Reading Struggles: With the many needs that are in my class this year, it takes teamwork and sacrifice to provide an excellent education for them. When one of my students was behind in reading that we felt like they needed extra help, it was hard to figure out when this could happen and who was available to be his teacher. With the working of the Holy Spirit, my colleagues and I worked out a plan that I would work with this student because I am familiar with students who need special education services for reading while our Literacy Coach (who used to teach a classroom at ECA) would take over teaching science class for me. During this science time would allow me to work on reading with the other student.Well, it has been a few weeks and the Lord has been so gracious in increasing this student's confidence in reading already. Seeing the areas this student was struggling in the most, I was able to target right away his weak areas using techniques from our CAFE reading menu. One of them includes blending and stretching sounds using ... a rubber band!! This causes him to look at the whole word when reading because I noticed that he was looking at the first few letters and then guessing on the rest of the word. This strategy, and a few others, have been really helpful to teach this student in a one-on-one situation. A few days after he had practiced using the rubber band, he came up to me during our Language Arts centers with a really big smile on his face and said, "Miss, Bergmann, thank you so much for the rubber band! It has helped so much."
The following week, I was sending my reading group to read a chapter of Charlotte's Web by themselves when I went to remind my friend that he should use his rubber band. I turned around to tell him and before I could get a word out, he was smiling at me with the rubber band already in his hand. :-)I'm so thankful to the Lord that the needs of this student are being met. He is the master of putting all the pieces of a puzzle together :-) Praising God that this extra time will continue to help this student grow in confidence and his love for reading.
When Friendships Are Hard: Relationships are always hard and my 3rd Graders are experiencing and learning all about how challenging they can be. One of students has ADHD and has been having difficulty with friendships. Needing socials skills to figure out how to make friends has been a difficulty for this student. For the rest of the class, it's a challenge to be patient and loving to this friend back when he does different things that they are not used to. At times, this has caused aggressive behavior on both sides.
Last week, the student with ADHD kicked two students while playing soccer. I didn't notice what was going on until this student was on the ground saying he was hurt. None of his classmates went to check on him or tell me that he was hurt (probably due to that he was kicking them earlier). This made me really sad and I prayed for wisdom from the Lord to help me deal with what was going on in their hearts.
I sent the student with ADHD to talk with Principal about kicking the other students (it turned out that it was an accident when he got hurt, so we needed to deal with why he had kicked the other students) while I talked to the rest of the class.
I started by asking the class why they thought their friend was kicking them. Many students started in with stories of mean words or aggressive things their friend had done to them. I encouraged them that being patient and loving is sometimes really hard, but that Jesus would help them do that. They all know that their friend has ADHD and has trouble controlling himself. The day before in Chapel, we had watched a video on service about people passing on random acts of kindness to others. I asked them how they were showing kindness to their friend?
They continued to complain (and I encouraged them to tell me all the other student had done to them) because I then told them - "Wow, that sounds like Jesus on the cross! You must really understand." I then reminded them that Jesus went WILLINGLY and GRACIOUSLY to the cross to save us from a life without God. At a time when he needed friends the most, he had no one. He was spit on, mocked, and beaten TO DEATH for each and every one of us. This is our example - not to sit there and be spit on or kicked - but to see Jesus in our friend and be their friend even when it is hard.
I left them with this challenge - "You have a friend who is hurting. What are you going to do about it?" Praying that these truths will grow in their heart to be Jesus to each other.
"Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
Prayers/Praises:
That the seeds the Lord planted would take root - and that genuine friendships would be established with a student who is really lonely and seeking friends.
For the upcoming ICEC conference that ECA is hosting! We will have teachers from all over South America coming to our school to learn about Christian Education. The seminars look amazing. Please pray that the Lord would use this time to refresh us and draw us closer to him. Also, this conference will be held over Thanksgiving - which means we will not have the day off. This will be hard to not be celebrating on this day - so please pray for comfort as the holiday will have a different feel this year.
For my decision for next year - yes, I am already starting to pray where God is leading me and what plans he has for me for next year! Wisdom and guidance to really seek if it is his will that I stay another year. That my decision would be based on glorifying God and not based on what is comfortable or easier for me :-0
So grateful for you partnership in ministry!
Blessings,
Carrie
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