my 5 favorite things about teaching pre-k

I've been teaching Pre-K for a whopping 2 months now and honestly it's been SO much fun! I really was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I have been. When I wake up I never dread going in. (However I do dread opening my eyes and actually waking up... I'm not a morning person... that will never change!) When school is going on I'm never counting down the minutes until I can go home. I'm generally always feeling happy and positive. So I thought I'd make a list of my 5 favorite things about teaching Pre-K. Here goes....

My 5 Favorite Things About Teaching Pre-K

1. The kids always love me. It doesn't matter if they've just gotten in trouble. It doesn't matter if you didn't let them go to the center they wanted. Even if you've just made them pass along their favorite classroom toy to someone else... they will ALWAYS give you a sweet hug 5 minutes later. Oh if we could learn that skill from them...

2. Songs. Songs. Songs. We sing all day long and I love it. Every thing we do can be turned into a song. The kids don't care if I'm making up the tune as I go. They eat it up. 

3. They are excited about anything you want them to be excited about and then some. They see a cloud in the sky... "MS. KRISTIN!!!! I SEE A CLOUD IN THE SKY!!! DO YOU SEE IT????" Some people might think you need a room full of toys to keep them happy but I'm convinced we could have absolutely no toys and still have a blast. 

4. The love of books. Those kids love their books. And I love to read them their books. They are fascinated with stories and I love to read stories to them. 

5. I have kiddos to do all those fun crafts with that I see on Pinterest! I can't tell you how much fun that is! For years now I've been looking all over Pinterest and have collected many ideas for crafts... but I wasn't going to make handprint firemen on my own. I needed some kids. Now I've got them! 

I could go on and on. It's been a lot of fun! These holiday times are even more fun I think! I feel so blessed to have a job that I enjoy so much. Of course, not every moment is perfect. There are times when I have to do things I'd rather not do and there are moments when my patience is tested. Those things are going to happen with any job. 

In the end I'm just happy to spend my days with the sweet smiles of my precious 4 and 5 year olds. They are a treasure! 

so good

I came across a post I wrote on facebook a few years ago during a time in my life when I really was struggling through an emotional battle. I think life will always continue to bring hard times- as well as times rich with good things!

The important thing to realize is that the hard times come from the enemy- not God. This post was written shortly after I truly came to believe that truth. I look at how the truth has helped me through the last few years and I am amazed. We've had some tough things going on recently- and I've felt so much stronger than ever before. I think that the conviction of this truth has shown me how to turn to God through my struggles and allow His Spirit to live in me and fight for me.

Anyways, I thought I'd share this old post. Hope you find some encouragement in it!

So Good: January 2010:

There is a misconception that I think many people often face from time to time. This is that the Godly person is happy always. Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely important that Christians display the joy that comes in the Lord and joy in the blessings He bestows. But let’s face it, everyone has times when they don’t feel their best. One of my favorite bible characters is David, most likely because he was a very emotional person. We can read his psalms that display much sorrow and then on the next page see God’s name being magnified. Psalm 13 is one that I personally find very comforting:
1 How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

Thinking about the trials David faced make me very wimpy, but to see how David chooses to link those trials to evil help me learn a lesson. Verse 2 is especially important. David is saying that when he is feeling down he is letting the enemy triumph over him. Now, David’s physical enemy happened to be a gigantic army and a King, but I think this is relatable to other situations.

When we dwell on our sorrows I believe those feelings can begin to take us away from the Lord. The devil wants us to become so focused on our own sorrow that we can not focus on God’s love. See how David chooses to change his thinking in verse 5 and 6? David continues to sing to God and claim that God has been good to him because he doesn’t want the enemy to overcome him. When a Christian feels down, even if it is about something small, I think it’s important to remember to praise God and trust Him- and to not let the enemy overcome! This is not easy, but fighting temptation never is. But isn’t it encouraging to know that fighting negative emotions is something that is faced by lots of Godly people? We can rest assured that the Lord understands our pains that we face and that they do not come from Him. Because the Lord has been and is and will be good to us. 

life is just interesting

Life is just interesting.

All types of twists and turns.
Some of them easy. Some of them hard.

Sometimes you find yourself in an oasis~ a little pool of cool water near a waterfall. Those times are full of fun, laughter, and play. We find joy.

Sometimes you find yourself on a path that's not clearly marked. There are high brushes to walk through, stickers that get stuck to your shoes, but mostly you just have no clue where you are going and everything just seems hard. More than anything you just want to find a clear spot- no matter how small- so that you might at least have a moment of relief. Those times are full of frustration.

Sometimes you find yourself on a clear path, but it's got a lot of obstacles in the way. Injury, loss, rivers and hills... a storm. Sometimes there are ways to go around the obstacles but many times you just have to go through them no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient it is. Those times are full of hardship.

Some times you find yourself in the dark... unable to see what lurks beyond the small circle of light that's in your presence.  You can hear noises but can't see where they come from leaving your imagination to roam free. Those are the times that bring fear or worry.

But here comes my favorite part....

Though it's dark every night- the sun always shines in the morning. Offering hope.

Though there are often many obstacles and sometimes suffering- we'll always learn something as we face them. Offering revelation and wisdom.

Though our path isn't always clear- we often find unexpected pleasures- or place of relief. Offering revival and strength.

Sure, it would be lovely is our whole life could be in an oasis, with no confusion, obstacles, suffering or worry. But God didn't design our life to work that way. He created us to experience it all. It might seem like joy can only be found in the oasis times of life- those are the easiest!

But we find joy in hope. We find joy when the light does come and we see how God brought us through it and met our needs. We find joy in wisdom- joy in understanding that's God's perfect will and plan for our life is so great that we can't even comprehend it- joy in the wisdom of who God is. And we find joy in the strength we receive from Christ. Joy in knowing that because the spirit of Christ Jesus lives inside of us- we have HIS power running through us and we can get through anything that may come.

Life is full of twists and turns.
Some of the easy. Some of them hard.

BUT if Christ is your savior than joy can abound in all of those twists and turns!

Yes, life is interesting.

"Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." ~ Acts 2: 38

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16