Initially, I was really frustrated with this week. I would finish my day and feel completely drained, more emotionally than anything, but also tired from chasing kids around classrooms, and my voice hoarse from shouting over the dull roar of echoing classrooms. But I started praying about the situation this morning. I had a few extra minutes before I had to go to work and I grabbed my Bible and looked up the work child. Jesus says in Matthew that we have to be humbled, and child-like. Well, I definitely feel like I have been humbled this week. It's funny that God would wait until my last week to do this. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, that I was the master of the system for which I work, He threw me for a loop. So, on the one hand, I've been owned by some 9-year-olds.
But back to the prayer thing. So after I read that passage, I decided to pray over the situation. This is something I often idealize about but negligently do. I prayed for the kids. I prayed for God to show me how to love them and how to discipline them. This was something that I had been wanting to do all week, especially with knowing that they were orphans. (There are special ways to recognize orphans, like the way they cling to you almost immediately without even knowing you; they are desperate for love.) But every time I tried, I felt like I was getting walked on or so caught up in preventing fights that it seemed impossible.
But finally today, after checking the master schedule to find out which team numbers I was going to have after lunch, I realized I would be teaching the Bank class to the most rowdy 9-year-olds I've ever had. I had already had them twice so I knew what to expect. So anyway, I went upstairs and spoke to some other teachers and got some ideas. I got some materials from our Animation class and made an example of a Mickey Mouse dollar bill. I prayed this would work.
So the kids came to class and were rowdy as usual. I taught them a little about currency and the different sizes of American money. After that, I had lost more than half of the class. Several of them were more interested in rolling their chairs around the class or playing bumper chairs. But then I got out the project and it worked like a charm. I showed them the Mickey bill and then started handing out paper and markers. After about 5 minutes, they had all mostly calmed down and were diligently drawing. Soon, I also brought out the animation notebook that showed them how to draw cartoon characters. They loved this even more. They would show me their work and I would praise them for it. It felt so good not to have to discipline them negatively, but rather with positive reinforcement. I could sense their joy when they saw how proud I was of them. They didn't necessarily become angels, but God finally allowed them to receive the love they have been needing.
Also, on a further note, there is a little girl named Lucy with whom I have fallen in love with. She is about 3 feet tall and her hair is strung everywhere. Whenever she sees me, she comes and grabs my hand and never wants to let go. I'll try to take a picture with her tomorrow to post for you.
