My Niños.

Over the past semester, I have been attending a local elementary school every Tuesday and Thursday and working with first-grade little people to develop their reading and writing skills.  I did everything from observing, small group work, and creating slash teaching lesson plans, to being teacher for the day (thank you, substitute lady).  And my partnering teacher could not have been a better match -- she was such an excellent example of what a teacher should be. 

What a blessing. 

The school itself has about 600 students, 400 of them speaking a different first language other than English.  I was fortunate enough to be placed in a classroom with students who speak Spanish as their native language.  So for the three hours I would be there, I was communicating, teaching, and learning in Spanish.  Super cool.  Super scary.  I did not know I was even capable of this and was pretty much a living example of "fake it till you make it…" But I was very honest with my students when I had no idea what to say or had no idea what they were saying -- they knew I was just as much of a student as they were.  This created a learning environment of trust and vulnerability, which I am now convinced should always be the case.  And they were so good to me, even though it was just hilarious to them the majority of the time.

I would not have had it any other way.

The whole experience was just so beautiful.  Seeing how much they grew over the semester was phenomenal, to say the least.  And knowing that I was a component to their development just brings me joy...so much joy.  I have learned so much, and these words are in no way sufficient to express that.  Everything the textbooks and professors taught me meant absolutely nothing the moment I walked through those doors.  It is all about experience.

Every classroom, every child, and every day will be different. 

There is so much to learn from little people; they have a lot to say without having to say anything.  We do not nearly give them enough credit for how ingenious they truly are.  Their perspective of learning -- of their world -- has yet to be tainted by society.  They are so free, because that is all they know.  They just want to be loved ...they are humans, for heaven sakes (which we often forget).  And I have the incredible opportunity of nurturing and shaping these little humans into our inevitable future. 

So much power, so much potential.

On Thursday, my last day of practicum, one of my little girls whispered into my ear…"We have a surprise for you and made cards for you but I am not suppose to tell you because it is a secret and it is because we love you." -- Holy precious.  These are moments that I live for, that make me want to do this --teach-- for the rest of my life.  They did not want me to go, and neither did I.  I wanted to cry so badly, knowing that I may never have the opportunity to learn with them ever again.  But I was so overjoyed, so blessed to be a part of something, of someone, so beautiful.

All I could do was smile.

I am going to miss my kids, my niños -- their smiling faces, their hugs, their light-bulb moments, their limitless imaginations, their trust.  They will always have a special place in my heart...my first students.  And I can only thank none other than my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such amazing little people to work with, for an experience of a lifetime.  We were a perfect fit. 

He knew I needed them, He knew they needed me.

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"...Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and Me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them."

Mark 10:14-16