Spider

Yesterday I gave a boy a detention, because he caught a huge spider and then released it on the table where a girl in his class was working. She cried. I was a bad teacher and laughed a little. (I still can't kick the habit of laughing at inappropriate times!) The boy got mad at me and said I was unfair. He still got the detention. It's never a dull moment; that's for sure!

Class, Swag, and JB

Earlier this week an eighth grade boy asked me this...

"Miss, what would you rather have, class or swag?"

I laughed and said class. I'll let Lainey keep the reputation of unique swag. She pulls it off so well! Kids do make me laugh!


In other news, Justin Bieber is coming to Guatemala City in October, and Megan and I bought tickets to the concert, haha! We're not sitting in the "Belieber" zone by any means, but I still think it's going to be a blast...along with all of the other teenage girls that will be there!

Week 2 is Here

Well the weekend is pretty much over, and I'm not ready to go back to school tomorrow. I could use one more day! I haven't been super motivated to work this weekend. I can "get away" with lessons I've done the past two years, but I really shouldn't. Lessons can always get better. There can always be a more creative or effective way to teach. Right now, I should be working on lesson plans, but I'm procrastinating more by writing this blog post.

In fact, I've been procrastinating all day. Megan and I went to church, bought a birthday present, ate lunch, and then I went to the grocery store that's farther from our house. Then I went to a nearby tienda to buy saldo for my phone. On the way home, I stopped at a little stand and bought fresh blue corn tortillas and paches. Then I worked for a bit until two of our friends came over for dessert and tea. They stayed for a few hours, and then I cooked a zucchini pasta for lunch tomorrow. I think I'll go take a shower now, work a little more, and head to bed. This week, I have morning duty, which I always enjoy! I like saying hi to the kids and their parents. 

Ok enough procrastinating...it's going to catch up with me in the morning!

Day 1 Done

First day selfie

Glimpse of the classroom (taken with Photo Booth, so it's all backwards)

Day 1 is done, which leaves 179 days to go! Tomorrow we're hitting the ground running with writing expressions and equations (Algebra and Pre-Algebra) and comparing whole numbers (Math I)! It was so good to finally see kids again, but I think I was more excited to see them than they were to see me...middle schoolers! I have some planning to do, and then I'm going over to a missionary family's house for dinner. The dad is the school board president, and the son is in 7th grade. I'm looking forward to it! I just went to Xelapan and bought some of their new chocolate chip/oatmeal cookies to bring. I sure hope these cookies are here to stay! They're delicious!

School Starts Tomorrow!

I must admit, I have always loved the first day of school! As a teacher, I still love the first day of school and everything that goes along with a new school year...a few new clothes, a fresh haircut, and of course, school supplies! Tomorrow starts school year 3! You would think that I would have everything ready to go, considering I'm teaching the same four classes, but I was still scrambling to get things printed and copied this afternoon. I can't seem to kick the bad habit of procrastination! This past week has been filled with school meetings and lesson planning (definitely not my favorite), so I'm excited to see kids tomorrow! Before I left school (around 6 PM), I spent some time praying for kids by name-- that they would grow in relationships with Jesus, the perfect One who took on our sin and died the death that we deserve so that we may have full, eternal life with the Father. This is truly why I am here. Yes, I want to teach them math, and I want to do my best at that, but most importantly, I want to show them Jesus. I want them to know Him and live fully for Him. A lot of these kids are the future leaders of Guatemala. They have influence. They have affluence. They have a big responsibility. I pray that they will love the Lord with all of their hearts, minds, and souls. I pray that they will surrender everything to Him. 

On a lighter note, Don Luis, the man that cleans my classroom everyday (who is also a pastor), came into the room when I was praying. I think he thought I was asleep, because he asked me what happened, haha! 

Aside from lesson planning and preparing for a new school year, we welcomed Jocelyn Broekhuis, Kendra and Collin's sweet baby girl! She is such a good baby, and they even trusted me to hold her! I still can't believe that they are parents!