115th day of school

It's been 6 months now since I've started teaching. I have learned a lot and am continuing to learn a lot with these wonderful kids. My experience so far has taught me a lot about how kids need to be loved and how they react when they don't feel loved. It's absolutely amazing and absolutely frustrating at the same time. It's a very strange balance that I'm learning to adjust to. I've really learned to love all of these kids, even the ones who wear me out to nothing by the end of the day . I can see myself changing and molding into a teacher. I am beginning to feel the weight and responsibility for these kids and their education. It's a very tiring job to say the least. But to me, it's the most rewarding one out there.

My New Calling: Primary Chorister!

Last Sunday was my first time being the primary chorister at church. I was a little nervous at first, forgot a lot of the words to the songs, and accidentally said "Mrs. Forbush" instead of "Sister Forbush" like 4 or 5 times. But we had a great time and the kids sang sooo... well! I was so impressed as I stood in front of them and could see that every child was singing! Yay! I really look forward to seeing them every week and learning new songs with them.

Wisdom from the Ninja Village: Keep going

The character for the word nin in ninja means ‘to endure’ or ‘to persevere’. It combines the character for knife on top of the character for heart, it means to go on despite having your heart under the knife!

Thus, a ninja is somebody who perseveres with his heart’s intentions even under threat or pressure.

This ninja philosophy is really simple to remember, and is summed up in 2 words: keep going.

I'll take any advice I can get, especially from the Ninja Village. ha. But really, I can do this. I can make it through my student teaching with success. I can make it through my last semester and feel prepared. I have confidence in myself and I'll use it full throttle. Now let's do this.

Pine Valley Snow

Hailey's first time sledding!

Yeah, it was intense bro.

Mom, Hailey, and meself

Most of the crew just a chillin'

Mrs. Forbush has a mom?

Today my mom volunteered to be part of our class' 12 days of Christmas. Each day we have a parent volunteer come in and read a Christmas Story to the kids. The kids get very excited about this event and look forward to it everyday. So today when my mom was introduced as Mrs. Forbush's mom one student shouted "Mrs. Forbush! I didn't know you had a mom! Why didn't you tell me?" Typical first grade comment. Anyways, they loved the story and were so excited when my mom pulled out a special gift for each of them to put in their classroom stockings.

What the best teachers do

Good teachers:

• are available to assist students with questions on the subject, and they show concern.
• do not have a lofty, standoffish attitude.
• can interact with a student on an individual basis.
• want to know each individual student.
• give time, effort, and attention to their students.
• are personable, on your side.
• are willing to be a friend to students.
• are actually interested in the students.
• are actively involved with their students.
• are first friends, then educators. The friend encourages, supports, and understands; the educator teaches, challenges, and spurs the student on.

Good teachers always:

• love what they teach and convey that love to the class.
• have both an enthusiasm for and an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject.
• have such an obvious enthusiasm for what they do that it is contagious and their students pick up on it.
• have a desire to learn, and for others to learn, all of the exciting things they have learned.
• are obviously excited about teaching. When a teacher enjoys teaching, it is usually obvious, and that enjoyment is passed on to the students. The classes I've had with teachers who loved the subject they were teaching are the ones I've enjoyed the most, and the ones I've been the most eager to learn in. A teacher who isn't enthusiastic can ruin even the most fascinating of subjects.

To put it simply, life is better with dance. Last week I took a risk and went to a dance class. I was a little nervous about how I would do since I am no longer flexible and haven't danced in a couple years. But I did just fine and I had the time of my life. The girls in the class were all around my age if even older. Some of the girls were even moms. They were an example to me that no matter how old you are, or how busy, there's always time for dance. It is the passion of my life. If I had to spend the rest of my life doing just one thing...it would be dancing!