Last week I decided I wanted to walk in graduation. It was a complete last minute decision, and I had to make some phone calls and beg for them to let me walk. (I was supposed to let them know like 2 months ago!) But they let me, and I am so glad they did. It was a nice finale to all of my hard work this past year. The reason I decided I wanted to go was because I found out Glenn Beck was giving the commencement address! I really like Glenn Beck, and it was fun to get to see him in person. My mom ended up being the only one to come with me because my dad, brother, sister-in-law, and sister all had plans on Saturday they couldn’t get out of. My mom and I had fun running around campus taking pictures though, and we got to go shopping on the way home :) I can’t believe I am actually finished!!
My sweet Fourth Graders had a little farewell party for me. They put me in a chair in the middle of a circle and read sweet letters to me about our time together.
My student teaching has come to an end! I finished teaching 4th grade last Friday and returned to my assistant position this past Monday. A little over 16 weeks ago, the night before I was going to begin student teaching, I remember thinking to myself, “this is going to be a long and hard 16 weeks.” Well it FLEW by! I loved my fourth graders. It is nice that I work in the class across the hall, and I still get to see them around the building. I did learn that I prefer teaching the younger kids. I MISS my first graders SO much! I am hoping to get a position teaching a lower grade in the fall, preferably K, 1, or 2. But I won’t be picky. I’ll take anything that is a real teaching job!
I sent my application in to World Harvest this week. I am waiting on my references to be returned and for them to review everything. The next step is to be invited to Assessment and Orientation. That is a week long interview process at World Harvest headquarters the end of July. I have applied to teach at a small school for MKs (missionary kids) in Uganda.
My FINAL assignment for school is due on Sunday. Then I will be finished with my master’s degree! I can hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday that I started. This process has flown by too! It is amazing how quickly life changes. I am SO excited for this next year. I have been collecting a big pile of things for MY classroom in the fall and I am going to have so much fun setting it up!
On another random note: I was teaching a unit on plants and one of the kiddos said the SWEETEST thing for me to add to my quote book. I was asking for examples of germination, and I asked them if they could find an example in the classroom. We had planted seeds that were beginning to sprout, and I was looking for one of the kids to give that as an example. One little boy raised his hand and said that I was an example of germination. I said, "what do you mean?" His reply was, "well you're growing into a teacher." How precious is that! :)
