PreK2, take 2!

Another year of preschool teaching begins tomorrow. I'm mostly excited: for the songs and stories and routines, the energetic passion for life that is a natural part of being 4, the unconditional love and countless leg hugs from these tiny learners. My room is ready and walls are decorated. Student names are laminated and appear everywhere in my room: on the tables, by the coat hooks, on the cubbies, on the floor where they line up, on the job chart, on the behavior chart, birthday chart, center chart, word wall. . .their names are everywhere! Lesson plans are done (for the year, really). We had Open House on Friday and 15/16 families were represented in my classroom, which is a great indicator of a good year!

But while I feel ready, I have two things that keep my mind busy and my prayers occupied:

1) Language: Last year, I had 19 students, 7 of whom came from English-speaking homes. These kids were dispersed through my learning groups, so that the native Spanish-speakers could hear and learn language from their peers. This year, I have 16 students. Only 1 student is bilingual, and he is extremely shy, unlikely to speak up much during group lessons. It will be a challenge to teach language as the sole "English teacher" in the class. . .but that is one huge objective of the program--to get these kids learning a new language at such a young age. After a week of school I'm sure I'll have a better picture as to what this year will look like from a language learning standpoint.

2) My Afternoons: Last year, my school day was finished at 12:30. I spent 12:30-3:00 eating lunch and then prepping, lesson planning, getting materials ready. This year, I have the added responsibility and joy of working with three NCA elementary students as a Learning Resources teacher. I will spend 90 minutes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with a first grader, 4th grader, and 6th grader (30 minutes with each child). Special education is my background, education, and passion. I spent 9 years in the US working with learners with diverse needs. Yet, I'm a little nervous! I've never supported a general education teacher using a "pull-out" model, so this is new. And in the US, I was working with kids with moderate cognitive impairments, whereas this year I will be supporting learners with much "milder" needs, like learning disabilities and dyslexia. I know it'll take one week before I'm loving this new part of my job at NCA, but I'm going into it feeling a bit like a "newbie" for some reason.

As I begin a new school year, take a moment to lift up these 19 boys and girls who will become a huge part of my life and ministry tomorrow: Alejandro, Alvaro, Jessel, Miriam, Mateo, Anthony, Xioli, Benjamin, Josias, Jade, Fernando, Angel, Sebastian, Hanna, Jaiyen, Grace, Slaton, Min Gyu, and Hudson.

Thank you!