"not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit"

The first day or so  in my classroom can probably be best summed up with a few student quotes:

Me to 2nd grade student #1: "Can you tell me why you are not following instructions?"
Student: "Well, this is the first day..." (Oops. Shouldn't have asked.)

Same student: "Maybe you can teach us English and we can teach you Spanish". (Yep, couldn't speak either language most of the week - they left me speechless. :) This was a very humbling interaction for me, but that's good, I guess!)

Me to 2nd grade student #2: "Ok, I need you to go out and sit on the (time-out) chair. You can come back in when you're ready to do your work."
Student: "Why aren't you punishing ____________?" (Lots of tattling and pointing fingers! Probably one of my biggest challenges)

Especially during the first couple days, I felt so challenged by them. Their eyes, their words, their actions... everything was telling me "we're trying to see how far we can go with this". Things that were supposed to take 5 minutes took the entire class period, they chatted constantly, and they spent more time trying to get each other in trouble than sitting at their desks working. It wore me out! The other morning I was having a really hard time getting out of bed and getting motivated to start the day, and I opened to Zechariah. It's a spot in my Bible that was already marked, because God had used that particular passage to speak to me during the short trip we took to Michigan City just before leaving the states.

"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)

Indeed, this week went by the grace of God. The first day or so was really challenging, but it did get much better. By Thursday, I felt we had established a routine and expectations; they knew what to expect from me, and I'm starting to get a better feel for what I can expect of them. On Thursday I actually rewarded one of my Fourth Grade groups during Stations for being so on task! That never would have happened on Monday. My first graders (who, as a side note, are all girls) are catching on really quickly too; I use nearly all English with them and they soak it up. We've been practicing, practicing, practicing simple things like "put away your notebook", "show me your pencil", etc. and repeating, repeating, repeating, but I think it will pay off. I'm looking forward to Monday and beyond... who knows what each new day will bring?! :) Maybe they'll even remember what I taught them last week!

And even if they don't they'll make me smile:

Me to 1st grade student (after several days of practicing this interaction): "Hello! My name is Teacher. What's your name?"
Student: "Hello, Teacher!"
Me: "Yes, my name is Teacher. What's your name?"
Student: nods and smiles


During Week 1, Grant has been a wonderful and supporting husband; pitching in with laundry, dishes, and the like.  But he does spend the majority of his time doing more manly things, like setting up a small wood shop with all the tools that made it down and working on some bookshelves for the school. Driving routes and working on Bible studies keeps him busy too.

Well, I think that's it for the week. Have a blessed Sunday!