Little Kids, Big Kids, and College Kids

Hello friends!
I'm probably procrastinating right now, but that's beside the point. My life has been super hectic and sometimes I feel like I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but this semester, I have learned so many lessons, have laughed, cried, and everything in between. If you did not already know, I am an Early Childhood Education Major with an emphasis in Special Education. I have the pleasure of working with three types of kids on a very regular basis: the littles, the bigs, and the college type (my peers) and would love to share some things with you.

Little Kids
If you know me at all, you probably know that I have a soft spot for small children. I think they are cute, sweet, and super fun. Twice a week, I go to elementary schools and work with children ranging in ages from 5-7 (Kindergarten and First Grade) and absolutely LOVE it. My experiences with them make me so excited to have my own classroom in the near future. Here is a list of things I have learned from working with these tiny humans all semester:

1. They do crazy things.
Little kids are known for their sometimes questionable antics, whether it is the way they walk down the hallway, or their behavior in the classroom, kids will keep you on your toes. In one of my classrooms, it is not unusual for one little girl to dance while in line, whether they are supposed to be quiet in the hallway or lining up from brain break, sometimes she just has to bust a move, whether the situation is appropriate or not. Sometimes kids roll around on the floor when they're just not feeling carpet time or they stick their head in their locker trying to "hide" from the teacher because they just don't want to do their work. Other times, they throw things AT EACH OTHER at Brain Break, for no reason at all. Every week these tiny humans make me laugh and honestly, I will probably have to learn to hide my amusement a little better before I have my own classroom. But for now, I will let myself chuckle.

2. They say HILARIOUS things.
Every week, it never fails, someone in at least one of my classes says something that is just so funny I can't help but laugh. The issue with this is sometimes they weren't trying to be funny and were actually quite serious. This can lead to confusion on the kid's part. At the beginning of the semester, I wrote down some of the funny things kids have said to me, and if you're like me, you could use a laugh right about now. Here they are:
5 year old boy: "She's a really pretty girl, like [her], but prettier."
5 year old girls: "Girls go to college to get more knowledge. Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider." I'm proud this old adage is still alive and well, but I'm also concerned that kids so young are already saying this. I didn't learn that until the second grade for goodness sake.
Conversation between 5 year old boy and me as I was helping him sound out some new words:
Him-"I don't speak Spanish."
Me- "Buddy, that's English."
Him- "I don't speak that either."
Me- "Then what do you speak?"
Him- "Like Mrs. J"
Me- "What does she speak?"
Him (completely serious)- "Words."

3. Dinosaur Noises
There's this group of boys in one of my classes that LOVES dinosaurs. Every time we go outside to Brain Break, they pretend to be dinosaurs and do not go back to being human again until we line up to go inside, regardless of who tries to interact with them. Just the other day, I had received a complaint from another child that these boys had "yelled in her ear." In reality, they had just made a really loud dinosaur noise a little too close to her. I told these boys that they needed to be a certain distance away from someone else to make that loud of a noise, so to let me know he heard me, one of them made a very soft dinosaur noise back to me and we fist bumped. It was great.

4. Littles LOVE TO LOVE
This is probably why I enjoy children so much. They give the best hugs and best compliments. One little girl in particular will do anything just for me to give her a hug. Once she told me her stomach hurt, other times she tells me she's sad, sometimes she will just come over and hug me. It's so precious. I've also been told that I'm pretty, my braid looks cool, they like my sweater. It seems kids know just what to say when you need it most. I can walk in crabby and tired, but as soon as I walk in and the kids excitedly wave (every week), my mood completely changes.

5. Small children cry.
In my kindergarten class, at least one child cries every time I am there. It never fails. Reasons vary from having an "owie," to having to wait their turn to get water, to not wanting to do their work, an so on. It is usually an easy fix. A hug, word of encouragement, or bandaid usually does the trick.

