Fourth Grade Lessons

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." 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtwIT8JjddM

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!" ♡

"Doing Life"

        Hello and happy November! I have been in Haiti for almost 3 months now and I finally feel like I'm "doing life." Instead of just focusing on school work (which is honestly enough to keep me busy), I am able to make my decisions and add diversity to my life as I grow in relationship with the people here. Here's some examples:
        Doing life looks like a trip to the Potter's House to take a sick baby to the doctor. Little baby was malnourished with intestinal parasites.
        Doing life looks like weekend trips to Children of the Promise to love on and tutor some of the kids I met during my first trip to Haiti in 2014.
         Doing life looks like an impromptu trip to a nearby restaurant when your groceries don't arrive and you really just need a  girl's night.
         Doing life looks like a Halloween party, a week early, so that you can celebrate with friends.
         Doing life looks like stopping class mid-lesson to "rescue" the school's dog from her leash in the rain so my students could focus. (It was like a movie scene the way they cheered as she came running for them full speed.)
         Doing life looks like making flour & sugar free cookies with a student so that she can participate in our awesome class party that she "paid" for with her class economy money.
          Doing life looks like canceling your weekend plans to attend a co-worker's mom's funeral to show your support.
           Doing life looks like an exciting adventure with the radio station's president.
           Doing life looks like housing a co-worker and feeding her family because her house is flooded, school is cancelled and it's been raining for 4 days straight.
           Doing life looks like changing from our sweats (it was 84 degrees and we were cold) into shorts to run through the rain and stomp in some puddles.

These examples are only a few of what my life has started to look like...I am so thankful that I am learning to not be so busy that I miss what God is doing around me as a do life here in Haiti. 

What I’m Here For

What I’m Here For

          Everyone knows that a teacher’s life isn’t easy. There are endless lessons to plans, papers to grade, standards to meet, and students to reach. Even in Haiti, separated from mainstream education systems, these things can be exhausting. These past two weeks though, I’ve gotten many reminders as to my purpose of being here this year.

          My class and I have sort of an agreement. We can have fun and run things differently as long as we are safe, respectful, and learning. This works out well for us usually and allows for our small class bond to grow. I started to feel though, that maybe we were too close and that they were too clingy. It started with read aloud time where I just read through a fun novel. Instead of sitting at their seats, I allow them to sit on the floor or in the coveted comfy chairs. Now, most of my students want to be right up next to me or at my feet within reach. At snack/ first recess time, they want to spend it inside with me. At lunch, it’s a race to see who will ask me to sit with them first. Then recess comes and they still want to sit and talk with me. (Note: this is not every day and every time, they still play with their friends, but it is a very common occurrence). It was to the point where all my food/recess/break time that I use for prep was taken up each day.

          The teacher in me would groan. Didn’t they realize I had work to do, copies to make, lessons to plan? All the work that comes with giving them their education? Then I felt a nudge from God reminding me why I am here and why I ever wanted to be a teacher in the first place. I’m here for the relationships. I’m here for the hugs, the laughs, the drying of tears, the lunch table discussions. I’m here for the hand-in-hand walk down sidewalk in the mornings, for the “Miss Kacie, did you know”s, the never-ending stories, and lame fourth grade jokes. I want them to confide in me when they are frustrated with more than a math problem and trust me to know their fears and life questions. I want them to see how I live my life and think that maybe they want to follow my Jesus too.

          After this reminder, I found a lot more joy in my days and a lot less exhaustion. I am still definitely tired, but it’s that good fulfilled, satisfied tired. I enjoy sitting with them and taking part in their conversations. While some days the conversations are wacky, others bring a lot of nine-year-old wisdom. No matter what the case, our time is now being cherished a whole lot more and I look forward to what the rest of the year will bring to me and my clingy class.

Catching Up

January 7^th, 2016

Coming back from Haiti this time was different. Everyone handled it differently. My family had work and school on my first day back so it was just me and my dogs reconnecting as life went on around me. Even with friends though, at church and otherwise, I felt like I was getting a glimpse into the future. People said, “Welcome back to the States” or “Good to see you back church.” No one said, “Welcome home.” In fact, the one person who started to say that stopped himself and asked me, “Wait, or are you visiting here and Haiti is home now?” Other comments included, “How long are you here for?” “When do you go back?” And even “When do you go home?” And “I have a feeling that pretty soon we won’t be seeing you very often around here.”

As much as these comments caught me off guard, I wasn’t offended by them. I know missionaries who have lived internationally for years and their family and friends refuse to acknowledge their official “home-ness” of their countries. It just seems to me that everyone around me as just accepted my calling before I have. I have known this was coming but I think there was always a little part of me that hoped God would tweak my timing to be more convenient. You know, like after some teaching experiences or a husband, or paying off student loans…Fortunately, God’s ways and His timing are not my own and I need to let Him call the shots on this one. He has proved over and over that this is His voice I’m feeling and it’s not a call for I’m ready. It’s for now.

