I Have a Dream

Last week, my students were reading about and discussing the life of Martin Luther King Jr. This was the last story in our reading books and was a great story to end with. Everyone knows his inspirational story, and my students knew a bit about him. We talked especially about his dream's for the United States and his work for equality for all people.

I did a little experiment with my students to get them to understand how unfairly people were treated. I asked the oldest in the family to come up to the front of the room with their chairs. I gave them pillows to put behind their back and gave them some candy to eat while sitting there. I told them they would stay there for the lesson. I started to get back into the lesson when I started to hear some complaining. "Miss Ongna, that's not fair! I can't help it!" After hearing a bit of their frustration, I got everyone back to their seats. It was then that many of them realized why I did it. We discussed how upsetting and frustrated it is to be treated differently for something that you cannot control and doesn't make a difference to how you are. It amazed me how deeply some of these kids were affected and how they now had a bit more of an understanding heart.

The poster they made along with writing the paragraphs.

Following this experiment, we jumped into our project. I found an idea for a project online that I also turned into a writing project. I talked with them about his famous "I have a dream..." speech and read part of it. After dicussing Luther's dream for a place where his children will be judged by their character, rather than by their skin color, I challenged them to think of their own dream for the world. Each student made a poster, then wrote a paragraph writing their own mini "I have a dream" speech. The result was wonderful, heartwarming, and nearly brought me to tears. Their dreams were so pure and wise beyond their years. Here are a few of their paragraphs:

"I have a dream that no one will be bad which means no fighting, no gossiping, no stealing, nor anything else that involves sin. This dream will come true when Jesus comes again."

"I have a dream that someday everybody will treat each other nicely. That no one would say mean things and that no one will hurt other people's feelings."

"I have a dream that everyone would get along. I wish no one would fight. I wish for a land of peace.

"I have a dream that everyone will believe in Jesus. I have a dream that everyone will follow the ten commandments. I have a dream that everyone will be faithful to God."

This whole year, I've been working hard to teach my students the basics. Sometimes I forget the big picture, until assignments like this one help me to see it. I hope that my students know how to identify prepositional phrases, add 3 digit numbers, and write a paragraph. I also hope and pray that my students have learned more about themselves and their role in God's kingdom, that this school year has been about more than just learning facts. These are some amazing kids and I thank God that he has allowed me to play a small part in their amazing lives!

Almost there...

The end of the school year is coming. It actually popped out of nowhere and surprised me! I was just cruising along, teaching, teaching, teaching, and BAM! Someone told me there were 8 days left of school.

Whaaaaat?!

I am nearly done with my first year of teaching. I don't even really know how it is possible for a year to go by that fast.

Here in 2nd grade, we are working on finishing up our chapters, taking tests, studying the last few lessons in grammar, and tons of other parts of our subjects that need to be finished! The big final project of 2nd grade is working on making some of our very own children's books. It's a daunting and patience testing project, but one that will turn out really awesome! Or I am working frantically to make sure they do. Either way, the kids have been really excited about them and it has required them to use a lot of writing and artistic skills. Great practice!

Overall it has been a really fun past few weeks. I keep looking forward to summer, but I am continually reminding myself to enjoy these last 2 weeks! I won't teach these kiddos again and I've got to make the most of it all. I've been taking lots of extra hugs this week, which has been an awesome reminder of the amazing kids I have gotten to teach. I've got to stop now before I start tearing up all over my computer! Not doing that yet!

To add to the fun that has been the last few weeks, my roommate's boyfriend, Peter, came and visited the past week! He's a pretty swell guy and it was fun to hang around with him. He is Canadian and, in truth, I've been in withdrawal of Canadian friends since leaving college, so it has been nice to get a little dose again!

Julia and I also had some friends over at our house for the first time this past weekend. We had a little shindig on our deck. Sounds sophisticated huh? Yeah, we are adults. We have parties on our deck. We had appetizers. Pretty cool stuff! It was fun and we have been blessed with some pretty awesome friends!