6. Kids Need Encouragement
Young children are eager to please, so it is extremely important to encourage their efforts and get excited about things that make them excited. My teacher is really good at this and makes her kids smile on a regular basis. Things like, "I'm so proud of you," "You really tried!" "Your picture is beautiful!" come out of her mouth quite often.

7. Kids Need to Move
I'm not going to go into a rant about the importance of recess, but kids need to be able to move throughout the school day. Some days are more squirmy than others, and instead of getting annoyed at the lack of attention, just stop and have the kids get up and move for a few minutes. My teacher does this with GoNoodle (I'm obsessed with this website) and the kids dance to the song for 3-5 minutes. It's shocking just how much that little bit of movement helps with their ability to pay attention.

The children I get to work with teach me more than they will ever know and I am so thankful for them each and every day. I am so blessed to be going into a profession that helps to shape the hearts and minds of the next generation. As C.S. Lewis once said, "Children are NOT a distraction from more important work. They are the MOST IMPORTANT work."

Big Kids
Currently, I am a nanny to a sixth grade boy and an eighth grade girl. To be quite honest with you, at first I was a little nervous because middle schoolers freak me out a little bit. I do best with littles and people over the age of 18, so this was kind of uncharted territory for me. I am so grateful for the experience and I do love working with them; they are great kids and I have learned a lot about the needs of middle schoolers and how to reach them because this is a very weird time in their lives. I am blessed to be able to be a positive influence on them and do not take it lightly at all. Here are some things about working with "big kids."

1. Life Lessons
When my kids get in the car after school, oftentimes my sixth grader will start talking about his day and a kid in his class that he has a hard time with. He often talks about something this kid did or how annoying he is, so that opens up the discussion on how to be nice to difficult people. We chat about being the bigger person and loving your neighbor as yourself, no matter how hard it might be. One of the kids that he struggles with happens to be new this year and does things to try and fit in and look cool (what my kid tells me), so I'm able to share what it is like to be the new kid and how challenging it can be. I then challenge him to be kind to him. Even though sometimes he rolls his eyes and says, "not everything is a life lesson," we are able to have good talks and he never hesitates to tell me something that is bothering him, and we discuss it from both points of view.

2. Listening
This leads me to my next point. I have learned that it is SO important to listen attentively to my middle schoolers. It was difficult to get them to open up at first, but after I showed them that I care about them and will listen to what they have to say, whether it's a question they have or how their day went, they trust me enough to share. Listening also means discerning when it is appropriate to put in my two cents and when I need to just let them talk.

3. Say Yes
Obviously I cannot say yes to everything my middle schoolers want, but when I can say yes, I do. When my eighth grader wants to play angsty rap music on the radio, I let her, not because I particularly enjoy it, but because she does. If they want to stop somewhere on the way home, I don't have to drive any further to get there, and they brought their own money, I take them because they showed responsibility and planned ahead, and that is something that should be rewarded when at all possible, especially at this age.

These kids have definitely challenged me in ways I have not been challenged, we've had some pretty deep discussions, and I have learned things that will make me a better teacher, parent (one day), and better human. I cannot wait to continue to grow with them.

College Kids
Last but certainly not least, I work with college kids on the daily. You might be thinking to yourself that we're not kids because we're over the age of 18. That is so false. We have much more in common with the little kids and the big kids. We all do weird things from time to time, we're all funny (sometimes), we cry, we laugh, we love, we grapple with concepts and decisions and opinions, and we love encouragement. In the end, we're all just full-grown children learning how to navigate this world, taking it one day at a time, and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. My peers teach me so much about life and love on a daily basis and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I love you all. Give the kids in your life a big hug. We could all use one.

Yours Truly,
Steph

Oh the Places I Went

“The best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.” –Unknown

Hello everyone!