          I’ve stayed awake until 5am pondering my future to come to these conclusions…I’m hoping now that I’ve admitted it, I’ll be able to sleep.

August 17^th, 2016

          Well….as many of you know, I let God call the shots and I am headed back to Haiti this Saturday. It is currently 2:52 am on my birthday and I’m laying downstairs because I am literally hotter than Haiti and my mind is buzzing with emotions and thoughts that I haven’t gotten on paper yet. I’ll give you a quick recap of my year since that revelation and then hopefully update you from my new normal.

          January: Start working at TIA as lead infant teacher

          February: Start application process to get back to Haiti

          March: TIA closed so I moved to be the lead 3 year old teacher at Kiddie Academy

          May: get accepted to OMS! (Start fundraising)

          July: resign from K.A. to head to CROSS training in Indiana

          August: two week of VBS and this one week of prep before heading down!

** I think I fell asleep because that last sentence wasn’t even finished.

August 21, 2016

          It hasn’t been an easy road, but I’m finally back in Haiti. A quote I kept finding in random places is this:

 which is fitting because even though the transition will be difficult, it is not about becoming better, it is being who God created me to be. So anyway, after a lovely commissioning service by my church, last week was spent cleaning and packing and cherishing every moment with my family. I’m now in the process of unpacking and settling before I start back to school with the other teachers on Wednesday. This week I will hopefully give you a better update on my life in Haiti and what it will look like.  Thank you for your prayers! Stay tuned....

"What was your favorite moment, Kacie?"

As my time in Haiti is drawing to a close, I have a new question to be answered. Instead of “Why did you chose Haiti?” I keep getting, “What was your favorite part?” and “What did you learn?”

So far, each time I have been asked I’ve quickly responded, “That’s too much pressure!” How can I pick one moment out of 7 weeks? One of my housemates suggested that I narrow it down and make a list of things I will miss and somethings I will not miss.

I decided to start with the nots.

1.    I will not miss missing family and friends and the moments that we could be sharing. Definitely number one…I felt most homesick on Kira’s birthday, but even knowing I am missing little things-basketball games, movie nights, inside jokes-it’s hands down the hardest part.

2.    I will not miss mosquitos. One can only take so many bites before they wish for extinction.

3.    I will not miss missing my pets who help ground me when I need a break from people.

4.    I will not miss being so far from Dunkin’ Donuts. I’d really love to have a Dunkin’ Caramel Iced Coffee. Or a hot Pumpkin. Mmmm.

5.    I will not miss the roosters crowing and goats screaming at midnight. Is that really necessary goat? Shush!

And that’s as far as I got. I’m sure I could list little nuisances but really… I can do without the material stuff. Here’s what I will miss about not being in Haiti:

1.    My students, my “Class-ity class.” My ten students and I warmed up to each other pretty quickly! They are hard workers, willing to learn and try all of the new strategies I’ve learned about, but never put into practice before. I love their energy, the amount of random questions they ask, and how they interact with me and make me feel like a real teacher.

2.    My housemates. I’ll miss our long talks over our many dishes, our yummy meals from scratch, our adventures, our movie/Chuck nights, and all of the little things we did together to make Haiti feel like home.

3.    My community of surrounding missionaries. They welcomed me so eagerly and have been such a huge encouragement to me. I never felt like an outsider here.

4.    The cats. It may seem funny, but I will genuinely miss the kitty cuddles and how Juliet waits for me on my bed when I get home from school for a de-stress cuddle.

5.    The views like:

6.    Being close to COTP. Duh. J

7.    The lessons God teaches in the midst of the uncomfortable: being surrounded by a different language, new people that are always coming and going, long bumpy roads, heat, rain, angels in disguise, questions of a child, unknown future ahead…It is in these moments that God’s grace are the most visible. 

8.    The person I feel I am become in the midst of these things. “You get a strange feeling when you leave a place. Like, you’ll not only miss the people you love, but you miss the person you are at this time and place because you’ll never be this way ever again.”

In conclusion, I am excited to go home and graduate, see my family, and celebrate Christmas with my church. But at the same time, my heart is heavy with all of the things I am leaving behind.

And for everyone that asks about after I graduate: “She wants school to be over, but she’s afraid of it being over, because then she’ll have to figure out what comes next (Levithan).” That quote sums up how I’ve felt about school since I started college. So… I am praying for wisdom and discernment as to what God has next in my life. I appreciate any prayers you could send for me (and my family) as I have some major decisions ahead. I’d be more than happy to tell you stories and show you pictures of my time here. J

Where My Heart is Happy

      As most of you hopefully know now, I am finishing my last necessary part of my schooling-my second student teaching assignment- overseas in Haiti. I'm teaching in a third grade classroom at Cowman International School which is near the city of Cap Haitian. It's going great so far, but I wanted to answer a very common question- why Cowman? Why Haiti?
   
