I'd Be Glad To

        When I was growing up my mom and dad always emphasized having a good attitude whenever we were asked to do something ie. wash the dishes, sweep the floor, take care of a younger sibling (you get the point). This principle was especially emphasized when the task was something that I didn't like doing (vacuuming) and I remember getting more chores when I didn't say the key phrase "I'd be glad to". A lot of the times my emotions didn't follow my spoken words but it forced me to be conscious of how I was reacting to a situation. Why am I telling you all of this? Because I find myself using this same phrase a lot in my classroom. 

      Two students in particular often throw tantrums when they are not called on frequently enough or do not get what they want. It made my day today when one of them told me "I'd be glad to Miss Scott" after I asked him to stack the chairs. The other one has not come to that place yet. She is a student I have mentioned before... the infamous Diamond. Today's fits were over getting a check for making humming and singing noises while I was teaching, not getting the color of juice she wanted, and getting a check for not controlling her body while at her desk. Whenever she has a bad attitude I give her an opportunity to rewind the moment and try it again with some behavior coaching. This sometimes takes 3 or more attempts. I am looking forward to the day that she says I'd be glad to with a smile on her face. 

      As much as I tell my students to have an "I'd be glad to" attitude I often find myself whining or complaining in reaction to unforeseen events. I guess I need the opportunity to rewind my moments and try again too. This week my co-teacher was out of the classroom for the 4th time this year which meant 28 five year olds by myself with an ad-lib schedule for the day. I became stressed, anxious, and frustrated which turned into an adult melt down of questioning why I had gotten into teaching and bemoaning the upcoming days. However, Monday rolled around and thanks to the many prayers from my friends and family we had a great day. It turned out all of my anxiety was for nothing. 

My Dad gave me this Bible verse and it pretty much sums up my action plan for the rest of the year. Thanks Dad for still speaking promises over my life! 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

If you ever need a good laugh or a smile ask a five year old what they want to be when they grow up and how they are going to get there. Some responses from the lunch dates I have been having with my kiddos....
Spider man... I need to get big
Batman.... I need a car and to be big (I tried to steer this conversation (unsuccessfully) towards the importance of protecting people and how we could do this in the classroom since this child happens to be a behavioral issue most days)
Cheerleader
Doctor
Diver (this one was one of my favorites)
Watch out world an entire generation of new superheroes is coming!

One more vignette from this week. Every morning I write a message to the students, usually talking about one of our Viking Virtues and someone in our class or in history who has showed this virtue. A couple of days ago I wrote a message about the reunification of East and West Germany because they had been reunited on the same day 60 years ago to talk about perseverance. Explaining these concepts to 5 year olds can be tricky but I had a spur of the moment thought that went pretty well. I told them what happened in Germany would be like if I cut the carpet that they sit on in half and one group of students would be with my co-teacher and one group would be with me. They would never get to see each other and they weren't allowed to be friends. I didn't know if what I said sank in until today during math meeting when we were talking about another war and one of  my students said " like when some scholars were on one side of the carpet and we were on the other side", which was followed up by another student who raised her hand and said if my brother was on the other side of the wall I would crawl over it to get to him. I love it when my kids really "get it".

On a different note two of the students I ate lunch with today talked about how their parents were in jail. My heart broke as they talked about a parent knocking on the door and beating up the mom. It wasn't just what they said... but how they said it, as if this were how normal life should look. I asked them if they were scared and they said yes. It is times like these that I pray that the comfort of Jesus and his protection is finding a place in their homes even if I can't talk with them about it at school. Please join me in praying that the families I work with would come to know Jesus and that the kids would be safe.