They say stress is good for people....

Ok. I must admit I’m just the tiniest bit stressed about teaching preschool. When I agreed to do it, I was going to be teaching with one of the ladies who has taught there for years. Then life happened. Heidi found out that her husband was being transferred to Vancouver, WA and they would be moving. (Picture me as the model for the painting The Scream.) So the hunt was on for a new teacher. The retiring teachers and I decided that if we didn’t find a teacher by the end of June, we would have to tell the presents so they could look for a new school. We found a new teacher, Charlee, on the last day of June. Whew!

In some ways teaching with some one else that is new is advantageous. We get to start fresh, -- to put our stamp on the preschool. And the retiring teachers left us all their lesson plans and materials, making it a plug and play if we wanted. They also assured us that we could make any changes we deemed necessary and it would not offend them in the least. (Whew! That could have led to some sticky situations!) Then to make things even better, I found my lesson plans from Dallas I thought I’d thrown out before we moved here! Yea! As you can see, God is providing! He is also stretching me. I have had a feeling since we moved here that I would be leaving my comfort zone!

My first big stretch has came last week during Open House. All but four children and their families attended. That means there were about 32 adults there. Guess who got to give the group talk to the parents during Open House? Yep - me. It made sense as I had met the returning children’s parents last year when I substituted and I was the one who is most familiar with how the school is run. I survived! Not only did I survive (ok – I lost my voice yelling over the kids!) but the parents were all great.

After that night, I though it would be smooth sailing. Then I started having nightmares! :^0 The one I remember was taking the kids on a field trip to an old fashioned zoo where monkeys were kept in cages. One of the little cherubs – a cute little blond boy – decided to jump in a canal that ran right next to the monkey cage. I had to jump in and haul him out. After rescuing him (we were both dry as a bone, naturally!) I shook my finger at him and scolded him, saying, “You cannot go swimming in the canal!!!!” He looked me straight in the eye and replied, “Oh, yes I can!!!” and immediately jumped back in. Like any loving teacher, I turned my back on him in disgust.

Oh, yeah. Then there were the nights I woke up and thought my first week’s plans were just horrible and I would have to start all over! (Did I mention that I also have to lead the class for the first week since I am familiar with how it is run?) Alas, school starts tomorrow, so it’s too late to make changes!

Tune in again to see if I survive or will be drowned in some imaginary canal!