much just prepping myself to get busy with the lesson planning and teaching. woo hoo! i'm feeling pretty determined. it's amazing how much better of a student i am when i'm not spending my days on the uafs campus! i'm just not a big fan of that place! surround me with kids...and i'm happy. :) i have a lot of work to do this semester, but know that i am less that 4 months away from graduating.....praise Jesus! i've made it this far...so i think i can finish this last little bit!  the closer i get to being finished...and on my own, which is a scary thought...not going to lie, the more excited i get. i feel honored, blessed, and thankful to God that He called me into the teaching profession. because that's what i think this is...a calling! i can't wait to have a part of shaping a child, and hopefully, and with lots of prayers, change some little lives. they have so much to give, and so i want to offer them so much. yea...i'm getting pumped as i type. ahhh! : )

in closing...i love what i do. and i can't wait for the future. actually, i already can't wait for monday...so i can see their cute faces. i love their hugs, and smiles, and letters. i'm sounding kinda sappy...i know. but i don't care! i speak the truth! :) and that's that. i'm a teacher...almost officially! you can just call me miss. hurt...i answer to it now! : )

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."  

Proverbs 22:6

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children are a reward from him."

Psalm 127:3