Sunday, August 30, 2015

Remembering Is My Number Two Resource

The other day, a child was not focusing too well on his work because he was too busy wiggling his loose tooth.  This makes me smile because I remember sitting in a hot Nebraska classroom wiggling a loose tooth.

I believe that remembering what it was like makes me a better teacher.

Each morning, I try to slide into the day with a song and low-key start.  I remember how crazy mornings were when my children were little.  Family schedules are more hectic now.

I remember recess and the drama of picking teams for the game of the day.  When I pick teams, I number off in a different combination each day, not perfect, but better.

I remember when students were picked on and fight that each day.  My biggest success was pairing a girl who was a little different with a boy who was beginning to make fun of her.  She was a much better reader and impressed him--he became her defender for the rest of the year.

I remember children who struggled when I was in grade school and, unfortunately, now I know some of them had learning difficulties that were not recognized then.  One had been held back and I remember the teacher often asked him, "How did we do that last year?"  I cringed for him each time she said that, constantly reminding him of his failure and the knowledge that he was not doing much better the second time around.  Those words have never come out of my mouth.

I believe my job is to bring out the best in each child and help them discover their talents.  I tell them, "Everyone has their own easy."

I am not perfect, just forgiven and richly blessed to work with great teachers who are a fountain of resources.  My husband would remind me over and over that each day was a new start; we always bounced ideas around and got through tough years together.  Fortunately, we didn't have "those" classes at the same time. 

I pray daily for patience and the ability to show my students the grace God has shown me. 





Monday, August 24, 2015

First Grade Bible Translations

Since I have just written about memory work, I would like to share some of the translations that children have given me from their memory work.  Many times, I think their translations make more sense.

2 Corinthians 9:7  God loves a cheerful giver.
Translation:  God loves a cheerful sinner.  (I am sure the sinner is happy because he/she is forgiven.)

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.
Translation:  For God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten Son.  (That is sad.)

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Translation:  God is our refuge and strength, a very pleasant help in trouble.  (He really is!)

When one child was saying her memory verse, she stamped her foot and said, "What's Mr. --'s name?"  I said, "Mark."  She said, "5:19."

The following is not memory work, just songs we enjoy in class.

Song:  May the God of our Salvation be exalted.
Translation:  May the God of our Salvation be exhausted.  (Fortunately, He is not.)

Song:  Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Translation:  Take my life and let it be, concentrated, Lord to Thee.  (Amen.)

Song:  Every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart, I will pray.
Translation:  Every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart, I will play.  (Some are moved more than others.)

These were all translations I have written down and I am sure I will hear many more before this year is over.

May God's word be alive in you!

Monday, August 17, 2015

Planting Seeds in Little Hearts

Lutheran Schools have a heritage of having memory work.  Each week, my students have two Bible verses to memorize.  I truly apologize to my early students who had much more to memorize than that.

Today we were practicing our verse for tomorrow:  The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 NIV.  We used the song "Greater" by Mercy Me to help practice the verse:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0ItnPk3t2Y.  Much of the Scripture I have learned has come from music so it is natural for me to teach it to the children in that way.

As we practiced, I remembered this event from early in my career. 

Pastor Bickel asked me if I could take my class to the county home for services one week because he was not able to do so. He knew we learned lots of songs and could just sing for the time needed.  

I piled all ten of my first and second graders into our 1968 Pontiac Bonneville and drove there. I don't remember sending permission slips home and there certainly were not seatbelts then, but no one seemed alarmed by this at all.

When we got there, we went inside, sang our songs, and mixed in Bible verses. 

Afterward, the residents visited with the children and one of them gave one of the boys a nickel because he looked like his great-grandson.  The child was deeply touched.  No one was jealous, just awed at how special this was.

When we returned to St. John in Napoleon, Ohio, one of my students said, "I know now why we learn all those verses and songs.  There were people who were singing and saying the verses with us.  I'll bet they learned them when they were little, too.  They have them in their minds and hearts." 

I always learn much more from the children than I teach them!

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

The Last First Day of School

I really didn't know how this day would go, but I was surprised that I slept so very well last night.  The tone was set when I was at my desk at 7:00 and got a message from a student who is now a freshman in high school.  Each day after she left my class, this dear girl would stop at the door to say, "Good morning, Mrs. Pride."  We would chat a little and the day was off.  Today, she messaged me the same words.  This filled my heart with so much tenderness.

The students came in ready to go.  It is our school's policy for the first through fourth grade teachers to visit the homes of the students before school starts.  Each child knew what to do when he/she came through the door and they did it!  The parents have also been told they must leave the room at 7:55 from now on.  I am old and can say this much easier than a younger teacher can.  I guess I should say experienced and less experienced, but I can only cope with so much political correctness.

These things make me sad:
We have to keep the building locked all day. 
All classrooms are locked all day.
I have to add to my first day instructions what to do if an intruder comes into the building.

These things made me happy:
Everyone was smiling at the end of the day.
Each child did his/her best.
There were only a few tears at the beginning of the day and none after that.
I did not have to clean off the toilet because of poor aim.  (I have requested that a target be painted at the bottom of the toilet, but no one but me believes it would improve aim.)
The voices of the children in opening chapel blasting out this chorus: 
"Shout to the north and south,
Sing to the east and the west,
Jesus is Savior of all,
Lord of heaven and earth." 
I got several, "This day went fast."
Everyone got safely to the right place after school.

