What an incredible nine weeks I have had at Sherman Elementary!!! The Lord gave me “more than I could ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20) at that school. I was blessed with a wonderful cooperating teacher who gave me rides daily to and from school (a HUGE answer to prayer in light of the fact that we only have one car!) She has been teaching for 30+ years and had a lot to teach me! She was very laid back and easy to work with which made my experience very NOT stressful!

I enjoyed my 17 third graders so much! They are all really sweet and so much fun! Last Friday was my last day there and it was a bittersweet farewell filled with tears! On top of this the Lord gave me some great relationships with the other teachers at my school. I enjoyed getting to know all of them, especially the 3rd and 4th grade teachers and the other student teachers. I was also blessed with some incredible conversations to and chances to talk with them about The Navigators and my life.

My favorite story of the quarter is about one of my students, Aaron (name changed for this post).  From day one I knew he would be a challenge. After a week or so of being at Sherman I had seen this boy eat pencils, erasers, a paper towel, pieces of paper, his shirt, etc.  I started keeping him in for recess for one minute for each time I had to stop the class to get him back on task- which was VERY painful for him. We’ll just say because of his misbehavior he is a kid I got to know quite well.
 
Fast forward to my 8th week at Sherman:  Aaron and I had a bonding moment. I finally had a chance to give him some more one-on-one attention and even laugh at him. This was a breaking point for me; I went from being constantly aggravated with his off-task behavior and started to just really love him. The next day he came in and told me that he had spent his “above the line points” (points he had been earning for two months) to stay inside for recess with me and play a game. WHAT? AARON CHOOSING TO STAY INSIDE FOR RECESS?!?! I came home telling Noah the story with tears in my eyes.  (This picture is of he and I and our lego castle we built during this recess.)

On my last day, Aaron was the most sad of all the kids to see me go. He probably came up to me 6 or 7 times and hugged me and told me he would miss me. I believe this kind of story is what motivates teachers to keep teaching!

I’d love to talk more about my student teaching experience when we get a chance! Tomorrow I start at my new school, Altoona Middle School. You can be praying that the Lord will continue to bless my time in the schools!

~Katie:)

Check back on the post from 9/1/08.  You'll see a reference to some games of croquet played with students.

One of the students we played with was named David.  After that croquet match, we invited him to our freshman party and other kickoff activities.  David came and has enjoyed being a part of a loving group of Christians.  He joined a small group Bible Study led by one of our students. 

This past week, the students were asked to write their testimonies- the story of God's faithfulness in their lives and of how they came to know Jesus as their Savior.  David realized he didn't really have a testimony.  He talked with his Bible Study leader who shared the Gospel with him, and David surrendered his life to Christ!  Please pray for David as he begins to grow in his walk with Christ.  Thank God for saving him, and smile as you think about the party happening in Heaven!  (Luke 15:7,10)