Today is the big day that Baylor plays Texas Tech at the Cowboys stadium. I'm praying for a miracle, that somehow the worlds shift and we are able to win. I know that we don't have a great track record this year but crazier things have happen so we shall see!
I'm enjoying my last few days from my week long hiatus from being Miss Chambers. I didn't realize how badly I needed a break from my ongoing marathon I have been running since May. After my kidney stone episode, I started at the Y then finished my last day by performing my legendary "dance off" routine for the job offer at Christie and the following Monday started learning about the ins and outs of being a fourth grade teacher. It has been quite a year, probably the craziest one thus far.
Shay and I are all moved into our swanky apartment. Last night, we decorated our Christmas tree with ornaments and lights. A Christmas party will be planned in the near future so get excited! I love our little apartment. It's cozy and comfortable, two essential ingredients needed for those long Mondays or CBA days. (CBA = Curriculum Based Assessments, 4th grade tests).
Before we know it, it's going to be December 1st. I have been reflecting from this entire year and have realized what a big year it has really been. In a way, I feel like I was shot out of a cannon up into the "real world" not knowing what to expect or what was going to happen, hoping that I would crash back down to earth with failure. This year has definitely not been easy, it's been uncomfortable, awkward and different; all three things that can leave any 22 year old wondering "what AM I doing?!?" haha. But beyond all of the awkwardness, there has been blessing laced through that has made everything else wonderful.
There has been so many milestones that have happened that I wish I had written them all down. Some of the milestones that come to mind are....
*Turning 23 (birthdays are always milestones, another year older and another year wiser!)
*Graduating (my diploma is still in the green tube. I should hang it up but haven't gotten around to it).
*4 different jobs (SLC, YMCA, J Crew, 4th Grade Teacher) My 2nd and 4th have probably been my favorite :) )
*Moving twice (from Waco to Plano, from Plano to Dallas)
*Running a 5K (true story. My dad and I ran it together this fall for the Frisco Education Foundation).
*Jobs Fairs Gallore
*Visiting schools (don't even want to remember how many I went to, too many to seem sane)
*Interviews (which are not as scary as I had imagined. If you all for the dream that you want to pursue, all you need is someone to listen to your passion!).
*Parent Teacher Conferences : feat in itself. soo many parents and sooo many questions that day. I hadn't realize that not only do I have 17 children to teach but also 17 sets of parents that worry about their precious little one and want to make sure that they are given every opportunity possible to strive for excellence.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Love Love Love
Wow! It's September 14th. Insane. Time for some life updates.
It's been such a transition season. It started this summer and has carried into the fall. Figuring out life after graduation still has some sticky areas. The new quest is: how do you meet people your own age? By not being a student any longer (although I believe that teachers are life long students), it's more rare to meet someone that is your age. I've been going to Sunday school classes geared towards the yuppies out there. So far, it's been wonderful!! Loving Jesus is always a great thing.
Speaking of Jesus, we had a Jesus moment today in class. When we were in writing, my kids and I had a discussion about what different topics you can write about for your stories. One of my students says, "Miss Chambers, do you ever wonder if someone out there is writing your story about your life?" Then one of my sweet boys goes, "Miss Chambers, God writes our story. It's like we are in a reality TV show but for our whole life." At that moment, I couldn't say, "Yes, you're right. God does know our story" but smiled at my student, felt that tingle in my heart why I adore kids so much and continue my lesson.
I am truly blessed beyond my greatest imagination with my career. Every day, something else unfolds beautifully and I thank God for giving me this opportunity to live my dream. I love standing at my door every morning and my kiddos come in with their stories. It's the best job, hands down. Harder than anything I have ever anticipated but absolutely blissful. Is blissful even a word? Who knows, haha.
Check this out.
http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/Christie_4th/index.cfm?subpage=990059
It's in the works but it's my fourth grade website that I have been elected to work on. Haha, you can even search me under the staff directory for Frisco. Holla
It's been such a transition season. It started this summer and has carried into the fall. Figuring out life after graduation still has some sticky areas. The new quest is: how do you meet people your own age? By not being a student any longer (although I believe that teachers are life long students), it's more rare to meet someone that is your age. I've been going to Sunday school classes geared towards the yuppies out there. So far, it's been wonderful!! Loving Jesus is always a great thing.
Speaking of Jesus, we had a Jesus moment today in class. When we were in writing, my kids and I had a discussion about what different topics you can write about for your stories. One of my students says, "Miss Chambers, do you ever wonder if someone out there is writing your story about your life?" Then one of my sweet boys goes, "Miss Chambers, God writes our story. It's like we are in a reality TV show but for our whole life." At that moment, I couldn't say, "Yes, you're right. God does know our story" but smiled at my student, felt that tingle in my heart why I adore kids so much and continue my lesson.
