View From the Teacher's Table

Rain Day, Fun Day

2011-09-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

We're rained in for recess today. This leaves the students with many options and I love watching them sort it out. Who will play which game? Who will be in charge? Who will shrink back and try to destroy someone else's game? We started with a simple game of hide and seek. Although our building is plenty big for us, it doesn't exactly allow for the most interesting hiding places, so that game didn't last for long. So, we had a split. Some decided to play Monopoly while others played Four Corners. Four Corners didn't last one round because too many people quit. Now the Monopoly group is trying to remember how much money each person starts with...anyone...? We'll see if they actually start the game. Why is it so much trouble to relax and have fun? How many times do I squander away a chance to laugh? I'm actually pretty bad about it. My husband, Lathan, will plan a date or trip for us, and immediately I think about how many responsibilities I'll be neglecting by stepping away. I want to take a walk on the beach, but instead I get caught up with grades and lesson plans and my day is gone. It's a rain day! Take a little time to stop and relax and maybe even play a game and laugh. It really is OK.

Made it to Labor Day

2011-09-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

We made it to Labor Day! A veteran teacher once told my husband that that was the goal. Once we make it to Labor Day, that beginning of the year nervousness and uncertainty is behind us. Patterns and expectations are becoming more established and relationships are becoming more comfortable. I think it's also because it's the first moment a teacher has to stop and think! I'm enjoying my slow morning today, this Labor Day, and doing just that. I'm thinking about how the year is going and if I've set my students up to be able to achieve our goals. I'm hoping that they feel comfortable in our classroom. I'm full of hope for what is to come, even more so now that things are rolling forward.

Mostly, though, I'm thinking about how much I LOVE our students. Since the early planning days of Crown, we've prayed for exactly the "right" students to be a part of our school. The chemistry between relationships and a child's willingness to be a part of the big picture at Crown would be vital to the success of the vision. Wow! Has that prayer been answered this year! Our student body is wildly unique! Each student's personality fits together to make a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ. They are bright and creative and funny and energetic. They are encouraging and thoughtful and hopeful and beautiful. I am truly blessed to spend time with them, being their teacher. I love going to work and find myself missing them over the weekend. Every year I've taught I've had wonderful students, but there is something extraordinarily unique about this group. I wonder what in the world the year will hold? I wonder who we will all become? I can't wait to tell you all about it!

So Thankful

2011-08-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to the realization that I am spoiled. And it's probably time I admit it. Let me take just a moment to share with you some of the things that have happened recently for Crown Leadership Academy. I am humbled and grateful.

We have about 6 people who are highly qualified, energetic, creative and caring who want to commit their time and talents to our students. They will help me with curriculum and actually be hands-on with our students, in their areas of interest and expertise. These people inspire me and I know that they will make me a better educator, not to mention how much our students will benefit from having these mentors in their lives!
Our student population has grown from 7 to 16! And each of the personalities is such a good fit for the others. Some of our older students are going to be fantastic role models for the younger ones and each of them has a uniqueness that will shape our school into a beautiful picture of the body of Christ.
With all of these new people, we needed more desks and chairs. Of course, it was provided! Yesterday a FREE truckload of desks and chairs were delivered! In fact, we have 2 extra desks and plenty of chairs! A special note for me personally is that these pieces had been stored in a candle factory warehouse and they even smell amazing!
We have awarded our first Crown the Kids Scholarship! The recipient is a student I've had the privilege of working with at the public school he has grown up in. He is enthusiastic and has huge potential and we are grateful for the people who are making monthly donations to pay his tuition.
Our school board and teams are incredibly amazing. Lathan and I are overwhelmed by their constant support and encouragement. We leave each of our meetings feeling charged and hopeful. And they are incredibly "available" to us whenever we need them.
My baby boy has a loving home and caregiver to take care of him while I'm at school. Hands-down, the hardest thing for me about being a working mom is having to sacrifice time with my perfect, beautiful little boy. But knowing that he is loved and can play hard with a wonderful friend and her son makes it easier every day. (And knowing that she'll be patient with me since he isn't potty trained yet. :)
People who are way more important than I am are taking the time to help me gather our school's curriculum. It's pretty much ridiculous, honestly.
My family and I get to be a part of Crown together. Because of his second job, Lathan wasn't able to be at school full-time towards the end of the year last year. He will now be with us all day from now on! And I still get to teach my older kids and be a part of their lives daily. (Honestly, this is one of the best things about having these new volunteer teachers, though. I'm really excited about having more people to speak into my children's lives!)

OK, I have to stop now. There are more, but frankly I don't have time to keep talking about it! I have so much to do before school starts Tuesday! After all, I want to make sure I'm a good steward of all these blessings!

THANK YOU to each of you who is encouraging the vision of Crown Leadership Academy. And THANK YOU to God for pouring out Your love on us!

Notebooks

2011-08-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

This year we are creating a notebook for each student with all of their Social Studies and Science Standards and a Goal Page. This is a work in progress because we didn't organize things like this last year. I'm interested to see how it helps the flow of information for the students. We are also adding Parent, Student, Teacher Meetings which will be led by the student and they will use their notebook to lead the meeting. I'll keep you posted. And let me know if you have any ideas about other important pages that should be in the notebook. We use technology for mostly everything we do so we are pretty paper-free, so these have to be very important pages to make it in!

Crown the Kids. Part One.

2011-07-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some incredibly generous donations, Crown Leadership Academy is able to award our first ever Crown the Kids Scholarship to a hard-working, sweet young 12 year old leader. This young man has grown up in the projects of downtown Charleston. He is a strong leader in his home and in the classroom. He is humbled and honored to be our first Crown the Kids Scholarship recipient and can't wait to get the year started. In fact, he asked last week if he could go ahead and start school because he didn't want to have to wait until August 16!

This young man is destined to be a leader in his community and in his family. And thanks to the generosity of the supporters of Crown, for the first time in his life, he is starting to believe that. This is the beginning of his story. Just the beginning.

Please be in prayer with us for the following things.

The Crown the Kids Recipient still needs a laptop computer. Because of our curriculum, the students do the majority of their coursework on their own laptop. If $6500 can be provided for his education, I'm not too concerned about a couple of hundred for a computer and some programs, but we still need a miracle!
A smooth transition for him into our school. Many of our students either have siblings in our school or know each other from church or other schools. We all want to love each other unconditionally and need prayer to walk in that.
We will need to transport him to and from school. Already, our other students' families are stepping up to help, but this will be something different for us and we just need the details to be ironed out.
Continued growth of our Crown the Kids program!

Inspired

2011-07-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

I've taken some time to dig through educational blogs and pull up those starred emails that I didn't have time to read during the school year. Whew! I'm so inspired! My students are going to love many of these ideas and it's going to take our learning environment to the next level in every subject area. I feel empowered like I haven't in a long time! So, how do I maintain this once we get into the school year? A friend and I were talking earlier this week about how busyness can become an enemy to us accomplishing everything we are capable of. The best solution I know of is to make sure I allocate the time. Just like I take the time to exercise and spend with my family, I just have to make it a priority. What do you do to stay inspired? Who do you look to for your inspiration?

Trying Again

2011-07-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

Determined to set a better example for my students this year, I am working out the kinks with my blog. Click to follow me and get inside information on what's happening at Crown Leadership Academy!