Loving the Kiddos

Being on the bus and train on my way back, I have to have a break and surrender once again. It is so easy to give up, to stop trying to be creative, to complain, to be ready to be done, and be sorry for yourself. And over and over again, my Lord with His abundant mercies reminds me once again that it is about Him writing the story, about Him guiding me, about Him taking charge. After all, He is my Lord (Lord meaning the one who ultimately gives the instruction and we are to obey).

There is so much to write about my kiddos and time in Chicago, and so little time to write. But here are a few snapshots of my wonderful kids that drive me crazy, but love so much already. These stories is what the Holy Spirit uses to remind me of how blessed I am by them, and how this is what God had planned for me this semester:

1- One of my little girls LOVES to touch my hair, and to boing my curls. Today in small group, she could not stop pulling my curls and saying, "Miss Gomez, I love your curls!"

2- Another of my little girls came up to me at least ten times during the day to tell me that her grandmother was coming from Puerto Rico. . .every time she told me, she still had the same excitement! The next day, when I thought I was done with having to ask a kid to sit down when they wanted to share something exciting like grandma coming. . .a little boy came up to me and told me at least ten times that his uncle from Pakistan was coming to visit. Welcome to a multicultural first grade classroom. :)

3- A little boy with autism I worked with during my special education placement saw me in the hallway last week, and he stopped and looked at me and said, "HEY. . .you! You are baaaack!" Very high-pitch voice. Then continued walking.

4- All of my kids call me like this: "Miss GomEz" (with entonation on the e, none on the O like there should be. . it almost sounds like a little tune). I love it!

5- After having a lesson on the 3R's last week, today, many of them came to me telling me that they recycled, or reused something. I was so proud of them.

Our 3R project for Earth Day! :)

6- A little boy willingly sharing his only prize candy with another classmate who somehow lost his candy and was tearing up.

So, in the mist of the busyness and the crazy situation in a public, intercity school. . . there are many jewels. I will be teaching all of the subjects still until Thursday. Friends, teaching is tiring! And then, my last day of student teaching will be next week Wednesday. . .when my family arrives Chicago terrain for the first time.

Looking back to this student teaching semester through Chicago semester, it has been the hardest semester, but God has used it to prune me and watered me to grow more in Him. Hence, I thankful for it, and will continue to live every day for Jesus alone.  Never would I had imagined I would be here three years ago. But that is what happens when you jump in the boat with Jesus and let Him row. You have no idea where you are going, or how you will get there, or how you'll survive. . .but you know for SURE that Jesus is there, and that should be enough. And to think that this is just part of His plans. . . there is even more! Alrighty!

First Grade Parade

On Thursday, we had a field trip to the library. We walked to the library. All the three first grade classess were going. So, here is the math:

33 (my class) + 34 (another class) + 32 (another class) =99

Yes, 101 children that are 6 to 7 years old crossing streets to get to the library. I was just a little stressed. My kids were teasing me to run to the street, others were just dancing while we were walkling. Holy Moly, I was so thankful that all my 33 kids made it to the library, and back to the classroom! God is good!

My relationship with the kids is so much fun! I enjoy being with them, and we laugh often. I am finally feeling more comfortable with teaching my lessons, and they are learning! Now, it has take me a while to be in this place. Nevertheless, I am in the beginning stage of creating better instructional activities for my children.

One of the many things I have learned is that it is a HUGE challenge trying to create activities that everyone is capable of doing, reading, writing when every single student are at different levels. One of my students reads chapter books, and writes three pages (and correlated paragraphs too!), and I have other students who can barely read or write.

Also, I have realized that my classroom is too small for all my first graders to be in. I have tripped over them more than five times this past week. They are always talking, and honestly, they are so near each other that even if I move a student to a different group, they still will talk. So, I have decided that I will try classroom management, it will not be perfect and there will always be something going on. It gets tiring at the end of the day, but that's the life of a teacher.

Most importantly, what I learned this week is that when God asks us to not be anxious, it does not necessarily mean that suddenly my children will listen, or that suddenly my students will have family support at home, or that all the things I need to do before graduation will dissappear. Somehow, I just thought that by declaring that I would not be anxious and cast my burdens to Him would make things easier. But, NO. I was wrong. Thank you Holy Spirit for teaching me. What that means is trusting completely, whole-heartedly that God has got this. It is trusting that He will use me in my brokenness and while He uses me He teaches me and gives me His Spirit (peace, wisdom, joy). It means that I need to walk blindly but not blindly towards Him even when things seem crazy.

So, to God be the glory for anything good that happened in my classroom for my second week of full-time teaching. Here we go third and last week of full-time teaching! 

Recharged

This was me last week:

This is me now:

All it takes is letting yourself soak in God's grace and love. It takes surrounding yourself with a community that loves Jesus and loves you. It is more than sleeping for more hours, or actually eating meals, or having a break from working. Yes, I think it is part of the "rest aspect," the idea of sabbath. However, it is coming to the Lord and letting the Holy Spirit fill you through reading Scripture, praying, and being in solitude.

I have had the blessing to spend time with my friends, and then with a family at a cozy home (last night I got to see the stars!!!), and will be returning to Chicago tomorrow to do lesson planning, and then enjoying Jesus' victory over death on Sunday with a friend from elementary that lives in Chicago!

While reading His Word this week, God gave me this verse in Psalm 18:

For who is God, but the Lord?
    And who is a rock, except our God?—
³² the God who equipped me with strength
    and made my way blameless.
³³ He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure on the heights.
³⁴ He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

If we obey and take that step of faith (yes both faith and obedience going alongside), God strengthens us, guides us to His blameless, perfect way, protects us, and equips us for battle. This week, I re-found it. And am ready to find myself in trusting in His power everyday.


Needless to say, I am ready for next week! Ready to share His love. Ready to apply my learned lesson of finding rest in Him everyday in the mist of busyness.