La Sonya

i want everything i do in the classroom to have a purpose. christmas decorations should point to God . Yet, ease and simplicity is important. i want everything i say to have a purpose. conversations i have should be uplifting . Yet, ease and simplicity is important. i want every relationship i have to have a purpose. giving and taking should be fluid . Yet, ease and simplicity is important.

1.      To be in America 2.      Teaching 3.      Mountains 4.      Adventures 5.      Mom 6.      Dad 7.      Christopher 8.      Pa 9.      Snow 10. Oakhurst Church 11. Community 12. Love 13. My kindergarten and first grade students 14. Trees 15. Prayer 16. Relationship with God 17. Photographs 18. Friends 19. Road trips 20. Kimberly 21. Rachel 22. Andrea 23. European Friends 24. Memories 25. Warm Fires 26. Brit 27. Flowers 28. Colour 29. Bears 30. Amtrak 31. Sunshine 32. Honesty 33. Deep Conversations 34. Phone Calls 35. Mountain Air 36. Running 37. Wild Places 38. Old Friends 39. Cooking 40. Hosting People 41. Baking 42. Older Wiser Fiends 43. Authentic Burritos 44. Evel...

I think I am going to start going to each destination with as much zest as the students seem to. They run and slide into the space rug. They run and skip/hop over to the door. They slide into the cubbies. They scadadle to the bathroom. They go everywhere as if they were in a walking competition for speed, grace and points for style. It looks like fun, but don't tell them that because I always make them go back and walk.

I've been busy, imagine that. Teaching kindergarten and first grade and second grade would keep anyone busy, let alone a first year teacher. My head has been busy figuring out how to teach small people. For example how do I teach first graders to add doubles and add one when they see this math problem 4+5=9. Sheesh, I think we took at least 4 days on just that concept alone. But man, when I was looking into their eyes as I was teaching the whole class about the Indians from the Yosemite area and how the white men kicked them out of their homes with guns, it broke my heart because it was breaking theirs. They know it was wrong. I love teaching them about our history and instilling a love in them for nature and culture. We learned about Moses crossing the Red Sea with the Israelites and how they had to help hold up his arms as he walked. I had the kids hold their arms up for a long time, then they had to help me hold mine up. Then at recess the kids wanted to play Moses and Pha...

My mind rumbles and tumbles with thoughts day after day after day after day. I've got good friends who help me sort through them via the phone or skype or gchat. Sometimes they aren't enough. Sometimes the only thing that is enough is God. There have been a lot of moments where I just go sit before God and ask for His help at sorting out my thoughts. I don't always walk away with an answer for today but since this last May when I decided to come back to America and had to trust God to provide work, life and peace I've gotten better at sorting out my thoughts with God. He's given me peace where I am now, a deeper peace than I've had in at least a year. He's given me a joy for my job that I haven't had since I was teaching before . . . up the mountain in Wawona and He's given me a tiny shimmer of joy for the long term where one day I will be in a team. Tonight, I will search Him out because my thoughts are busy and need to be sorted out again. ...