Fourth Grade Lessons
I’m not
sure how many people I’ve told, but teaching fourth graders was never on my
bucket-list. All my life, I have wanted to work with little kids. My mom and mommom
have passed on enough materials that I could teach preschool without much
preparation. So when my two supervisors from student teaching in Haiti asked me to teach fourth grade this year, I was a bit skeptical (and if I’m being honest, a
bit scared too).
Now that
we are half way through the second marking period though, I can say that that
has changed! Every day isn’t a piece of cake, but I love my fourth graders. I
love how I can have real, deep conversations with them and really work through
our material. In the process of me learning how to teach them in the most
effective ways, they’ve been teaching me some things along way. I thought I’d
share some lessons from fourth grade.
1.)
Be silly!
2.)
Be kind.
3.)
Don’t forget to play.
4.)
Ask questions.
"Miss Kacie, how many galaxies are there?““Are elk bigger than deer?” “How big is the sun compared to earth?” “What is the world’s biggest insect?” (Thank God for Google!)  |
| http://pics-about-space.com/ |
5.)
Love all of God’s creations.
Ok, so this one is kinda my fault. I'm one that cannot kill a bug without feeling guilty..It annoys people, but I can't help it, I promise! :P .I may have turned many of my students into that too. Where they used to freak out at bugs, spiders, snakes, etc. they now are curious and kind. Now, instead of screaming at a giant spider, they say, "Aww! It's so cute! Let's move our stuff so that he can be safe where he is."
6.)
Dig deep into God’s Word.
This one goes alongside the questions one. They have so many impressive questions about the Word! Where did dinosaurs go and where are they in the Bible? (Genesis & Job in case you were wondering) What does the Bible say about angels? What will heaven be like? If Jesus was born in 4 A.D., how was He at creation? How can one God have three persons? I love these questions as it makes me dive deep into the Bible to make sure I am teaching them correctly. It is also evidence that they are thinking through these issues at a young age!
7.)
Sing “Bless the Lord (10,000 reasons)” whenever it comes to mind.
This is some of my kids' favorite song (which I love)! We started adding in some worship song time to our Bible time recently. I've found that it really sets the pace of the day and makes everyone in a better mood. This song though, it's not just sung at Bible time...It is hummed while I am teaching. It is done as a duet, quartet, 11-tet as we are doing stations. It is begged for at chapel. It brings a calm across the room as we sing, "Bless the Lord oh my soul. Worship His Holy name. Sing like never before, oh my soul, worship His holy name."
8.)
Pray boldly.
One of the best decisions I've made this year is to turn from one or two people praying each day to doing "popcorn prayers." Though there are some that will whine that it takes too long, for the most part they offer up pure, bold prayers about so many things. I just have to give you some examples.
"God, thank you for all that you have made and all you have given us. Please comfort those who don't have as much."
"God, thank you that we go to a school where we can grow more in you. Please be with those who cannot hear about You at school and with those who cannot even go to school. Help them find a way to learn about you."
"Lord, please come back soon so we can see the New Heaven and New Earth...but God give us enough time to tell more people about you so that no one will spend forever without you"
"Let the bad guys stop doing wrong, and turn to You so that others will see and do the same."
"Thank you for loving us. Help kids without parents get to go home soon with forever families."
"Help the people dealing the flood so that they can fix their homes, find food, and a safe place to sleep."
I'm telling you- when these kids really pray, I get the goosebumps and feel the Spirit in my classroom. I even told them that I don't care when it takes more than 5 minutes to pray because I imagine God listening and smiling in Heaven at us.
9.)
Hug often.
If you have questions about this one, please see my post about my "clingy class." ;) .
10.)
There is something
way more important than lesson plans, conferences, and standards. These 4th
graders "love Jesus deep down in their hearts!" ♡
