Work

Work. This word has both negative and positive implications. For the jobless, this is something positive. A jobless person wants work. He/she looks for a job to earn. For people who have jobs, however, work may be negative. Work may mean stress. Employed people look forward to holidays.


Just before this school year started, just before my work began, I was able to listen to a very meaningful and useful talk from a pastor about work. The following ideas are the important things I want to keep in mind as I work.

Happy Colors!

How do you make something look appealing to children? Make it colorful! I have proven a lot of times that children like and enjoy colorful objects. They find them interesting.


When I was hired as a preschool teacher, I was tasked to decorate our classroom. I didn't know where to start! My co-teachers were starting to paint and cut, coming up with beautiful decorations for their classrooms. I didn't know what to do. I don't have any experience in painting, I thought then. In addition, I was not exposed to fully-decorated preschool classrooms. Faced with a situation like this, one learns. Thank God I did learn... a bit.


When summer break came in, I started to plan and imagine what decorations I would make for our classroom. Then, I remembered how often most of my former pupils used to talk about buses, cars, and airplanes. *Light bulb* Why not make transportation devices the theme for the decors I will make for our classroom? Right then and there, I embraced the idea. Visit our classroom today and you might think that you landed on a bus station or an airport, or you may find yourself on the street waiting for a jeepney, or by the beach watching  boats that are sailing.


At the last minute, I thought of adding a decoration I haven't tried yet, something that I had wanted to try long, long ago. Glass door painting! Way back college, an organization would annually paint our college building's glass door with colorful drawings. It was only last week that I discovered that poster paint can be used to do it. And so I tried painting our room's glass door.

Glass door painting 1 (reflecting the school grounds)

Day 1 of Year 2

Today was the first day of the new school year. I had mixed emotions as the day ended. I was happy because I met my new pupils and the school year seemed to have started right. However, I also felt sad because I won't be handling last year's toddlers anymore.


But let me start with the positive side.


A while ago, I met this school year's batch of toddlers, my second batch of pupils. Here's how our day went.


To give them time to warm up, I let them choose the toys they want to play with. Free Play Time was a big help to my pupils because they easily became comfortable staying in class. I had no difficulty convincing them to let their parents and guardians leave and come back after 3 hours!

Playing with colorful blocks

Play dough molding

Dear Bubbles

Indeed, the Lord knows everything. He knows what I've been feeling lately. For two consecutive days, His Word to me has been about frustrations. He used Harold J. Sala's devotional guide, Just For Today to speak to me. It's as if God speaks to me through a letter. The letter may go like this:




Dear Bubbles,


Always remember that I will never leave you nor forsake you. You discover that many things are beyond your control. Don't worry. I am in control. You live in a world of frustrations. Don't worry. I am with you. Don't focus on what makes you feel frustrated or the frustration itself. Focus on your attitude towards it. Your attitude makes all the difference.

Discoveries at Year 1

This week, I'm gonna see children in school again. This week, I'm gonna meet new adorable faces! I'm also gonna see my pupils last year who I missed a lot! This week, I'm gonna meet my second batch of toddlers class. This week, my second year of teaching starts. Today, I reminisce and reflect on my first year experience as a teacher.


I have observed that children learn by discovering. And I have also discovered that this is also true for teachers. Teachers learn through discovery. I've learned a lot in my first year of teaching. I've got discoveries that I will always keep in mind as a teacher.


Discovery #1
Before anything else, apologize. Humility is the key to strong and good teacher-parent relationships.


Discovery #2
As a teacher I must kneel in prayer everyday, declaring my dependence on God for wisdom and direction for me, and safety and protection for the children.

Nongnooch Tropical Garden

I admit that I am not a pet lover. I don't have pets except for a fighting fish named Nemo, which was actually our classroom pet. I needed to purchase it and adopt it as our pet for a lesson in class. The truth is I am not really very interested in animals. I accepted this to be true for more than 20 years, but now I am having doubts. Recently, I get excited about animals. I get fascinated seeing them! In fact, I'm having thoughts of getting training to be a zookeeper. :)


I was so happy when the residents of Pattaya in Thailand recommended Nongnooch Tropical Garden. And so we visited the place.

Nongnooch Garden and Resort

The entrance fee is 500 baht per person. It's quite expensive for a zoo, but the visit is worth the fee if you love animals and fantastic landscapes.

The landscapes as you enter the garden

Just because I get fascinated with rainbows!
Rainbow wall! <3

Rest

Rest. This had been out of my vocabulary these past few months. But let me tell you that this blog entry isn't about my complaining about my tiredness but about getting through it.


Last March, I was very excited for April to come because I thought I would be able to take some rest. I knew I would be very busy during the summer vacation but I still hoped that I would get rest. What happened? April came and this meant that we, the youth leaders in church, should be preparing for the Summer Youth Camp during the Holy Week. I accomplished what was assigned to me the week before the camp. Thanks to my co-ministers because they were kind enough to understand my busy-ness. Next thing on my to-do list was the Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS)  for children in a community in our city. It was a four-day activity for children which included teaching them Bible lessons and implementing activities. I really appreciated the efforts of all the volunteers. I did not notice that my two-week vacation from work had already ended. I went back to work a week before May came in. Summer classes, seminars for teachers, and preparations for the upcoming school year were my activities from mid-May until it ended. On the second day of June, we held the Children's Day Camp in church.


I enjoyed doing all these but I won't deny that while they were happening, I felt worried, down, discouraged, pressured, and tired. I wanted to take a break but I can't. I had opportunities to rest but my mind just kept on working.


Just last week, I felt pressured, frustrated, and worried because I felt like I was not yet prepared for the opening of classes, for work. I wanted everything to be ready before June 5, so that I may enjoy our family trip. I prayed, though not constantly, that everything would be ready. But it didn't happen. June 5 came and I needed to leave work temporarily. I really felt worried.