I Am Responsible!

My new class of 3rd Graders!

Responsible for Learning a Language!
My Spanish classes at ECA have started again!  I am so excited this year because my class is reading a novel that they read in 9th grade here at El Camino.  The book is called "Los Ojos del Perro Siberiano" (Eyes of the Siberian Huskey).  This is a challenge for me, but I am looking forward to this next step in learning a new language.  The new challenge is homework!  Reading chapters and then writing summaries every week.  By the end of this year, I hope to say I am fluent in Spanish :-)


What inspires me is one of my students.  This student came from another country and is just starting to learn English and Spanish.  With a smile on their face everyday, they continue to amaze me with their determination and perseverance with learning a new language that is so different from their own.  This student did not say anything to me the first few weeks of school, even though they seemed to understand directions and classroom routines in English.

This student is slowly starting to speak more and more.  They are talking with their classmates in simple sentences.  I know from experience the major fear of speaking a language that you don't know.  Last week, this student came up to me and said, "Water?" and pointed to their water bottle.  I was so excited!  Later in the week, I was checking in Bible Memory Verses and this student came up and told me the whole verse from Isaiah 53:4 (which has many words like "infirmities" and "despised")  I am so excited to see how this student continues to grow this year.  The family is on Bogota working with a mission organization.  The attitude and perseverance as this student is in school all day with no one who really knows a language she can speak is pretty amazing.

Here's to being responsible and working hard at learning a new language!!

Responsible for Chapel application :-)
At Elementary Chapel this past week, we were discussing we are responsible for our responses to things that happen to us.  We can respond in a positive way or a bad way.  One example we gave was if someone comes up to at recess and calls you a name and says a mean thing about you - you can choose to respond back with either ignoring them or saying something nice back like, "I like your shirt!"

After Chapel, I was listening to my students as my students were correcting their Math assigment with partners and I overheard this conversation :-)

Student 1: "Wow, you got all the answers wrong!  What's wrong with you?
Student 2 (thinking...): "You're so pretty!"

Glad they are learning that comments people make to us are not always true and we can learn to not let them affect us :-) 

Prayers and Praises:
Construction is still going on at the school and is making it very noisy in certain classrooms.  Pray that we can still learn in this environment!

My grandma just had a massive stroke and it does not look good.  Depending on what happens, I might be flying to Florida in a few days (which means extra money for an expensive plane ticket!)  Pray for time management and making sure I am prepared to leave behind my teaching responsibilities to another teacher.  Praise the Lord that Kelsey, my student teacher, is here at this time.  Also, please pray for me and my family.  My grandma knows Jesus, but it is still hard for me to be away from them at this time.

For the hearts of my new students - that I would get to know them and love them for who God made them!!

Blessings,
Carrie