I am more than ready to go back to school tomorrow.

God's blessings to you all!








Sunday, August 9, 2015

Why I Love First Grade


August 5, 2015

 
There is a light that goes on in a child’s eyes when he/she realizes that they “get it.”  That’s my motivation.  You are blessed if you have seen that light in a child’s eyes.

First graders have unconditional faith in God.  This is the reason Jesus says we should have a child-like faith in Matthew 18:3.

First graders have unconditional faith in their teachers.  They would never think that gassy smell in the classroom came from their teacher. 

First graders are shocked to see you in the grocery store.  One memorable time, we were checking out, when I noticed everyone around us giggling.  I looked up and saw a boy across the store, jumping up and down and shouting, “Mrs. Pride, Mrs. Pride.”  I waved and said hello.  Someone said, “You must be a teacher.”  You mean you could tell?  (I have only hidden from one child in a grocery store.)

First graders are very black and white.  They hate to make mistakes.  I will point out mistakes as I make them so they know it is ok and the nothing disastrous happened.  I tell them that we are thankful for tape, erasers, and back sides of papers to start over.

First graders do not understand cheating.  They think of it as helping their friends.  They do not realize that I need to know if someone is having trouble with a newly taught concept. 

In first grade, the f word is fart and the s word is stupid.  I personally feel, however, that it is hard to replace the word stupid in some situations.  John always used the word foolish because Jesus used foolish with the disciples, Luke 24:25.  Google it and you will see it is a great replacement.  I would never call a child foolish, but some of the things we humans choose to do are, indeed, foolish. (One of my colleagues has suggested we could also use “brood of vipers” as Jesus did in Matthew 12:34.)

Close to the top of my list for loving first grade is that all my jokes are new every year.  In fact, I measure their development by how well they “get” the puns.  They laugh with no restraint and there is no sweeter sound to my ears.

The End 
(The way a first grader ends a story.)

Friday, August 7, 2015

Teachers Learn Early

When you are a new teacher, you learn immediately that you are old.  My first realization of this was when I said to my class, "You know, that was when John F. Kennedy was assassinated."  I was greeted by totally blank faces.  That was before they were born, long before.

Here are some other things I get funny looks for saying:

There were 48 stars on the flag when I started school.

I was alive when Laura Ingalls Wilder died.

I went home for lunch most days until I was a senior in high school.  In grade school we weren't allowed to stay for lunch if you lived within a certain distance from school.

Walking to and from school was an event!

Children went outside unsupervised for recess.  The teacher stayed by the window and watched while he/she graded papers.  This was also true in my first few years of teaching.

Girls had to wear dresses to school each day.  If it was cold, we wore corduroy pants under our dresses and took them off when we got to school.  That changed at sometime and slacks could be worn.

We played at the park all day without our parents there.  We took off on our bikes and came home when the noon whistle blew, the five o'clock whistle blew, and the street lights came on.  We didn't do anything wrong, because we knew everyone who lived by the park and they would tell our parents AND our parents would believe them.

We rode our bikes over the teeter-totters.  If we went slowly, it was a bridge, quickly, it was a ramp. That may be why they put handles on teeter-totters today, if the park's insurance allows them to be in parks.

I ran errands for my mom.  The grocery store was close and I could go the library by myself, too. Sometimes, I was allowed to spend a penny on a piece of candy.  Otherwise, we collected pop bottles to redeem for cash.  (Don't lecture me about recycling.)

The hardware store close to us left appliance boxes out for kids to take.  We asked permission, but the answer was always, "Yes."  That gave us days of fun, at least until it rained.

I watched "Leave it to Beaver" and "Andy Griffith" when they were first run.

I can remember when we got our first colored television--families had only one television.  If our television broke, we called a repairman to come to our house or Dad took the tubes to the drug store to test to see which one needed to be replaced.  That didn't seem to work well.

I do not want to overwhelm you with more of my shocking memories, but I must add the footnote that the man who was mayor of Napoleon, Ohio, at the time we lived there, had designed the 50 star flag.

May the Lord bless and keep you!

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

In the beginning....

In August of 1973, I stood in front of my first class of first and second graders.  It was at St. John Lutheran School, Freedom Township in Napoleon, Ohio.  I remember looking at my class and thinking, "Now what?"

I know better what to do now, but I still have trouble sleeping the night before my first day of school begins.  My mind is reeling with prayers, lessons plans, and excitement.

This year, God willing, will be my final year of teaching, my forty-first.  I pray that God has helped me use my talents to teach His children more about Him and His Kingdom.

I tell each class that I will remember them, but I might have to ask them their names because they will look different as they age.  I am sure that I have not, although my joints tell me otherwise.

Some of my children, for they remain my children no matter how old they are, have gone on to their eternal reward.  They are there offering their eternal praises to God along with my husband, John. It comforts me to think about them all there, perhaps singing some of the songs I taught them in my classroom.  They have gotten the answers to all the questions they asked me and I could not answer.  These I call, :"Ah-ha Questions."  When they get to heaven, they will say, "Ah-ha, now I understand."

Curriculum has changed, families have changed, legislation has changed, I have changed, and the world's morals have changed.  Thankfully, children have not changed and Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Hebrews 13:9