thoughts before the first day of school (in 2 days!)

Tonight my roommate and fellow teacher is making Silly Putty as a practice run-through before she has her students do it in science class next week. It's a trial and error process involving Elmer's Glue-All (very specific), liquid starch, with red food coloring for an added bonus. After the 4th attempt, with pink goo scattered across our sink and staining her hands, she looked up at me and exclaimed, "I hate this already!" We laughed...but it does make me think...

It all goes down on Monday, August 16 - the first day of school at AVMS. We will arrive each day in our finest professional dress (except for Casual Fridays). We'll practice our opening speeches and all our activities (like the Silly Putty example) so we get everything crystal clear. We'll hang out in our classrooms as the students arrive for breakfast and talk with them so they know we care. Yet we'll constantly go over class expectations while furtively attempting NOT to smile before Christmas so we can build a supportive and firm school culture.

There will be nights that go late without sleep so we can get that lesson adjusted for all students to have learning within their grasp. There will be an internal meltdown or 10 before the school year is over as we try to juggle all the complexities of teaching. I know for a fact that my new classroom rug will soon be doing double duty as a prayer space during the week. I need God to be able to move through me and bless these students with words of grace and truth

But there will also be those times when students have that "aha!" moment. And let me tell you: those are some of the most beautiful and exhilarating things you could ever see. It is that kind of moment that reminds me why I'm doing this.

I'm completely terrified about Monday, of course. As I wait for the day to arrive and do last minute things to get ready, it's hard to fight the nagging whispers of the enemy that constantly encourage me to give up. Or that want me to believe I can't teach these kids.

The great thing is, it's true - I can't teach these kids. At least, not solely on my own strength. The only way I can do it is to do my darndest while committing them to the Lord faithfully. To let Him fill me up with knowledge of Him, His love, and His truth, so I can let it slosh over and splash these kiddos when they're in my presence. I will still fail to love them perfectly or teach them flawlessly, but I can be okay with that if He's the one in control...and if I'm getting back up to try again after the failures.

So here's to literacy, word walls, anchor activities and novel studies...to believing that stories connect humans across time and experience...to connecting these students with new ideas and helping those ideas blossom into permanence...to being a vessel of light and truth to these students so that, maybe, they feel a tug to pursue the One who knows them best.

Let's get it started... :)