I am truly blessed beyond my greatest imagination with my career. Every day, something else unfolds beautifully and I thank God for giving me this opportunity to live my dream. I love standing at my door every morning and my kiddos come in with their stories. It's the best job, hands down. Harder than anything I have ever anticipated but absolutely blissful. Is blissful even a word? Who knows, haha.
Check this out.
http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/Christie_4th/index.cfm?subpage=990059
It's in the works but it's my fourth grade website that I have been elected to work on. Haha, you can even search me under the staff directory for Frisco. Holla
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Dreams DO Come True
Hello, bloggers and bloggerettes.
It has been a little over two weeks since my last entry and sooo much has happened since then. I don't know where to begin.
First off, I'm officially a fourth grade teacher! Insane, huh?! I'm teaching at Christie Elementary in Frisco ISD. I absolutely love it. During the job search marathon, I have a list of hopes of want I wanted my "perfect" school to entail in the back of mind. The type of school, the team that I would be working on, the students that were going to be coming into my classroom, etc. The Lord has far exceeded my greatest desires in ways I'm still trying to wrap my mind around.
Christie is the only Tier One school in Frisco ISD, meaning that our kids have low socio-economic profiles/may have free and reduced lunches/etc. In each grade level, there is a couple of bilingual teachers that teach our bilingual learners that we bus in from neighboring cities. I love the characteristics of a Tier One school. In my heart, this is where I need furfill my teaching role, to kiddos that not only need the knowledge but also the love that they might not be getting at home.
My class is filled with 17 sweet fourth grade students. They are spunky, witty and chatty. I teach them math, science, writing and spelling and they go to another teacher for reading/social studies. I love having my own kids during the majority of the day. And I love the fact that I don't have to teach Texas History. It's a dream come true! I can't wait to get to know my kids this year. I love them already.
Being a "real" teacher is far more stressful than anything that I have been trying to anticipate. There are constant meetings, emails to be read, curriculum to learn and children to teach. I start my days waking up at 5:30am and leaving the house around 6:45am, get to school, do my teacher thing and leave around 5ish. It's a crazy life but I love it. Thank you for all of your prayers.
My 4th grade teacher was right. When you do put your mind to something, anything is possible.
It has been a little over two weeks since my last entry and sooo much has happened since then. I don't know where to begin.
First off, I'm officially a fourth grade teacher! Insane, huh?! I'm teaching at Christie Elementary in Frisco ISD. I absolutely love it. During the job search marathon, I have a list of hopes of want I wanted my "perfect" school to entail in the back of mind. The type of school, the team that I would be working on, the students that were going to be coming into my classroom, etc. The Lord has far exceeded my greatest desires in ways I'm still trying to wrap my mind around.
Christie is the only Tier One school in Frisco ISD, meaning that our kids have low socio-economic profiles/may have free and reduced lunches/etc. In each grade level, there is a couple of bilingual teachers that teach our bilingual learners that we bus in from neighboring cities. I love the characteristics of a Tier One school. In my heart, this is where I need furfill my teaching role, to kiddos that not only need the knowledge but also the love that they might not be getting at home.
My class is filled with 17 sweet fourth grade students. They are spunky, witty and chatty. I teach them math, science, writing and spelling and they go to another teacher for reading/social studies. I love having my own kids during the majority of the day. And I love the fact that I don't have to teach Texas History. It's a dream come true! I can't wait to get to know my kids this year. I love them already.
Being a "real" teacher is far more stressful than anything that I have been trying to anticipate. There are constant meetings, emails to be read, curriculum to learn and children to teach. I start my days waking up at 5:30am and leaving the house around 6:45am, get to school, do my teacher thing and leave around 5ish. It's a crazy life but I love it. Thank you for all of your prayers.
My 4th grade teacher was right. When you do put your mind to something, anything is possible.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Passion Somehow Doesn't Get Your Foot In
Sorry that I have been lacking in the "blog" world this summer. It has flown by. If you tried to watch it zoom by, you couldn't because my life seems to move by the speed of light.
It's August 10th and still no job. This is insane. Some of you out there reading know what has gone down in the last few weeks. I don't feel like typing it out into words but it's been brutal. I've been comtemplating whether or not I should be a teacher. This seems like such a radical statement to make since all I talk about are the kids that I have taught, I would spend more money on school supplies than any other lavish gift and I love plopping down in the children' book section at Barnes N Noble. But it has been such a rollercoaster. I wanna get off but I feel like it's nowhere near being over.
