Teaching Took Over

MY LIFE.

So ironic that after a post promising not only a more beautiful blog (hasn't happened) and more posting (hasn't happened) that it has been over a month since I've taken the time to post something.

Let me give you the quick re-cap.

Finish work at New City. Turn 21. Surprise Party (Thanks James, Dani, Kyrie, Sienna and Lindsay). Move home. Unpack. Teacher work days. FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. School. School. School.

There have been some small events (going to the lake with the Harrison family on Sundays) and some big events (saying goodbye to Alex and Dani for a year) within those "school" 's, but for the most part, my life has been wrapped up with and consumed with 24 1st grade 5-6 year olds.

NOTE: JAMES IS IN TOWN. ALL SEMESTER. There is no end to how much brighter my life is with him around. That cannot go without mentioning.

Days begin at 5:30 when I get up. I'm at my "desk" (aka a spot at one of the tables with my kids) by 6:50/7:00 am, and kids start arriving at 7:30. The days practically fly by when they're around. Morning work, calendar time, self-selected reading, specials, writing, math. snack, guided reading, lunch, centers, recess, science, classroom meeting, bus loading, car riding lines. Believe it or not - that all takes 7.5 hours. Then I usually stick around after school until close to five working on stuff for the next day that I can't do at home. Then I come home and often, work on stuff for school.

Now - I always used to hate it when people would tell me "student teaching is SO hard, you kill yourself!", and I still do. Coming from a few weeks of experience, I would alter that sentence just a bit. "Student teaching is really hard. It's a full time job you're paying for. But it's everything I've been training for for three years. I love it."

Now doesn't that sound so much more inviting?

So while there is not really any need for me to detail the in's and out's of every single day, I did feel the need to say something about it. To say that I love it, I will sometimes complain about it, and I feel honored to get the chance to do it.

You should know.

Feeling Bland.

I was just looking around for the first time in a couple of weeks at all the blogs of my closest friends. They're beautiful! Some are sleek, others flamboyant, and even more splattered with colors and pictures. Then I got on my blog.

It's time for reform. In more ways than one.

My blog looks very nearly as bland as it has been this summer. I have failed any "reading public" that was once in place immensely. Two posts.

Sad.

So, as I try to update my blog more often, I am also going to make an effort to make it something you would like to read, and look at.

During a time when the internet has been so sparse and my life as been so full I cannot feel bad about my lack of blogging, but in the fall as the internet is always available, I will make an effort to update/entertain/express/share as often as I can.

Thanks for continuing to check in. To look into this little window. Even when it hasn't been that interesting.

Total 3 Year Old Moment

Listen for Kyrie.

My laugh is weird.

Camp: Day One

I've been enjoying Chattanooga for around two and a half weeks now, working at New City in preparation for today. Today was the first day of GLAD Camp. 85 kids arrived this morning at New City, ages ranging from 3 to 11. And if that doesn't sound like a lot of children, imagine them running, screaming for seemingly no apparent reason, and popping balloons they were never supposed to find.

The day started for me a 5:45 when I woke up with just enough time to get ready, eat breakfast, and make it to New City by 7 am. Kids started arriving for before-care at just around 7:30.

There was rule-establishing and singing all together, and then we broke off for Bible. Little did I know before this morning, I'm the second grade Bible teacher. Awesome. So my six second graders and I headed down the hall to talk about "Faithfulness". I prayed silently to myself as I tried my best to explain clearly and poignantly, yet without confusion, what faithfulness was. Fortunately, God used whatever came out of my mouth for good, they seemed to have somewhat of a grasp by the end of twenty five minutes.

Then it was time for the 1st and 2nd graders to join forces. That's 18 kids total. Recreation time. "Duck, duck, goose" and "tag" were the games of choice. They were enjoyable and included their fare share of "my stomach hurts bad"s, and "he pushed me"s.

Inside. Time for dAnCIng!!!

This worked... kind of. Each child had their own balloon, except for the children who had theirs stolen the first time they threw it up in the air. The teacher for dance was wonderful, loud enough to be heard, held her own, and relaxed. A combination that is not only preferable, but almost necessary in working with children. I strive for this daily.

Next, art.

We learned how to draw cylinders. Simple as that.

Then, glorious lunch time. I spent the majority coaching kids through eating all their carrots before they were allowed to get more chicken.

