Teaching during a Pandemic - Endurance under Pressure

Today's message at church completely hit home!  It was all about enduring under pressure!  I know that as teachers if we haven't wanted to quit before, the pressure of teaching during a pandemic may be just enough for us to consider it.  Whether you are teaching face to face or virtually teaching in #2020 it can be stressful, crazy, rewarding, and full of pressure!  

Here is the link to Sunday's message that really got me thinking!  

Emmanuel Church (Endurance Under Pressure)

This is full of great information and amazing worship music.  In order to go directly to the message go to 36:00 on the video.  

"People tend to quit under pressure."

As teachers, our jobs are extremely difficult!  Even pre pandemic our jobs were hard.  A lot of times we work in the evenings, on the weekends, our job is our livelihood!   We build relationships with our students as if they were our own, we feel ALL the feelings 100%, we feel pure joy, disappointment, fear, exhaustion, sadness, and happiness in a way that is hard to explain. 

One of the key points to today's message was not quitting when you endure pressure.  Of course it wasn't about teaching per say, but as a teacher, that is how I related to this message.  If you have been a teacher for 1 year or for many, there may have been a time along the way when you have considered quitting.  Or this could be you at this very moment.  Teaching is completely different than it has ever been and it is continually changing.  The pressure is immeasurable!

The question was asked...what if you quit and you were just 3 ft. away from a breakthrough?  What if you didn't quit?  What would you miss out on if you did?

So here is my story...

I have been a teacher for 13 years, I have taught kindergarten for all 13 of these years.  Kindergarten is where my heart is, it is where I find my joy.  I wish I could say that all of those years were wonderful and  joyous but that would be untrue.  There were a few years during the 13 that were the hardest years so far in my teaching career.  I felt useless, I felt that I wasn't giving my best, I felt that I had no control.  Believe it or not, I wanted to quit.  (The teacher who has wanted to teach since she was in kindergarten, the teacher who loves her job with a passion, the teacher who couldn't think of anything else that she would rather do - wanted to quit.)   That in itself was so disappointing I wanted to be the teacher that I had always been but it was hard and seemed pretty much impossible.  There were so many circumstances out of my control.   I gained an unhealthy amount of weight and lost an unhealthy amount of weight over a period of two years because the stress was overwhelming and this time was seriously a difficult time for me.   I realize now that God had a different plan for me, he knew that teaching was where I needed to be.  He didn't open any new doors for me that year, he didn't give me an escape.  He knew that I would learn from those experiences and that the pressure of life during those few years were building my inner strength.  

As I look back on those few years, the years I wanted to quit, and I am thankful that I didn't.  I am thankful that God gave me strength to get through just one more year. 

   So what would I have missed?  What would I have missed if I would have quit -  if I had given up on my dream?

Here it is:

I would have missed meeting and working with so many wonderful people!  

I wouldn't have the friendships I have gained. 

I would have missed huge growing and learning opportunities.

I would have missed being chosen as the Teacher of the Year.

But most importantly, I would have missed out on all of the lives that I have made a difference in.  All of the teachers, parents, and children that I have blessed in one way or another and all of those that have blessed me in one way or another.  

Yesterday I received a message from a parent of a student I had previously.  She wanted my address to send me something that my former student had made for me.  She said she talks about me a lot and wanted to thank me for making such a huge impact on her life and for making such a difference.  This student was in my class one of those years that was my hardest.  One of the years that I was sure that I couldn't possibly be making a difference.  Don't get me wrong, I never gave up during those years,  but I just couldn't see the impact that I was making.  I couldn't see past the struggles, the difficulties, the tears, and the exhaustion.  I did my best to come back every day with a smile and start with a clean slate.   Most people would have never noticed that I was struggling.  Those who truly knew me knew my struggles.

So what is the point of me sharing this story with you?  For pity or to make teaching look bad?  Absolutely not!  It is to help you remember your why!  To remember that even when life gets hard and pressure seems to be too great you've got this!  You can persevere!  What if your breakthrough is only 3 ft. away?!?!  What if you don't quit?  

Trust me when I say, God has a plan!  A plan that is greater than we could ever imagine!  

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.  

                                                            James 1:2-4

Candy Land Classroom Transformation

 Let me start off by saying that we have only been in school for 15 days and never in my craziest thinking would I do a classroom transformation this early in the school year!  But...all normal has been thrown out the door in #2020!  So why not!  

We needed a little fun, just some down right kindergarten fun!  With all the masks, sanitizer, seating charts, and line orders my kiddos have been AMAZING and just needed some fun and excitement!  This is where I must point out that doing something like this fifteen days into school wasn't my idea.  That is where my amazing friend, sidekick, and teacher assistant comes in.  A few Fridays ago she asked if we had a fun classroom day planed?  "We just need some fun!"  she said.  

So voila this is where the transformation came about! I wanted something fun, that didn't take too much work, and would be academically appropriate for my students at this point in the school year.  So here it is broken down for you!  Our CandyLand classroom transformation:

Setting the Stage with sweet decor (get it sweet decor 😉)

I printed off candy clipart (included in my TpT product), laminated it,  and cut it out to create candy pieces for the hallway and my door.  I also used construction paper to create the CandyLand board.  My assistant made candies out of pool noodles, bouncy balls, tape, and cellophane.  How lucky were we that a lady I work with threw a Candy Land birthday party for her daughter previously and she brought in the cardboard props for us to use!  To be honest, I didn't do much to the inside of the classroom, I hung a few candies from the ceiling and put in a chocolate river (brown bulletin board paper) and my kiddos loved it.  "It's like our classroom has been transformed into a whole new world"  according to one of my kindergarteners!  

Getting the Kids Excited!

After recess, we came into this urgent message from King Candy (one of my teammates ideas, I was just going to send it home) giving us the challenge for the next day.  I also sent home the little story to their parents that night.  The next day all of my kindergarteners came dressed in their most colorful outfits ready to find the missing key to the castle! 

It's CandyLand Day

We started the day off playing Candy bingo!  This was a great way to practice letter recognition.  When each kid got a "candy" they got to pick a sticker from the chocolate river.  

We played a fun game of CandyLand on the Smart Board!  I am so glad I figured out how to do this!  I see lots of board games in our future! 

For math we did a ten frame match from the chocolate river. 

 

We did a skittle experiment that my students loved!  This is where the best quote of the day was heard!  "Mrs. Gardner, you're a genius!  A literal genius!"

After each challenge, we opened an envelope.  Each envelope told us that we hadn't found the key yet but we were getting closer.  After the final challenge, we found the key.  

It was a great day!  So if you are considering doing a classroom transformation this early in the year I highly recommend it.  I am teaching FTF, #2020 is so unpredictable, so I wanted to give my kiddos a chance to experience Kindergarten Mrs Gardner style.  I can tell you it was 100% worth it!  

If you want to try a CandyLand transformation, I have everything you need in my TPT product!  Here is the link:

Sweet Candy Land Transformation

Hip Hip Hooray for Candy Day!