Think Like A Kid

Today I helped my good friend and 2nd grade school teacher in her classroom. She had been telling me for the past several months that I could help out anytime I wanted, and this was finally the week to follow through with that. This required getting up much earlier than I usually do on  a day where I had no class, but absolutely worth it. Mandy picked me up and off to school we went. I got my visitor's pass and we were ready to go.

Kids are so entertaining and you never know what they're going to say. They speak their minds and tell you the truth, even if it isn't what you want to hear. Mandy was playing music before class officially started and one of the boys requested Katy Perry's "California Gurls" LOL. And there were plenty of other cute and random moments like that throughout the day. They did a little bit of work, then it was time for an assembly. We actually got to listen to some Celtic music which was really cool. I'd listened to some before from one of my high school Lit teachers, but it was fun getting to hear it live. They even made us do some hand motions along with a couple of the songs that involved a unicorn, alligator, elephant, and chimpanzee. The kids were loving it. And so were the teachers! They came back in, did some more work and then it was lunch time. Mandy and I ran to jack in the box (which was great as always) and came back just in time for class to begin again. We watched a Martin Luther King Jr. video that I had actually watched in 3rd grade; that was like a full circle moment, because now I was somewhat on the other side of that lesson (having the teacher role).

Some of my jobs for the day were helping the kids take reading quizzes on the computers, making signs for the book shelves, helping kids stay on track with their math tests (don't worry I didn't actually help them with the math), organized some books, and helped check over a sentence assignment the kids worked on. The kids were really sweet, and I enjoyed getting to know them, especially a couple that I really talked to. One girl even got on her knees and almost begged me to come back tomorrow :*). Being around kids for some reason just makes life a little better...and if you know me at all, I've never been great with kids. Or maybe it's just that I've never trusted my instincts. Like, maybe I was just the awkward one. So, the fact that I really feel a little more comfortable and at ease with it makes me feel better. They just have this sense of joy that as you get older, sometimes you lose sight of. It also helped me understand better what all of my teachers went through all these years dealing with our classes with preparing and just getting through each day! I have so much appreciation for teachers; they really don't get the credit they deserve. It was a really fun learning experience and I can't wait to go back.

The rest of the afternoon I watched TV, ate dinner, started preparing for the renewal tonight, and starting to focus on what God was going to do :) And He showed up let me tell ya! It was also a really rainy day, but inspiring and cleansing. I love rain!

Today was wonderful. But, now I'm exhausted and have to get up early for a couple classes tomorrow on campus. Not looking forward to Geography...but what're you gonna do? Soon enough it will be summer! :D Until then, I'm going to make each day of this semester count.

Good night everyone,
Shelby
xoxox