Sometimes it's better to over explain the rules

    Yesterday I took my class on a field trip to the Botanic Gardens as an ending activity to our plant unit.  The kids were able to plant a seed, dissect a flower and walk around the gardens.  Before we left I told them the one rule was they had to stay on the path and not touch any of the flowers.  Once at the gardens, our guide also told them the same rule.  Well after lunch they were allowed to explore the gardens with their group for about 40 minutes.  So we all broke up into our groups and I wandered from group to group.  Fast forward to us back in the classroom, with 30 minutes until we go home.           One of my boys starts scratching his head furiously and asks to go to the nurse.  I inform him she has left for the day and that I am sure he is fine.  Then one of the other boys in the class shouts out, your probably itchy cuz you ate that flower.  All I could do was stand there speechless.  He looks at me and says what it was on the ground, to which the nark yells out no it wasn't you pulled it off.  And there I stood still speechless.
   Now the irony he this very smart boy watched the same Bill Nye video with us weeks before were Bill informed us that while you can eat some flowers, some are poisonous so don't eat them unless an adult says it's ok.  Sigh...I guess I should have mentioned in my rules that you may not touch or eat the plants.  Just another day in the life of a 4th grade teacher.

My Quest for a Summer Job

Once I knew I has lost my job I had started looking for a summer job.  I figured even if I couldn't get a teaching job for the fall atleast I would have some extra money before I had to make important life decissions.  Thankfully I was hired by a school in May but that hiring came with a big pay cut, so I conitnued to look for a summer job to help fill that void as I was not only losing money but also a retirement plan.  In my quest I learned one important thing, God is bigger than a summer job.  After much searching and zero finding God showed me he can provide without having a summer job.
    At school I was able to take over a friend's extra duty which added a couple hundred to my last pay check, I qualified for focus group which provided me with extra cash, and most recently God provided me with a cat sitting job.  While these jobs are no where close to filling that void in my salary it has only proved that this job is part of God's plan and he is going to provide for me and I don't need to worry.  So thankful for all the blessings and excited to see how he will continue to provide.

^{Luke 12: 22} Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life^[b]? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Why the blank?

So as I was thinking of a title for my blog I decided to go with the title I am the most proud of...teacher, but what type of teacher is that.  If I were to fill in the blank it could say ELL, Third Grade, Fifth Grade, and 4th Grade.  After 6 years of teaching in 5 different schools that word before teacher continues to change as God continues to move me.  The most recent change brings me to a private school and once again I am sad, excited and yet nervous about this change.
   I knew God was going to move me before even my principal knew she was going to let me go.  Back in October God showed me I was in for another change.  It wasn't in a BIG, LOUD WAY, but in a quiet and gentle whisper (hence the web address.)  One day for no reason I just knew I wasn't going to be at my school the following year.  There was no reason for me to think like that.  In fact I had just had my observation and everything and gone well and I was left knowing I had one more observation in my way till tenure.  I felt confident about getting tenure as the last 3 years I had received good reviews from all 3 of my principals.  All I had to do was get through one more observation and that tenure I had so longed for and had worked for so long to get would be mine.  I had already settled in to my district I was beginning to call home and already had when I was going to retire figured out, but then came that gentle whisper.
   It had reminded me of how Elijah had known God's voice when he heard it in 1 Kings 19.

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his faceand went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?

   So often we wait to hear God's loud booming voice giving us a sign about what to do or where to go but sometimes it's a quiet whisper while standing in the school office that lets you know things are about to change.  As much as I hate change I am so glad God has moved me.  I know he has taken me out of a situation that hasn't been healthy for me and has moved me to a school where He will be my focus.  So begins my life and blog as a 4th grade teacher.