Through The Eyes Of A Child

Wednesday, June 8th:

Hearing 32 sweet children with Scottish accents welcome you with, “Good morning Miss Freeman” is one of the most wonderful ways to start any morning. Miss Laird passed the microphone over to me this morning, and I was in charge of leading the class from 9:00 until break at 10:30. It was a surreal feeling to take attendance, call out lunch orders, and collect lunch money in a classroom. I loved it =)

After handling morning procedures, I had the students work on an assignment left over from yesterday while we were waiting for the other P-4 students to come in for math. Some of Miss Laird’s class goes into another classroom for their math section, and some from the neighboring class come into our classroom. These groups are divided based on their current math abilities. Once everyone was settled and in their correct groups, I turned their attention to the problems on the board. Today was mental math day, and they were asked to complete a set of various multiplication problems.

For a stretching break, I had the students get up and we sang the song I taught them yesterday. They of course loved it, and the kids from the other P-4 class were excited to learn it! I heard them singing it in the halls on the way to lunch today =) After taking a stretching break, I taught them a fun mental math game. We only had time to play it a couple of times, but they are excited to play it again next week during mental math.

For the remainder of the morning, we brainstormed ideas as a class for making posters to sell Viking Long ships. The children created some incredible posters! I wish I would have had my camera to take pictures! Maybe if they have them tomorrow, I will take some photos for your enjoyment =)

I love being able to encourage kids, especially those who you can tell are ignored or trouble makers, This little boy in my class named Marin gets in trouble ALL the time, but today while they were working on their Viking posters, he was doing an incredible job, so I quietly went up to his desk, knelt down  beside him, put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Martin, I am so unbeievably proud of you and your work! You are doing such a fantastic job on your Viking poster, If it's ok with you, I would love to show it to the whole class so they can see what a wonderful job you've done!" I have never seen his eyes light up the way they did today! It's amazing to witness how much a little bit of love and encouragement can change the eyes of a child.May I never fail to forget the ways that God teaches me by helping me see through the eyes of a child.

Never neglect an opportunity

Tuesday, June 7th

Today was an incredible day with my P-4 students at Carronshore Primary. Because our Bible teacher had both of our classes last night, we had the morning free to do whatever we wanted. I asked Dr. Wood last night if he would bring me to the school so I could spend the entire day with my students =) I absolutely loved being able to spend the entire school day with the kids, and was able to get a lot of extra teaching in. It’s been great to work with some of the students in reading and see their progress. The Red group was especially excited today about their book, and it brings me so much joy to see their love for reading!

Between art and French class, I did a small lesson on geography. This will hopefully help transition into the lesson I’ll be teaching next week in front of Dr. Wood for a grade. Afterwards, there was still a small amount of time left, so while Miss Laird (my coo operating teacher) had a meeting, I was able to read to the children from the book “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”  You could have heard a pin drop in the room it was so quiet.

One of my favorite parts of the day was teaching my class a math chant which learned previously in a class at Harding a few semesters ago. It goes like this:

0,2,4,6,8 (Students repeat: 0,2,4,6,8)
We think evens are really great! (We think evens are really great)!
1,3,5,7,9 (1,3,5,7,9)
Are you odd like Frankenstein? (Are you odd like Frankenstein)?

At the end, I had them walk around like Frankenstein (which was quite hilarious)!

I'm so grateful for the extra time I was able to spend at school today. While I'm sure sleeping in would have been nice, it wouldn't have been near as rewarding as a day spent with children. May I always be awake to the opportunities given to me throughout life!

Saturday, June 4^th

Wow, today was one of the most incredible days of the trip! Yesterday I did some researching, and was able to find this amazing all day tour through the countryside of Ireland. It started at 9:00am and went until 6:00pm. The tour went to beautiful sights, including where scenes from Brave Heart and P.S. I love you were filmed =) It was exactly as I had imagined a day in Ireland would be, including sheep, cows walking on the roads, and listening to folktales and Irish music while driving up curved roads and hillsides. Rather than writing a whole lot, I’ll just show you the day through some photos (which can hardly do justice to its true beauty)!

Standing where the movie P.S. I love you was filmed

Niki and I reinacting a scene from the movie

Ireland: Day One

Friday, June 3^rd

Our group had to catch a train at 5:30 this morning for Ireland, so I planned to wake up around 4:45. However, I awoke instead to the shrill, high-pitched sound of the fire alarm going off at 3:00 this morning. We all rushed downstairs, realizing this wasn’t a drill. While we waited out in the freezing cold for the fire brigade to arrive, a man at the carronvale came outside and lit up his cigarette (which was probably the cause of the alarm going off in the first place)! The most hilarious thing about it was that Emma Poe, turned and looked at the man and said, “REALLY?” and then stomped her feet, turned her back to him, and folded her arms across her chest. Absolutely hysterical (and probably one of those moments where you just had to be there,lol).

After an early start, we walked down to the train station, caught a bus to the airport, and then headed out on our Ireland adventure! We walked from the bus stop and found our lovely hostel, Isaacs House.

Having never been to Dublin before, I wanted to see and explore as much as possible. Everyone in our group had different ideas of what they wanted to do, so we all split up and planned a meeting time later that afternoon. Brittni, Niki, and I found a free 3 hour walking tour around Dublin, so we headed to City Hall and met for the tour.

About to go on our tour around Dublin

*Dublin Castle
*Dublin Linn
*Viking remains
*City Hall
*Coach House
*Trinity College
*Ha’ Penny Bridge
*Dublin’s medieval walls
*Spire of Dublin
*Christ Church Cathedral
*Chester beauty library

Here are a few interesting facts I learned on the tour:*The Coach House was built 1883 to hide poverty from the queen. She was coming to visit and would be staying in the Dublin castle, but the view from her windows showed the slums, so it was built simply to cover it. This mentality can be seen in their government of, “If you can’t see the problem, it’s not there.”