Pray for those aspiring teachers out there. There are quite a handful of us. It's so frustrating not having a "plan" this fall when I have had one the last 21 years of my life. I feel like God is preparing me for something bigger than I can fully comprehend but it's so hard to stay hopeful for His plan.
Okay, back to the apps.
It's August 10th and still no job. This is insane. Some of you out there reading know what has gone down in the last few weeks. I don't feel like typing it out into words but it's been brutal. I've been comtemplating whether or not I should be a teacher. This seems like such a radical statement to make since all I talk about are the kids that I have taught, I would spend more money on school supplies than any other lavish gift and I love plopping down in the children' book section at Barnes N Noble. But it has been such a rollercoaster. I wanna get off but I feel like it's nowhere near being over.
Pray for those aspiring teachers out there. There are quite a handful of us. It's so frustrating not having a "plan" this fall when I have had one the last 21 years of my life. I feel like God is preparing me for something bigger than I can fully comprehend but it's so hard to stay hopeful for His plan.
Okay, back to the apps.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
6 Little Things
Laura tagged me on this and I haven't written on my blog in over a month so I pondered a bit and came up with 6 little things that make me happy.
1. Walking Spencer. This summer, I have walked Spencer and it's so fun. He walks with such poise and grace, you would have thought I had taught him a thing or two. We like going up to the park to see other dog walkers and kids playing. Spencer of course tries to make friends with everyone that is up there.
2. Going to get icecream with Grace. Grace and I have gotten close since she came to Baylor. We finally get each other and understand where we are coming from. Plus, it's always a sight us singing at the top of our lungs to "Skanky Leg."
3. Holding kids' hands when you are walking somewhere. I know, this sounds crazy but I love when kids grab your hand to walk with them. It's usually the little ones (5-6 years old) but just that trust that they with you knowing that you will get them to wherever they are going safely is so nice.
4. Genuine conversations. I love people, especially getting to know them. I love learning what makes people tick and what their passions and dreams are. It's always so refreshing because people might have more common interest with you than you think!
5. Teaching kids how to cook. This summer, I have been teaching Culinary classes every other week at the YMCA. I absolutely love it. I love showing kids how to measure ingredients, going through the different conversions and making a mess every time. It's a blast.
6. Dancing in a studio. I love throwing on a pair of ballet shoes, going into an open studio, turn up the music and be in my own world. It makes my soul feel rejuvenated. Nothing better.
1. Walking Spencer. This summer, I have walked Spencer and it's so fun. He walks with such poise and grace, you would have thought I had taught him a thing or two. We like going up to the park to see other dog walkers and kids playing. Spencer of course tries to make friends with everyone that is up there.
2. Going to get icecream with Grace. Grace and I have gotten close since she came to Baylor. We finally get each other and understand where we are coming from. Plus, it's always a sight us singing at the top of our lungs to "Skanky Leg."
3. Holding kids' hands when you are walking somewhere. I know, this sounds crazy but I love when kids grab your hand to walk with them. It's usually the little ones (5-6 years old) but just that trust that they with you knowing that you will get them to wherever they are going safely is so nice.
4. Genuine conversations. I love people, especially getting to know them. I love learning what makes people tick and what their passions and dreams are. It's always so refreshing because people might have more common interest with you than you think!
5. Teaching kids how to cook. This summer, I have been teaching Culinary classes every other week at the YMCA. I absolutely love it. I love showing kids how to measure ingredients, going through the different conversions and making a mess every time. It's a blast.
6. Dancing in a studio. I love throwing on a pair of ballet shoes, going into an open studio, turn up the music and be in my own world. It makes my soul feel rejuvenated. Nothing better.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Dance Off Ephiphany Moments
This week, I started my camp duties at Russell Creek Day Camp. I arrived bright and early on Monday (7:30am to be exact) to gather my roster and guidelines. At nine after all of the kids were checked in, the counselors and I sang a song introducing ourselves (my camp name is dance off) and then played "Poop Deck" with the kids. We then broke up into groups and took our 14 kids to the kitchen to begin cooking! I'm the lead teacher for Culinary and Science/Space Camps.
We had a few hiccups on the first day including blowing a fuse in the kitchen that cut out all of the electricity in the offices and delay in our breakfast making. No worries, being the teacher I am, I explained to my kids a lesson on how cooks always improvise when things don't go as planned.
