Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Seeking Answers

What an emotional ride I have taken the past few days. I got a call last week from a principal at an elementary school here in Price. They needed some first grade teachers and wondered if I would be interested. I had my application submitted for another part time job that I didn't get and they saw I was a certified teacher. I had the idea for my neighbor and visiting teaching charge and I to split the job (she is a teacher too) and then I would only work part time and get to teach. It sounded like a great idea but I just felt uneasy about it. I wasn't sure if it was the thought of change and leaving my kids every day or if it really was not the right thing to do. I made my decision to take the job and then took it to the Lord. I wasn't sure what His answer to me was, so I just kept on taking the steps. I was getting excited for it yesterday and then today I woke up with a terrible feeling about it. I went in with my potential teaching partner for the interview. Since they called me I thought we pretty much had it in the bag and that was making me even more anxious, but I kept thinking it was just thinking about all the changes that would be necessary to accommodate my job. I came home from the interview feeling worse than ever. I knew I didn't want to do it but how did I tell Debbie (by neighbor) after dragging her into this? How can I turn down a chance to make some needed money to build a house next spring? I know now that my uneasy feeling was the answer to my many prayers but I was so afraid to act. Luckily, Heavenly Father loves me and He acted for me! We didn't get the job! I have never been so relieved to be turned down for a job in my life! We are still alternates if one of the other people they hired backs out but I am SO RELIEVED and THANKFUL!!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Haylie can read!

As a kindergarten teacher I have seen lots of kids figure out how to put sounds together but it is pretty exciting when it is your own child who is doing it. She can only read CVC words (for those not in education--Consonant Vowel Consonant) but that is where it starts! She knew the letters and their sounds before she started preschool this year so I figured it wouldn't take too long before she would be able to read some words. The Letter Factory video by Leap Frog is awesome for helping learn letters and sounds! That is how Haylie learned them all. I came up with a game she likes to play that I call "read it to eat it." She loves saltine crackers with Easy Cheese on them and I have always written letters or numbers on the crackers with the cheese when I gave them to her but now I give her 3 crackers and make 3 letter word with them (cat, rug, dog, mat, bat, bus). Then I have her read me the word before she can eat it. The past couple of days she has gotten much better at it. Then tonight she was reading some of the words in my Bob books. I know this is probably way too much information and a boring post but it's the kind of stuff I love to talk about as a teacher, and I want to remember the idea for Zander in a couple of years. Haylie is growing up so fast!! She only has two more days of preschool this year. She will be going back again next year and then on to kindergarten!