One of those magic days...

Today was a great day at Pomaria Primary School. I don't know, but it was just one of those golden days that don't come very often, but they are honestly one of the reasons why I love being with the children and teaching. Dr. Jacobs (JJ) told us that we need to have a vision for why we are teachers, and I really believe that mine is my love for children and how I want them to believe in their abilities like Mrs. Erwin helped me see mine. My vision is this: I teach because I want children to realize their potential and do all they can to live up to that potential in all aspects of their life. I don't know how I am going to do that, whether I use words, actions, or both, but I would love to make one child's life better just from the 6 weeks I spend in this amazing school with these talented learners.

Today was great because so many students were on task and we had fun dancing together (our axis dance), learning together (the students taught me today how they pronounce their "e" because American vowels and New Zealand vowels are very different), and laughing together as we worked on our daily tasks. These students try their hardest and some of them have great strategies to figure out how to spell words, but I need to get those who rely on me all the time for spelling to work more independently, because it is just exhausting to help each one spell 3-4 words. Tomorrow my goal is to encourage more independence and sounding out, and then when they show me their work, I'll write the correct way to spell the word. Also, more of them are talking to me, like Salvanni who can be disrespectful at times, but I think it is because he is used to being labeled as the bad kid, or the dumb kid. Today I noticed how on-task he was and I praised him for it, talked with him, and let him take some leadership on, and I really think it helped our relationship and he seemed a lot happier today. When I show these kids, and especially Salvanni that I love them, I think they'll respond.

A second reason why today was so wonderful: I feel today that I helped a child see her potential as we played paddle tennis together. Taniya is a sweet, bright, and loving girl with Down Syndrome, and in the morning she has an aid helping her with writing and other concepts, but in the afternoon Mrs. Scott and I are in charge of her learning. She does really well usually and we praise her often for the goals she does meet, like when she finds a vowel in the daily reading we do. Today though, Taniya and I had a special moment as we practiced paddle tennis for PE today. While everyone else was working alone or with a partner, Taniya and I hit and scooted the ball to each other. She was so observant and when I tried to show her how to hit it, she eventually did. At first we were just rolling it back and forth to each other, but as she got more confident in her abilities, I challenged her to hit it with the paddle racket, and she did! Her enthusiasm and willingness to try made my day. It was so wonderful to see her working so hard and taking risks. I feel that Heavenly Father feels the same way about us as his children: we have our fears and inadequacies but as he is patient with us and lets us work up to taking risks, that is when he shows us a better way to do something, and then we are confident enough to try the new thing. As we continue to improve and work hard, we feel even better with ourselves and our Heavenly Father is so pleased. Taniya was wonderful today and I loved the time I spent with her.

Finally, I helped a portion of the class learn about teamwork as we played a version of baseball. These kids are still learning about sharing and waiting for a turn with playing, and as we had our huddles and did our best to be a team and pass the ball I just felt so great that I was seeing these kids be active and work together. They are all on different levels, but when they do their best, it is just amazing. I can't really be proud of myself because it's not about me, but I am sure proud of these kids for listening so well, doing their best, and just learning everyday. How lucky I am to witness their progress.