I’m sorry it has been a super long time since I’ve written, but sometimes things like life get in the way of fun stuff like blogging. I will try to be better at it again this summer and next year, but no promises. Anyway, I got back almost 2 weeks ago from an incredible journey abroad in Europe with fellow education majors. As part of our course requirement, our professors required us to keep a journal about the happenings of our trip, including the places we went, the things we saw, and our thoughts, feelings, and reactions. I am so glad they did that because now I have something to look back on for the rest of my life. This adventure was one that I will never forget and I wanted to share some of the highlights with you guys. I hope you enjoy!

Amsterdam.

Our trip began in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and it was a phenomenal way to kick it off. While there, we did three days of Montessori training and learned a lot about Montessori practices. It was great to see a different philosophy in education than I am used to and I will use some of what I learned in my own classroom. While in Amsterdam, we also did a canal tour, visited the Anne Frank House, observed in the Montessori School Anne Frank attended, viewed the art in the Van Gogh Museum, and stopped by the Cheese Museum.

The canal tour was so wonderful and allowed us to relax while taking in the beauty of Amsterdam. The city is just so quaint and not as crowded as some of the others. The most dangerous thing was the bikes. They were everywhere…I even got hit by one and have a scar to prove it…haha.

I’ve always had an appreciation for Anne Frank and her selflessness at such a young age has always intrigued me. It was really neat to visit the Montessori school she attended and just see what kind of education shaped her. The school is still fully functioning and we got the privilege to sit in on both upper level classes (4^th-6^th grade) and lower classes (Pre-K-1^st grade). Their philosophy in teaching children and the purpose of children in the world is pretty amazing. The children are pretty independent at a young age and do not have a teacher telling them what to do all the time. They’re able to take their learning into their own hands and have their own understandings of the world. It is a pretty special thing to witness. I’m sure the Montessori school had something to do with shaping who Anne Frank was. Visiting her house and reading parts of her memoir for the second time gave me an even greater understanding of the sacrifice her family made to try and save as many Jews as possible. She was truly a remarkable young girl and I hope she is remembered for generations to come. “All of her would-haves are our opportunities.” –Emma Thompson

I had seen the Van Gogh museum before, but did not really appreciate or embrace it the first time. This time, however, I had decided before even going in that I was going to enjoy it. With my open mind, I realized that Van Gogh’s artwork is remarkable and I find it really interesting that he used many different styles instead of just having one signature style. He was brilliant and it is crazy to me that the public did not care for his art in his day. He did not become a famous artist until after he died, which is both tragic and beautiful all at the same time.

Berlin.

We did not have anything scheduled for our course during our time in Berlin and only had one day to get everything done that we wanted to do, so as soon as we got there, we began looking up tours and such and came across a free walking tour. About half of our group went at 10 AM and the other half of us decided to sleep in a little bit and went at 11 AM. This tour was amazing. On this tour, we saw most of East Berlin, including the Brandenberg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the Book Burning Site, the Berlin Wall, stood on top of where Hitler committed suicide, and much more. I learned more history in three hours than I did in a lot of years of history. One funny anecdote our tour guide told us was of a family that ziplined over the Berlin Wall to get to the western side. The guard on duty saw it and thought it was a government spy mission to get super secret and valuable information from the west. He was wrong, so that’s hilarious and very clever if you ask me.

Once the tour was over, a bunch of us grabbed pretzels from the train station and headed to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It was very sobering and it still blows my mind that humans can treat other humans in such an inhumane manner. As we walked through the prison the camp, I read harrowing stories about what could be and what was done to the inmates. I still cannot wrap my head around all of this and when I think about it, it seems like just a bad dream that did not really happen, but it is real, and millions of innocent people lived this nightmare. It is something that must never be forgotten.

Once everyone got back from the adventures of the day, we reconvened, ate dinner, and went out to have a little fun to celebrate Cat’s 21^st birthday and my 20^th. It was a special birthday celebration that I will never forget.

Frankfurt/Wiesbaden.