Outside the Coach House

*St. Patrick was not from Ireland. He was from Britain and taken to Ireland as a slave, and after being freed, returned to Ireland many years later.

*No Viking helmet has ever been recovered with horns. A man simply created that image for a show to make them look scary, and it’s stuck ever since.

*Trinity college was built in 1592 and is considered the Harvard of Ireland.

The team met up after the tour, and after taking a rest in a nearby park (we had walked over 10 miles), we headed to a local pub for dinner. The food was delicious, and we all headed back to the hostel for a good night’s rest! A very fun, educational, and successful day in Dublin, Ireland!

Dinner at O'Donoghues

Some more pictures for your enjoyment =)

Lady Justice

Christ's Church Cathedral

Dublin's Spire

How many teachers does it take to change a lightbulb?

Thursday, June 2nd

There is a moment every teacher holds dear in her heart. It’s a moment where you realize all the hours spent planning lessons was worth it. A time in which you realize you were given a special gift to be a teacher, and you see before your eyes that you made a difference, even if miniscule, in the life of a student. This moment came for me today, as I was working with a struggling student in math. Today, I was witness to the “light bulb” moment. The “Ah Ha, I finally understand” proclamation!

There is nothing more exciting as a teacher than watching a breakthrough happen before your own eyes. It’s a time where the teacher and student are so excited you celebrate, high five, and give away stickers that say “GREAT JOB!” or “YOU”RE A STAR!” Smiles are exchanged, and it feels like progress is being made.
Nothing thrilled me more than to see a darling little boy not only finally understand math for the first time, but to be EXCITED about it and be begging to do more after an hour of work! The problems hadn’t changed, but he was now able to see clearly. To think clearly. To understand what was being asked of him. But this joy didn’t come without a struggle. He was frustrated. I was frustrated. It took a lot of encouragement and patience. You want so badly to say, “It’s so simple, how can you not see this?”

Isn’t this often how our understanding of God is? His message is there right in front of us. Nothing has changed, or ever will change. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. His message is one that embodies simplicity, yet we lack the eyes to see, and ears to hear. I am so unbelievably thankful for the patience God has with me. I struggle. I lack understanding. I become frustrated. But the Lord is faithful, and He is the ultimate teacher. He works through our struggles with us, and guides us to peace that passes understanding. He is patient with me beyond what I deserve. How his face must light up when we are blind, and then see. When we experience those “light bulb” moments in our walk with Him. What Joy He must feel for us!

I am a teacher who is always learning. What a blessing to be able to learn from a teacher who is LIGHT!

Today was our first day of sun in Scotland. Here are some pictures I took around our house. We had a lovely day reading and spending time together outside. At 8:00, we had a Bible study outside. Such a wonderful day of LIGHT!

 

Viking Acrostics

Wednesday,

Today my class behaved wonderfully! In the morning we worked in groups talking about the Vikings, and then each table was given a different sheet of paper with separate items listed about the Vikings. These included Viking boats, Viking jewelry, Viking Gods, and Viking homes. We worked on using big descriptive words (Wow words) that correlated with each poster. Each table was given a poster, and the children had 5 minutes to brainstorm all the different descriptions they believed went under each category. Every 5 minutes the papers were rotated to the next group, and that table added on any more descriptions the first group had not thought of yet…the kids really enjoyed this activity! Here are some pictures I took while they were working hard:

After PE, we spent some time looking at poetry. The children were going to be completing an Acrostic poem about Vikings. We looked at two different examples of a good acrostic poem, and a poorly written acrostic poem. We had the kids decide what made them good or bad, and what kinds of standards they wanted to set for themselves to make great acrostic poems! They did a fantastic job on their rough drafts, and I’m excited to see their finished products!

After school, Niki, Laurel, and I almost missed our bus! We started running after it, and my earring fell out in route. Oh well, at least we made the bus =) Tonight after tea (dinner), Adam picked us up and we went to play games with some of the youth from Cumbernauld. It was a blast! I ended up going up against a teenage boy in one of the
games, and I’m very proud to say I destroyed him! He didn’t have a chance against me ;)

Another day at Carronshore

Tuesday, May 31^st, 2011

Today I didn’t go to the school until the afternoon because we take our Harding courses in the morning on Tuesdays. We were up for breakfast at 8:00, and had Bible class from 8:30-10:30. We learned today about John Gras, which was really interesting to me! Our class is about the history of the reformation and restoration movement from this side of the world’s perspective. There is a lot of History I’m not familiar with, so it should be an informative class. After class, I rushed quickly to get ready for school, and we headed to catch the bus.

Today I went to art class with the students, and actually painted with them because Joshua was absent and the teacher didn’t want him to fall behind. They were starting to paint their Viking ships. After art, Miss Laird had me teach until French. We looked at a map and atlas, and marked the coordinates. I was able to show them where I live in America, and how far I travel to get to Harding University. They were fascinated! I also talked about Colorado, and passed around postcards. At the end, Miss Laird asked me to do a question and answer session. These were a few of them:

*What are your police officers like in America?
*Do you call soda, juice?
*Do you like America or Scotland Better?
*Is it colder here than America?
*How do you get your voice to make that pretty accent?
*Who is the tallest person in your group?
*How many countries have you been too?
*Do you think you can come back and be our teacher next year at Carronshore?

They were just bursting with questions! I had them do some mental math to figure out how many countries I had been too. It was a great day at the school, and I’m already looking forward to going back again tomorrow =)