A New Semester

Well, I started back at school on Thursday, and it was so good to be back with my kids. Thursday brought a new little boy to my classroom, and Friday another new friend came. Now I have 20 kids in my class. I definitely had my moments of being overwhelmed.

Sometimes I feel that there are just too many needs to be met amongst the kids, and there's only one of me. I have found that it is difficult at times to love all of them the same, and that's when the Lord graciously shows me that it's sin and I need to love all my students with His love. I can't love some more than others, and I certainly can't treat some with preference...that's lame. I was talking to the school counselor the other day about a situation with one of my students and she said something that I view as a fine piece of wisdom. She told me that treating my kids fairly means that I make sure every child gets what they need. I guess I had never thought of it in that light. What one child needs can certainly vary from another child. Each one of my kids needs different things at different times and it's my job to try my best to make sure that their needs are getting met while they're in my classroom: from social needs, to academic, to emotional, and even physical needs. I told my students on Friday morning that "fair" doesn't mean that everyone gets the same thing, but that everyone gets what they need. I believe that piece of wisdom will help me out greatly this year and in the years to come.

Another thing I observed in these first couple days back is how perceptive children are. They are so observant and they pick up on everything. On Friday afternoon the kids were busy painting pictures and doing some center activities. One of my kids asked me if he could paint another picture for his dad, because the first one he painted was for his mom. I told him that everyone was only allowed to paint one picture and that he could just give that picture to both parents. His response was, "But my mommy and daddy fight a lot." What an observant child. He sees the discension between his parents and views them as separate and therefore wanted to paint 2 pictures. Wow, I was taken back from that statement. A powerful one from the mouth of a 5 year-old. It's times like those where I want to protect their little eyes from the cruel world around them and I want to take their pain and heartache upon myself. But I can't. That's the world we live in, and their only hope is Christ.

One of the reasons that I love teaching so much is because I truly believe that the Lord is using me to make a difference in the lives of these children for eternity. I believe strongly that when I discipline them according to the Word, that they will see Christ in me. Even if 20 years from now they don't remember my name or anything, my prayer would be that they would attribute Christ's love to their kindergarten teacher...that they would know their kindergarten loved them, and loved Jesus. Lord, save them for Your glory.