My students are precious. They range from 6-12 years of age, both boys and girls. They have so much charisma. They ask the fun questions that I have become accustomed to including, "Are you married?" and "Do you have a boyfriend?" One of my sweet girls told me that I looked like the princess from Princess Diaries and another said that their favorite food is Hooter's Wings and was wondering if we were going to go to Hooters for a field trip.
Being with kids this week reassured me how much I genuinely love working with kids. When I'm at camp, I'm not worried about the fact that it's now June and I don't have a job yet. My worries are who has to go to the bathroom, who needs their shoelaces tied, who has a song that they want to sing to you, who drew a picture of you to give you, who wants to do the Cupid Shuffle, who wants you to play dodgeball, who needs help opening up their juice box because their 6 year old hands aren't coordinated enough. The list goes but I think explains my epiphany why I need to teach kids. It hasn't crossed my mind that this isn't something that I want to do the rest of my life.
We had a few hiccups on the first day including blowing a fuse in the kitchen that cut out all of the electricity in the offices and delay in our breakfast making. No worries, being the teacher I am, I explained to my kids a lesson on how cooks always improvise when things don't go as planned.
My students are precious. They range from 6-12 years of age, both boys and girls. They have so much charisma. They ask the fun questions that I have become accustomed to including, "Are you married?" and "Do you have a boyfriend?" One of my sweet girls told me that I looked like the princess from Princess Diaries and another said that their favorite food is Hooter's Wings and was wondering if we were going to go to Hooters for a field trip.
Being with kids this week reassured me how much I genuinely love working with kids. When I'm at camp, I'm not worried about the fact that it's now June and I don't have a job yet. My worries are who has to go to the bathroom, who needs their shoelaces tied, who has a song that they want to sing to you, who drew a picture of you to give you, who wants to do the Cupid Shuffle, who wants you to play dodgeball, who needs help opening up their juice box because their 6 year old hands aren't coordinated enough. The list goes but I think explains my epiphany why I need to teach kids. It hasn't crossed my mind that this isn't something that I want to do the rest of my life.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Way Over My Head
Hello, blog readers.
I'm happy that Molly started blogging again. And Christy is blogging over in Thailand. Laura is always consistent with her blog. Blogs are fun, even the word "blog" is fun to say.
Life in Plano has been interesting, stressful at times and filled with searching for a job. I've had training at the YMCA and start next week which is nice. I'm excited to be with kids again. J Crew has been fun as well. There are some new faces that have started working there. J Crew employees are hilarious. Always decked out in J Crew wear and there is always a scandalous story to share during a work shift.
To date, I've have visited 26 elementary schools in the Dallas area. That's alot of driving, a lot of gas being sucked out of my car and lots of neutral responses from principals. It's so incredibly challenging, this whole job searching. It's constant rejection every time you feel like you are getting somewhere. There have been small glimmers of hope from schools but nothing that has shined a light at the end of the tunnel. This experience has definitely tested my faith and my patience in waiting for the perfect teaching opportunity to come.
When the day comes though when I receive my offer, I have already decided that I'm going to hug the principal (regardless of who she is and how she feels about physical touch) and we are going to have a dance off right there in her office. I will love every school day next year and adore each of my students regardless of how crazy they drive me. Because after this, I've learned that I need to appreciate every aspect of my job next year.
Haven't passed the stone. It could have dissolved by now. But who knows.
How are you?
I'm happy that Molly started blogging again. And Christy is blogging over in Thailand. Laura is always consistent with her blog. Blogs are fun, even the word "blog" is fun to say.
Life in Plano has been interesting, stressful at times and filled with searching for a job. I've had training at the YMCA and start next week which is nice. I'm excited to be with kids again. J Crew has been fun as well. There are some new faces that have started working there. J Crew employees are hilarious. Always decked out in J Crew wear and there is always a scandalous story to share during a work shift.
To date, I've have visited 26 elementary schools in the Dallas area. That's alot of driving, a lot of gas being sucked out of my car and lots of neutral responses from principals. It's so incredibly challenging, this whole job searching. It's constant rejection every time you feel like you are getting somewhere. There have been small glimmers of hope from schools but nothing that has shined a light at the end of the tunnel. This experience has definitely tested my faith and my patience in waiting for the perfect teaching opportunity to come.
When the day comes though when I receive my offer, I have already decided that I'm going to hug the principal (regardless of who she is and how she feels about physical touch) and we are going to have a dance off right there in her office. I will love every school day next year and adore each of my students regardless of how crazy they drive me. Because after this, I've learned that I need to appreciate every aspect of my job next year.
Haven't passed the stone. It could have dissolved by now. But who knows.
How are you?
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