Winter Vacation Class

I've completed the first two weeks of my winter vacation class and have seven more teaching days. It's been quite an experience. It's definitely a different pace than what I'm used to during the regular school semester. This schedule certainly makes me appreciate my regular semester when I only have to prepare one or two lessons for the entire week! =) I teach the same students for 3 hrs. every day. Then I have the rest of the afternoon for prep. It's a lot of preparation, so it's been challenging for me. There's been times when I've felt overwhelmed with the task... and wishing I had more training. But I've found lots of helpful websites and I'm definitely growing as a teacher! I also realize that the experiences God has given me in the past have prepared me for this time. I just have to keep reminding myself of that sometimes...

I've been primarily focusing on literature and writing with my students, which has been a lot of fun. I find myself thinking about my high school creative writing class often - good memories. Anyway, we just finished reading Cinderella last week and I showed them the (Disney) video in English on Friday. (Yes, one of the reasons I chose Cinderella was because it was my favorite story as a kid...) I think the kids enjoyed it... they've been working so hard. I'm proud of them.

I only have seven students, but they seem to be highly motivated and most of them come to class 10 - 15 minutes early each day! Although it takes more time to prepare for this class, it's really a privilege to be able to KNOW my students a little bit more. I'm learning a lot about them... and realizing that I have a unique platform with them. I have especially enjoyed giving them journal/writing assignments and challenging them to think critically about things. I think all of us are stretching and growing! =)