On to Reading. I'm the 1st and 2nd grade Reading teacher. The kids spent 45 minutes with me, and then switched for 45 minutes of math. We read a story, talked about using our imaginations, drew a bird, and then imagined and drew where we thought that bird might be happiest. (The book was all about using your imagination).

Next was line-up-and-go-home time.

During this time I counseled a first grade boy through the woes of crushing on a girl who doesn't want anything to do with him... she's a second grader. I told him the less he tries to be around her, the more likely she is to want to be around him. The "don't smother her" tactic. He took my advice, and then asked me if I could be his friend until she wanted to be around him. My heart almost melted out of my body. We hung out. Then Rashawn asked if he could be Keith's friend too.

My heart continues to swell to almost busting when I watched this interaction. These boys being so dear to one another was the highlight of my day.

Then they loaded up on the bus - new friends - and headed home.

They'll be back tomorrow morning, bright and early. My 1st and 2nd graders as well as the other 67 beautiful faces.

They day was insane, exhausting, somewhat disorganized, loud, and bordering on out of control. But I loved it.

You know those times in your life when God confirms you in a huge way. Today was one of those times. I know that this summer is going to wear me so thin I will have nothing to do but go to Him with my ragged spirit in exhaustion and anxiety, but the fact that I'm excited about that only makes me more confidant that this is what I want to be doing with my summer, and one day very soon, with my life.

Children make my life beautiful.

A Quest For Musical "Independence"

I don't try to hide the fact that I bum music off of people. In high school it was my brother Alex. What he listened to, I listened to. Then it was friends - then James - and now, for maybe the first time ever I'm trying to figure it out on my own.

Yet - as I was thinking about it over this past week I realized that music is one of those things that is, by its nature, shared. Whether you find it on a website, or you hear it at a concert or in a bar, you really, usually, discover music through the generous offerings of others. This is one of the things that is so beautiful about music. It's impossible to hear it all - period. And nearly as impossible to hear even a good and healthy amount of it if you seek it out entirely on your own. Music is created to be shared. So, instead of making the "quest" on my own, I'm going to trouble you - my "audience", my friends, to let me in on what you love.

Tell me your favorites. Artists, albums, songs. I don't care what decade it was made in, if you think I'll hate it, or who made it. I want to hear it. Then, I will pilfer through what you gave me, what I glean from conversation, interaction, and the gift that is the internet, and perhaps by the end of the summer I will come out with a broader, fresher, one might say, even more "independent" music taste. And by that I mean a bigger conglomerate of all of yours.

Thanks for the help.

helenburg88@gmail.com - send it my way.

Hope You Wrote It Down

So...

My mom thought it might not be the greatest idea to have my address on the internet. I get that. So I took it down.

If you want it, you probably love me enough to have my cell phone number. Just call me, I'll give you my address.

In A Shameless Cry For Communication...

...I write you this post, oh loyal followers.

In the matter of one week (May 16 - May 23), I will have:

Participated in and watched my only brother get married.

Taken my boyfriend to the train station and 6 am on the day after my brothers wedding and said goodbye to him as he boarded a train to Houston, TX for three months. Not knowing the next time I would see him.

Driven from Michigan to Asheville (707 miles).

Unpacked, repacked, and unpacked my bags.

Moved to Chattanooga.

Started a new job.

I know every one's lives are crazy, but this week for me has already been, and will continue to be, one of the most emotionally intense of my life to date.

But what is life without feeling, right? I'm glad I cried when my brother said his vows and married the woman of his dreams. I'm glad I had tears streaming down my face as I watched James get on the train and speed away. I'm glad I feel so excited and ready to get in my car and move to Chattanooga. I'm glad my nerves are high as I start a new job.

I'm feeling it, every single change and experience, and while it's taking a toll on my heart it seems like sometimes, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway, I have strayed far from my original purpose in writing this blog post. While all of this has been going on, my dear friend and soon to be house mate, Sarah Bell, has been keeping our little apartment in order in Chattanooga.

So - here is my shameless cry.

Write - Visit - Call.

And know that when you write, it is my hobby and my joy to make little trinkets and send them to those I love. So make sure it's got a return address :)

Everyone is out and about this summer and I want to hear about what you are doing, so why not get back to the roots of long distance communication and write me something. I will write back.

Praise the Lord for summertime, and all it holds.