“Miss Kelli, I thought you were going to be my teacher!” This is a statement that I hear the first graders make to me several times a week.
At the end of last school year we knew that we were going to need a Jr. High teacher with Megan going back to Washington. Over the summer it was decided that I would jump up a few grades and teach seventh and eighth grade. Cindy Lauersdorf from Phoenix came to the mission with several years of teaching experience in first grade. So I volunteered to teach Jr. High; quite a change from first grade to say the least. However, I really do enjoy Jr. High.
These first few weeks have been a time of figuring things out–the students figuring me out and me trying to figure them out. The first week or so was a bit rough. One day I started geography class with the question, “So, who thinks yesterday’s lesson was insanely hard?” Jumping from 1st to 7th grade, it feels like my kids know soooo much more than my first graders. And it is true–they do know so much more; but I’m finding out that there are still a few things left for me to teach them.
I have 8 students in my Jr. High class. Four seventh graders and four eighth graders. I teach them in the mornings for the first four hours. We start out the day with Bible. This year we are going thorough Acts to Revelation with the main focus for the first semester on the book of Acts. Second hour is math. With such a small class I am able to do individualized math with each student working at his or her own pace. Third hour is World Geography and fourth hour is English. In the afternoons I manage the library for the younger grades. Each class K-6 gets half an hour a week in the library. I get to read stories to them and help them check out books. It is fun for me and it keeps me in the elementary scene too–which I also enjoy.
This year is full of changes–but they are all from the Lord. I really enjoy teaching Jr. High. I will greatly appreciate your prayers as I get to know my students. Pray that the Lord will give me an unselfish love for each individual in my class. Also pray for the salvation of several of my students and growth in the Lord for others. Thank you so much for you diligence in prayer–it means so much.