What more can a girl ask for? Nothing. Really and truly. Just praying for the strength to make it the last few weeks still standing! I've made it this far. Almost there!

Oh, the life of a teacher!

Supermom

I'm going to do it. I am going to be incredibly cliche' and brag all about my mom for mother's day. I think it's warranted though, right? I mean, this holiday is mean to recognize how awesome our mothers and grandmothers are. I have been incredbily blessed with one amazing mom!

First off, my mom is one of the hardest working people I know. She is known for her endless energy and running around like a crazy person! When my parents got married, they both worked on my grandparents/dad's farm. My dad did all the field work and feeding, while my mom milked the cows. I call that true love, when you milk cows for your husband!

As if that wasn't enough, my mom got a second job when I started high school. That means she would wake up at 2:30 am, milk the cows, head to her second job which she started at 8 am and got done with at 2, then head out to milk the cows again by 2:30. Not to mention she did this while my sister and I were busy in school with lots of extracurricular activities going on. She is seriously superwoman.

Another reason my mom rocks? In November 2008, my mom was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Not only did my mom beat the cancer, she kicked its butt! While going through various chemo and radiation treatments, my mom continued to work and never called in sick. She still did everything she normally did as best as she could. In fact, my sister, my dad, and I had to run around and make her stop doing things!

Ask anyone who knows her and they will tell you she is always going, always smiling, and always willing to help you out. My dad and I tease her about being a people pleaser, but I know that I have inherited that exact trait from her! She is a blessing to our family and has been an incredible model of what a Christian woman, mother, and wife should be. Thank you mom, for always being there for me and for being as strong as a rock. Love you!

My mom, a crazy awesome person!

Funny Stuff

Kids are hilarious. Crazy funny! Their brains think in the most fantastic ways. There have been moments with my students where I simply bite my lip or we all just laugh together! I quite enjoy this, especially because I LOVE to laugh and enjoy these times with my students. As the saying goes, kids say the darnedest things, so here they are! A few more delightful, hilarious moments to share with you!

• One morning the upper school science teacher came down before school and was talking with my students. She was talking about their forearms, referring to the lower part of their arm. One of my students, after hearing the teacher say "You need to use your forearm for that!" replied with "We don't have four arms, we only have 2!"
• Every morning I start the day by saying "Good Morning 2nd Graders!" to which they reply"Good Morning Miss Ongna!" The other day, my students were particularly tired and mumbled their way through their part. I told them we were going to try it again, so I started out and quote loudly and enthusiastically said "Good Morning Miss Ongna!" Yeah...oops! Immediately we all burst out laughing at my ridiculousness. My students were then awake and very enthusiastic. So it all worked out! Totally all part of my plan...
• As my students were leaving the classroom on Friday afternoon, I stood just outside the door and gave them all hugs/high fives as they were leaving. They were all quite energetic and were yelling "Bye! Love you Miss Ongna!" A 6th grade student happen to witness this and said "Boy Miss Ongna, everyone just loves you!" I turned to her and said something to the effect of "Woot woot!" in a sing-songy voice and did a little dance as I walked away. I heard a bunch of laughter then someone say "She is weird..." I couldn't help but laugh!

As you can see, we have lots of fun in 2nd grade and at RTCS in general! This is such a great school! There is such a dedication to the students and to quality Christian education from everyone involved. These are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. The students are also phenomenal and the bond that occurs within this small school creates the fantastic atmosphere that fills the halls at RTCS!

I will continue to say, I feel unbelivably blessed to teach here. God knew exactly where I needed to be and where I would fit well, and that I know without a doubt it is RTCS. I have gotten the chance to teach with some phenomenal teachers and soak up all the knowledge I can, plus have some pretty fantastic times too! Lots of laughter comes from the teachers too :)

With 4 weeks left, I will continue to enjoy all the time left and I am sure there will be many, many more moments of laughter and enjoyment ahead.

I'll end with a favorite quote of mine from E.E. Cummings
                       "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."  

Abraham Lincoln hats we made after spending time studying him last week!