I'm officially a kindergarten teacher.
I'm officially a certified bus driver.
Apparently God finds some humour in these things and the way my life has turned out.
Life on the Rez got really serious the last three weeks. I'm done with two solid weeks of teaching my twenty students. Honestly it feels like I've been "playing school" as my mom's put it. But, now it's time to teach my little ones how to read. Crazy. I always hated relearning phonics in college and now I have to teach it. Not one of my favorite scenarios.
Since I'm teaching in a private school, my kids are all on a 30 day trial. The first week I had to tell one of my students that he couldn't come next week. His behavior was out of control even though his academics were sound. Talk about a rough first Friday of the school year. Although he gave me and the aides a lot of trouble, I couldn't help but like him. I cried when I put him on the bus. The next Monday I had a new student to replace him.
Every day I'm learning about the kind of kindergarten teacher I want to be. These kids have absolutely no manners. They poke, pinch, and give each other rattlesnake burns. They can't tie their shoes. They ask to go to the bathroom every five minutes. I know that I'm not going to teach this grade forever. But, I can't help but love being a mom to them--holding their hand on the way to Religion/Lakota class or to PE, opening their milk for them at lunch, tying their shoes, stuffing their folders, or making sure that they have an extra set of clothes just in case they have an "accident". For some reason right now, I know that God put me in the "magical kingdom" of a classroom. Although I may not be able to see through the intense reading curriculum, I know my kids will come so far by May.
What He has given me in challenges at school, He made up for it in my friends here. They are very supportive and that's all I can ask for. When Claire and I finally make it out of our classrooms, we bake cookies while talking in weird accents. Anna tries to dance on me while we cook. Kevin and I end up wrestling when we get too frustrated with school work. Liz makes up random lies that we can only tell she's lying when she bursts out into contagious laughter. Tim and Maria always have a meal going when I come in at six each day from school. Shannon talks about her days in med school and stories of the ER. Plus there are too many stories to count. Some how we make up a huge family that just seems to work in our volunteer program. These people challenge me to be the real Abby, not the one my college friends knew. Thank God for these people and kids in my life. Every day makes me glad I'm here.
Sometimes I still wonder what teaching in Indiana would have been like. Every time I think that though, I know how grateful I am for this experience. Hopefully I'm being the woman of God that I'm meant to be. Even if it involves little five year olds....
God Works.
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