Shepherding a Child's Heart

My desire is not just to work on the outward behavior of my students, but to care about the issues of their heart.  In elementary, we use the book Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp to help guide us as we seek to disciple and bring our students closer to Jesus.  I have been applying what I have been learning to help one of my students in particular.  The biblical principles in his book have helped mold my philosophy when I talk through situations with all of my students, but there is one situation where it has been really helpful.

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a had tree bear good fruit.  Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.  People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."   Luke 6:43-45

As I mentioned in my last blog, I have a student who is dealing with anger issues, violent behavior, and avoidance of work.  These are the outward signs of behavior that I am seeing and have been trying to manage these situations all year.  Lately, the behaviors have increased in quantity and frequency.  These issues are also coming from some family situations that she is having (feeling loved and accepted is part of the issue).  My special education background has been really helpful, allowing me to find some tools that will help teach my student how to handle the issues that are in her heart.

"But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean."  Matthew 15:18

With the help of the 3rd Grade Team, there are some things we are implementing to help shepherd her heart.  The first is teaching her what to do with emotions when she feels SO angry at something that seems so little or insignificant.  I have talked with her about examples of when we might get angry at someone but what they did really didn't hurt us.  For instance, my little sister used to jump out from around the corner and scare me when we were kids.  This made me jump out of my skin and become so scared that I would get mad at her.  Due to my reactions, it made her want to do it even more.  My mom finally told me that if I could control my reaction that she would stop.  I also realized that I was getting mad at my sister for something that really wasn't hurting me.  After explaining this example to my student, she agreed that there were times where she would get angry over something so little.  We now have a thermometer in our room.  She can point to the thermometer when she starts to feel angry.  Then, she needs to evaluate whether the situation is a BIG deal or something small that she can actually handle by showing me a thumbs up or a thumbs down.  I will then respond with how I see the situation.  This will help shepherd her heart to realize the emotions that are so strong in her heart and how she can perceive them.

Also, we are adding in a social story to help her learn about anger.  I used these kind of stories when working with autistic children.  Using pictures and talking through social situations when they are NOT happening will help the child with processing the emotions and how to handle them.  I wrote a social story dealing with anger, adding in key points like how we feel or act when we are angry and how Jesus came to help us with these issues of the heart.  This story will be in her reading folder as a fluency story she can practice reading everyday.  Every child has story that they are practicing, so this is a way for her to read about anger and practice reading!

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."  Proverbs 4:23

Last, I am starting to have a special lunch with her once a week so that I am building in some positive attention time and relationship building time.  I am hoping that this will give her the attention that she is seeking and will again help in shepherding her heart toward Christ.  When I suggested this to my student, she was so excited that we had our first lunch date that same day :-)  Later that day when she left for the weekend, she came over and gave me a REALLY BIG HUG and said, "Miss Bergmann, I am really going to miss you!."  This just humbled me to my knees and made me so grateful for the work God is doing to help this little girl.

Prayers/Praises:
I am hoping to make a decision for next year by the end of March.  Please continue praying for me as I decide.  I am seeking discernment on what I want verses what God wants, and where those desires and passions match up :-)

We will be inaugurating the use of our 3rd Floor this coming Monday!  Everyone has been working really hard to get things ready for the classrooms to be used.  We are all so thankful to God for this blessing and provision.


For the sake of the gospel,
Carrie