We stayed in Frankfurt, but went and visited and toured Wiesbaden schools on the American Army base. This was extra special for me because I went to Ramstein Middle School and High School, another military base in Germany and actually played Wiesbaden High School when I played sports over there in 9^th grade. It was such a throwback and something I will cherish forever. The most exciting part of our visit was talking to Wiesbaden High School students and their parents about college. We even met a girl who will be joining the TCU class of 2019 in the Fall…GO FROGS! It was amazing getting to share our college experiences and a giving advice to both the eager students and their parents. I just love being an ambassador for TCU and feel that we represented our wonderful university well.

Geneva, Switzerland.

Our first day in Geneva was spent at the United Nations. We even got to take a tour through some of the rooms. It was very interesting to see the chambers in which all the debates took place. The most intriguing thing I learned was about languages and how everything is interpreted. It kind of makes me sad that the overwhelming majority of Americans only fluently speak English, while most people of many countries speak at least two languages fluently. I personally think we should work on that as a country.

The second day in Geneva, we spent the afternoon in the Swiss Alps. We took the gondola up, and then hiked even higher. The views were breathtaking and it made me reflect on just how great God is. He created all of that. Being in the mountains allowed me to clear my mind, get some much-needed clean, fresh air, and prepared me for the rest of our incredible trip. Switzerland is definitely beautiful.

Paris.

The two days we spent in Paris were glorious. We were free to do whatever we wanted for the weekend in Paris. On the first day, three friends and I got up early, ate breakfast, and headed to the Louvre where we dodged elbows and wiggled our way up to see the Mona Lisa. We did not spend a ton of time there, but enjoyed the artwork that we did see. Once finished, we explored the mall for a bit (this mall was incredible, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and lines just to get into the designer stores) before heading to the supermarket to get food for our Eiffel Tower picnic. The weather was remarkable and we just sat on the grass, ate our food, talked, laughed, and marveled at the beauty that is the Eiffel Tower. We even went back and saw it sparkle at night. I have to pinch myself every time I think about it to make sure it really happened.

On day two of Paris, I went with the majority of our group to mass at the Notre Dame. I am not Catholic and I do not understand French, but it was still an amazing experience. The church is breathtakingly beautiful, and really, how many people can say, “I went to mass at the Notre Dame?” Once mass was over, we headed out to find Crepe’s at a cute little stand Allie’s friend recommended to us. They were TO DIE FOR. I ate two of them, one sweet (nutella) and one savory (ham and cheese)…NO SHAME. Once our tummies and taste buds were satisfied, we walked around the outside of the Louvre, took really touristy pictures, and walked across the lock bridge. Bernie even engraved “TCU COE” on one of the panels to make our mark since we’re not supposed to put locks on the bridge anymore. Before we left the lock bridge, we got to see a couple from North Carolina throw their lock into the river. It was so precious and they told us they were on their honeymoon…I think my heart skipped a beat. I just LOVE love. The last thing we hit on day two was the Muse’e d’Orsay. The artwork in there is magnificent and we got to see more of Van Gogh’s work. He was truly a wonderful artist. Then, of course we went back to the Eiffel Tower after dinner to see it sparkle again because that will never get old. Every time we went I thought I was in the middle of a fairytale. It was a wonderful two days in Paris, and in the words of Audrey Hepburn, “Paris is always a good idea.”

Normandy.

This Memorial Day was not like every other memorial day. I had the privilege this year to be in Normandy. We went to the museum first to learn a little bit about the background. I had been there before, but I was only 13, so I couldn’t really comprehend everything. It was sobering and powerful to read a bunch of accounts about the concentration camps, D-Day, and World War II in general. Two things that really stood out to me were the number of children that were murdered and how young the American and British solders who were on the beaches of Normandy were. The first stop after lunch was at the beach of Pointe du Hoc. While there, MCG and I explored the bunkers and took pictures by the beach. We were only there for 40 minutes, which was a bummer because we would have liked to walk around a little more, but it was still pretty incredible. The big question we still have is how did all of the bunkers and places to put weapons get there before D-Day? I will need to do some research on that. We did quick stops at both Omaha and Utah Beach for pictures, but actually got to walk around the cemetery. I think the most poignant part of the entire Normandy trip was seeing all of the “here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God” crosses and all of the names on the wall of the missing soldier. This really gets me because their families never really got closure and that is heartbreaking. Being at Normandy on Memorial Day was extra special for me and was a great way to spend this holiday as I was able to think about and reflect on the sacrifices those young men made not just for their own country, but for the freedom of Western Europe. Their courage and bravery is something that needs to be remembered and celebrated forever.

