It's been a whirl wind time these last few months. Seems my class is a revolving door of children this year!! I have lost 3 and gained 4 at different intervals in the first 4 months of school!
Anyway, despite the upheaval and extra work that that implies for me and the disruption in the flow of the day for the other students, there have been moments of great learning and fun. Here are a few:
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| Here is a game of memorization and vocabulary building as well as number naming. They place different objects in one of the numbered squares. Then their partner covers their eyes. The other partner moves something around. Then the one who wasn't looking opens his/her eyes and trys to describe what changed. |
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| Number puzzles. |
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| Reading! |
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| Construction Center - always a crowd pleaser. |
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| ABC Center - matching letters. |
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| Pretend and Learn Center - coffee, baby, and talking on the phone. Look like anyone you know? |
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| Washing dishes, mopping the floor....funny how you hate it when you actually HAVE to do it. |
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| Writing letters!! |
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| Using the Letter Wall to write the words to his story. Yesss! |
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| Discovery in the Science Center. The goggles are the main attraction. |
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| MAJOR back up on the mix master!! |
As much as I enjoy teaching and working with small children, I find that more and more I am getting burned out by all the OTHER things that are or have become a part of my job as a teacher. The endless unreasonable demands on my time, and the expectations on the children; the extra paper work; and especially the continued low esteem to what we already do and sacrifice for the children. The only thing that matters is money, and the all-important TESTS!!
I'm so tired. It just gets worse every year and it will continue to with the continued impact of he budget cuts. I'm less sure every day that it is worth it in the end.
I can't pour myself into this job without great personal cost to my health and the priority of my husband/family.
I have enjoyed so much about teaching in the 5 years I've done it but I would be lying if i didn't admit I wasn't looking forward to the end.
In a couple of years we plan on starting a family and I want to stay home to care for our children (in which ever way they enter our lives).
I hold onto that light at the end of my tunnel for now and try to do the authentic teaching that gets results and allows for individual growth whenever I can squeeze it in between the endless assessments, interventions, 'proof of learning' activity products, and other mindless paperwork.
I will always try to look back at this time with fondness but also with gladness, that I could be released to do the even more weighty work of eternal value that is my family.
I can't wait to see where else the Lord will lead. :)
It's very sad that most of the teachers I know feel just as frustrated as you with all that is required of them. I hope that for the sake of the children, they will try to figure out a way to make things less stressful for the teachers.
ReplyDeleteOkay, for a moment I went into shock. I had to read a certain part a few times to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Lol So, you want to be a stay-at-home mom? That's great! In all seriousness, I know that staying home to raise your kids is not something everyone can do for a number of reasons, but if God is leading you in this direction, that is wonderful! I admit, there are days I want to pull my hair out but I feel so blessed that I am able to raise my kids and be here to watch them grow and learn. Jesse is my biggest supporter--as it should be--and is always encouraging me and telling me how glad he is that I stay home with our kids. Someone once told me that it is important for us to be involved in ministry work (and we don't have to be limited to just one if time allows us for more)and as wives and mothers, our ministry is our family. God put them in our lives and we need to minister to these precious souls whom we love more than anyone else.
I'm glad that for now, you are allowing yourself to be used to teach the little children. You have the gift of teaching and I know even if/when you stop working, God will continue to use you. Looking forward to seeing the beginning of the next chapter in your lives. :)
Thanks Lisa! I do love comments!
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to stay home with my kids in the first 5 years of life. Those are the formative years and most of the permanent brain wiring happens during that time. I want to be the one to make sure they get all the support they need from me to make that happen in an optimal way.
After that I may or may not return to full time work, depending on how I feel, how my kids turn out (some need more support than others) and so on. This is especially important since we are planning on doing an over sea's adoption and those children (and us) require a lot of adjustment. We will see what happens and where the Lord leads. :o)
Merry Christmas!!