End of the First Quater

      Wow!  I cannot believe that the end of the first quarter is here.  Nine weeks of school are done...soon Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here.  I have enjoyed so much teaching, and time has just seemed to fly by...well, for the most part.  There are some days that I wonder if the day will ever end.  I have to say that I have already learned so much this school year.  I do not think a teacher ever stops learning.  I have learned that it takes a lot of reliance on the Lord to be an effective teacher.  I only have eight students, but in my classroom there is such a vast range of personalities, and each one needs a completely different approach.  I have the pouty ones, the stubborn ones, the soft-hearted, the fun-loving, the " I am almost a teenager" ones, etc.  I have learned to love each child for a different quality that I see in him/her.  Someone recently told me that the mark of a good teacher is one who can find the potential in every child and develop it in that child.  I know that I have not yet made that "good mark".  Just when I think I got one of them figured out, something happens to make me realize that there is much more in that little brain of theirs that I have not yet figured out.
       One student that I have really enjoyed this year is the one kindergartner in my class...his name is Zachary.  We of course all call him Zach.  I was a little worried for him at first.  He would be the only "new kid" in our class, and all the other kids knew each other.  I was worried that he would be a little afraid and apprehensive to come into a classroom where he really did not know the kids.  I was also worried because he has a bit of a speech problem...he substitutes the letters d and t for other letters.  My worries were gone almost as soon as school started.  As soon as he walked into the classroom, he seemed to get along perfectly with all the kids and he was not at all shy about talking to them.  As a bit of and "ice-breaker", before going into all of the school rules, I had each child tell me what his/her favorite thing was about the summer.  I was not sure what he would do when I got to him, but when his turn came he loudly said, "Twimmin'!"  He explained to me in his own way that him and his brother had a great time swimming during the summer.  The next day, we were all down in the lunch room for snack time when I heard him say, "Hey guys! Do you got a poon?  My momma 'got to gimme a poon!"  His mom had forgotten to pack him a spoon for his pudding!  There are many times now, that if I need a little cheering up, I just walk over to his desk and talk to him for a couple of minutes.  He is always working his hardest, whether he understands or not, and is really trying his best to work on his speech.  I was trying to teach him to say six, so I said, "Ok, Zach, say ssssssssssix". Wanting to do his best for "teacher" (that is what he calls me) he said, "Sssssssssssdix".  Still not quite there, but working on it.  He excitedly called out one day, "Teacher, I can say ffffour and ffffive, not dour and dive!!!!"  I have so many more stories to tell about him, but I will stop there for now. 
      This school year has definitely had its challenges, but I am thankful that this is the work that the Lord has put me in for now.  I know that there is still so much more that I need to learn, and I pray that my eyes, ears, and heart will be open so that I will learn it.