London.

Our last pit stop before heading home was in London. I just love London so much. The people are friendly, they speak English, and have charming accents. The first day we were there, we went to a Forest Preschool. It was a really interesting experience and it was really cool to see four year olds really play in the outdoors. They were allowed to climb trees, run around, roll down hills, paint mud on posts all without an adult hovering over them, These children also showed a great deal of responsibility. As I’ve been abroad, I’ve compared and contrasted in my mind the similarities and differences between children in the US and in Europe, and the education philosophies. I keep coming back to the idea that children in Europe are given much more freedom than kids in the US and I think we should fix that. Right now we are a little too worried about children getting hurt and in turn hinder their desire to explore the world around them.

In our free time in London, a bunch of us rode the London Eye at Sunset, which was an incredible experience…I felt like I was on top of the world, attempted to watch the changing of the guards (we were too short to see anything), ate at a pub, and walked around the Westminster Abbey. That church is so beautiful and there were points in time where I was just standing in awe of everything. It is definitely a place I will not soon forget. Everything was just so intricately designed and carefully crafted. I need to go back to London and spend at least a week because there is just so much that we did not have time to do.

Mealtime.

Something that is often forgotten during whirlwind trips like this one and even our daily lives is the meals we share with one another. Meals were incredibly important on this trip not only because it allowed us to sit down, eat, and refuel, but it also allowed us to get to know each other and sit in community with one another. When we first arrived in Amsterdam, most of us did not know each other, but that first night, the majority of us went out to dinner together, ate really good food, and just started chatting and getting to know one another. From then on, friendships began and just continued to grow. That very first day, we were all so new and awkward, and the first dinner eased the awkwardness and the meals to follow just continued to bond us. Soon enough, we were sharing food, drinks, dessert, and even forks. The food didn’t have to be good for us to have a good time. We now have some stories about bad bar burgers, gross rum-filled dessert, and plenty of sandwich jokes. I truly believe that the meals we shared helped make this trip so great.

Of course, there is way more that happened during this amazing race-like trip that I just could not fit into this post, so if you have any questions or want to hear any stories, just let me know. If you are considering studying abroad, I would highly recommend it. I grew so much as a person, gained so much more cultural understanding, and have a much greater appreciation for the world we live in.

“Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport.” - Unknown

I also created a fun little video of pictures (with music of course) from the adventure. Click the link below to watch!
https://youtu.be/OOkJIiHHQPU

Yours Truly,

Steph

The Little Things

"Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things." -Robert Brault

Hey everyone!
It's been a while...too long since I've written. Time has just flown by. It's crazy! These past few weeks, the reality that life is fleeting and the fact that we are not promised tomorrow has smacked me in the face. In a way, that's the beauty of life. According to Emily Dickinson, "That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet." That being said, as we get all caught up in the hustle and bustle and craziness of this thing we call life, we forget to appreciate the little things. I want to talk a little bit right now about some of the "little things" I am so thankful for.

Sunny days 
I go to school in Fort Worth, TX, so the weather in January/February can be rather interesting. Some days it can be 45 degrees and windy, other days it is 75 degrees and sunny. We have had quite a lot of sunny days these past few weeks and my friends and I have tried lately to include enjoying the weather into our busy schedule. A few weeks ago, some of us went to the zoo, and it was just a great time to forget about all of our responsibilities and just enjoy life. I am pretty sure we had more fun than the children, but we were definitely okay with that. It was just so wonderful because we got to take in the sunshine, get some Vitamin D, and see the baby elephants. We were reminded once again just how awesome our God is and how cool his creations are.

