What a busy few weeks it has been. The scary thing is that things haven't even REALLY started yet. In just two days I start my two weeks new teacher training for my very first year of teaching (eeek) and in a week and a half Michael has orientation at Duke and then starts his classes soon after. Where has this summer gone?
These past few weeks have been full of preparation for the coming year on both of our parts. Micheal has been visiting parishioners, creating a website and facebook page for our new church, and hosting meet and greets at our house, which have been going great by the way. I've been pouring a lot of my brain power into trying to prepare myself and my classroom for my 22 new kiddos! I still have very little information about what I need to do and what's going on, but I'm doing my best. I got to go into my classroom on Wednesday and spent all day cleaning, organizing, arranging, and decorating. I barely even made a dent, I have a lot to do in the next two weeks.
While balancing barefoot on a table in my classroom trying to create my very first bulletin board, it suddenly hit me that this is real. This isn't student teaching, this isn't college, this is my career. While my nerves often eclipse my excitement, one thing that has been comforting to me is the assurance that God has a plan and that He knows what's going on, even when I don't. This teaching thing is scary, frankly, it's out of my comfort zone, and it's a lot of responsibility, but God led me here, and I have been trying to focus on letting Him continue to lead me. So every day I pray for those 22 kids who will be entrusted to me this school year. I pray that I would be the teacher they need this year, that I would have the strength, courage, and compassion that defines an effective teacher, and that they would be able to feel Christ's love through the way I conduct myself and run the classroom. With everything that goes on in the daily world of a teacher, this task is daunting. Your prayers throughout this adventure would be greatly appreciated.
In celebration (and slight mourning) of our fading summer Michael and I took our first overnight trip together (minus the honeymoon of course). We went to Charleston, SC! What a great adventure we had. He got his civil war fix, and I experienced the beauty of the architecture of the city, and the nature of the gardens. What a wonderful city full of character and history. We can't wait to visit again.
One confession before I finish this post up: I think I have a thing for pineapples. Not the actual fruit, which I do love, but the image of it, on hand towels, and soap dishes, and wooden crates..... Let me explain. When Michael and I first moved here we were given a pineapple by our district superintendent. He must have noticed my confused look when he handed the brightly wrapped fruit to me, so he explained with a smile that the pineapple is the traditional sign of hospitality in the South. Since then, it seems like everywhere we look we see pineapples. especially in the marketplace in Charleston. So.... in the spirit of fitting in and becoming a true Southerner, Micheal convinced me to buy a pineapple shaped soap dish for our guest bathroom. That was innocent enough, but that started something. Now, I think they are adorable, and while in Charleston I quickly bought two more items emblazoned with the pineapple. I think Micheal has started something dangerous....
And that is what happens when a teacher marries a preacher.
These past few weeks have been full of preparation for the coming year on both of our parts. Micheal has been visiting parishioners, creating a website and facebook page for our new church, and hosting meet and greets at our house, which have been going great by the way. I've been pouring a lot of my brain power into trying to prepare myself and my classroom for my 22 new kiddos! I still have very little information about what I need to do and what's going on, but I'm doing my best. I got to go into my classroom on Wednesday and spent all day cleaning, organizing, arranging, and decorating. I barely even made a dent, I have a lot to do in the next two weeks.
While balancing barefoot on a table in my classroom trying to create my very first bulletin board, it suddenly hit me that this is real. This isn't student teaching, this isn't college, this is my career. While my nerves often eclipse my excitement, one thing that has been comforting to me is the assurance that God has a plan and that He knows what's going on, even when I don't. This teaching thing is scary, frankly, it's out of my comfort zone, and it's a lot of responsibility, but God led me here, and I have been trying to focus on letting Him continue to lead me. So every day I pray for those 22 kids who will be entrusted to me this school year. I pray that I would be the teacher they need this year, that I would have the strength, courage, and compassion that defines an effective teacher, and that they would be able to feel Christ's love through the way I conduct myself and run the classroom. With everything that goes on in the daily world of a teacher, this task is daunting. Your prayers throughout this adventure would be greatly appreciated.
In celebration (and slight mourning) of our fading summer Michael and I took our first overnight trip together (minus the honeymoon of course). We went to Charleston, SC! What a great adventure we had. He got his civil war fix, and I experienced the beauty of the architecture of the city, and the nature of the gardens. What a wonderful city full of character and history. We can't wait to visit again.
One confession before I finish this post up: I think I have a thing for pineapples. Not the actual fruit, which I do love, but the image of it, on hand towels, and soap dishes, and wooden crates..... Let me explain. When Michael and I first moved here we were given a pineapple by our district superintendent. He must have noticed my confused look when he handed the brightly wrapped fruit to me, so he explained with a smile that the pineapple is the traditional sign of hospitality in the South. Since then, it seems like everywhere we look we see pineapples. especially in the marketplace in Charleston. So.... in the spirit of fitting in and becoming a true Southerner, Micheal convinced me to buy a pineapple shaped soap dish for our guest bathroom. That was innocent enough, but that started something. Now, I think they are adorable, and while in Charleston I quickly bought two more items emblazoned with the pineapple. I think Micheal has started something dangerous....
And that is what happens when a teacher marries a preacher.
Andrea, I throughly enjoyed all your posts so far! I wanted to point you toward a fellow blogger who wrote (not too long ago) about being a first-year teacher. As a 32-year teacher (yikes!), I found her advice to be first-rate! She teaches 7th-8th grades, but it will still be very usable in whatever grade you will teach.
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