    If you have ever talked to me, even for 2.5 seconds, you probably know that I spent six weeks last summer at a childcare center/orphanage in Lagosette, Haiti called COTP. You probably know that I completely fell in love with the babies, the preschoolers, the atmosphere, and the people. You've probably seen my scrapbook or have seen my Facebook posts about it. From the second I got on the place to come home, my heart has been torn between Haiti and home.

    When I found out that I was accepted into the international student teaching program at Cairn, I knew that I wanted to find somewhere in Haiti. When I went onto the ACSI website (the Christian school accreditation place), there were only two in the whole country, Cowman and Quesqueya, a school in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. When I researched where this little school, Cowman, was I found that it was only 25 minutes away from where I was in the summer of 2014! Perfect! Except that that was the only information I could find. I questioned my supervisors and they were very doubtful that it would work out. They recommended that I go with my third placement option and forget that I even saw the Haitian schools. My heart was set though, and with some determination, I finally uncovered a missionary teacher's blog from Cowman and connected with him. Eventually this lead to me finding the ministry's webpage and director's contact information and so here I am! I love feeling like a real teacher in my classroom and have come to love my ten third graders. My mentor teacher, principal, housemates, and everyone else have been wonderful as well.

    Instead of being nervous about being away from home for another six weeks, I was only excited. My face was probably like a kid at Christmas when I first caught sight of the Haitian mountains outside of my plane window. To make my stay even sweeter, I get to attend church at COTP on most Sundays and am currently spending a long weekend there as well! I am surrounded by my kids from last year and some new ones as well! My hair has been pulled, I've been pinched, slobbered on, and kissed. My feet are filthy because a little someone stole my shoes for a while so that I would tickle her. I am tired. And I  am more content that I have been in a long time.

     So, why Haiti? I think one of my education professors said it best. While looking at my scrapbook, full of pictures of the kids here at COTP, instead of looking at the kids and commenting on how cute they all are (and believe me, they are), she looked at my face. She said, "When you talk about Haiti, you light up more than you ever do any other time in my classes. Look at you in these pictures. This...this is where your heart is happy."

And that is exactly why I chose Haiti for this round of six week adventures; it is where God has chosen to make my heart happy.

Not Enough

As I held one of my favorite toddlers in a long snuggle, a feeling foreign to me in Haiti crept its way into me—anxiety. Besides some moments of homesickness, I have not felt worried or anxious about too much here. Being flexible and patient with the slow pace here has helped a lot. So why now? I finally realized that I am nervous and anxious about going home. I am not ready to leave these children that I have come to know and love. For the past few days every time I hold a baby I worry that this will be the last time I get to cuddle with them. My time here is not enough for me and I get overwhelmed with this.

What if this is the last time I hear ______ yelling my name as he sees me coming down the path? My time is not enough.

What if I never get to see ________ and _______ sticking their lips out through the gate waiting for kisses again? My time is not enough.

I want to be there when _______ starts walking or when ______ finally can hold up her head. I want to see all of the babies healthy and all of the children with their forever families.

“When I am overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2) and because of this reality, I know that God had a reason for me to be here in these specific six weeks. I know that these babies will get along fine without me being here because they are loved by wonderful Haitian and international staff. Though the adoption process is slow right now, I am confident that God will not leave them as orphans (John 14) because He sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68). I am thankful for all of these things. I am thankful that He is more than enough.

As mentioned before, being here in Haiti for six weeks instead of just one has taught me many things. I have learned so much about having a constant biblical worldview, have changed my so-called “mission ideology,” and have witnessed firsthand how to really rely on God’s daily grace.  

Before coming to Haiti God taught me the important lesson that His way is the best way (Proverbs 19:21). I wanted to go to Africa or Asia—somewhere far away—for the first chunk of summer so that I’d be home in time for home’s VBS, my 21^st birthday, and school preparation. The way it turned out though is that God chose for me to go Haiti—just a short flight from Florida—during the last chunk of summer where I would ‘miss' all these things.

I thought I learned this lesson well, but still was making plans in my heart. I told myself that this trip is just to get my feet wet in an “orphanage” setting with a longer than normal time-frame. It would act has great experience, but Haiti was to be a one-time deal because I was probably going to settle somewhere close to where I student teach. Though the latter might still be possible, God once again broke my heart and filled it with love for Haiti, these kids, and COTP. If I fell in love with a kid after a week in Mexico, I must have been crazy to think I wouldn’t do the same with babies after 6 weeks with them! I’m not exactly sure if there is a future for me here, but I am definitely planning on visiting. If God saw fit, I’d definitely be open to considering Haiti for anything in my future.

Lots of prayers will be said in the upcoming week which starts with my 21^st birthday and ends with my homecoming. I will be praying that my anxiety is settled and that peace will cover my heart as I readjust to home and school. Many many many prayers will be said for the all of the children here and for their biological and forever families. Now I’ll also be praying for God to really direct my path because I know for certain that His will is where I want to be.

Though my time may feel like not enough to me, I know that my God is enough (2 Corinthians 12:9). So now I’ll strive to worship in the waiting—through the rest of my schooling—while He teaches me more and leads me to where He want me to be. J