This past weekend was glorious as well, so a few of my friends and I were able to go and watch the current TCU baseball team play against some TCU alumni, which was exciting, because some major leaguers including Matt Carpenter and Brandon Finnegan (TCU alum) played.
For whatever reason, the sun forces me to get out and enjoy life, even if it is just for a little while, and I am trying so hard not to take these days for granted.

My favorite bar
You might think this is an odd thing to put in a blog post about being grateful for the little things, and at first glance, it is, however, this is not just any old bar. I go to church in this bar almost every Sunday. It is the college branch of Christ Chapel Bible Church, and the bar owner allowed them to use it so that TCU students could walk to church, as many freshmen and sophomores do not have vehicles on campus. This church/bar has been such a blessing in my life the past year and a half and I have grown so much in my faith. Each Sunday, it is jam-packed full of college students praising Jesus and it just warms my heart. Our college pastor is not just a great speaker, but he is just so real, and each week I am challenged to live out my faith even more. Every time I leave, I am refreshed and ready to take the week by storm, regardless of what my mood had been walking in, and I am just so thankful for that.

Phone calls from home
I don't always talk to my mom, but when I do, it's typically for no less than 20 minutes because we just talk about everything going on in our lives. Sometimes I talk to my little brother, sister, and dad as well, and when I get off the phone with them, I typically have a smile on my face, even if I was having a difficult day, because they just lift me up, even when they do not realize it. As I've been away from home for a while now, I am realizing just how important family is. I used to take them for granted, but lately, I've been realizing just how blessed I am to have such a great family. I can count on them to be there for me through the highs and lows of life, whether they're physically there or not.

Food with friends
Some of my most real conversations happen over meals with friends; so does a lot of laughter. While I am feeding my body, my friends are feeding my soul, and this is something that I appreciate so much about them; they get me. They know if I need a laugh or just need to talk, and I just love them (and food) so much.

Weekends 
I feel like weekends are one of the most taken for granted things ever, but have you ever stopped and thought about what life would be like without them? I did, and it scared me. Nothing would ever slow down...we would never be able to catch out breath. I know that I use weekends to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a while, prioritize my week, do my laundry, watch some netflix, and sleep. It is just so refreshing. Because of the often unrealized importance of weekends, I have decided that I am going to try really hard not to take them for granted anymore.

Having a car on campus
I did not have a car on campus last year, and it was not horrible, I just rode places with people. That being said, it has been wonderful having one this year because I am able to get out more and be in control of how long I stay places. If I just really need to get off campus, I can; I don't have to wait for anyone else with a car to want to go off campus. Just before Christmas break, one of my really good friends got in my car and drove through all of the neighborhoods around TCU's campus and looked at all of the Christmas lights. That allowed us to get away from our studies (it was finals week) and just breathe and smile, something that was much needed at that point in time. Just tonight, I decided that instead of eating at the dining hall with my little, we were going to go out to eat, and it was just a great little break from campus for both of us. I did not know how much more convenient my life would get until I had a car on campus and I am so thankful that my parents allowed me to have one this year.

These are just a few of the little things that I have found I have been incredibly grateful for while reflecting on these past few weeks. I try to focus on the positives and being thankful in my life as it is so easy to be negative. I encourage you to do the same.

Giuliana Rancic was here at TCU just last week and she encouraged us to do a 30 day challenge in which we list things we are grateful for, by talking to God, or whatever higher power we believe in, and I have just started this (I write mine down in a journal), and it is already changing the way I am looking at my life, so if you don't do this, try it! It is great!

Before I go, I will leave y'all with one last quote. "Be grateful for small things, big things, and everything in between. Count your blessings, not your problems." -Mandy Hale

Have a great week everyone!

Yours Truly,
Steph