Predictably Unpredictable

Hey everyone! It’s been a little while since I’ve written because life has been kind of crazy, so here’s an update on what’s been happening over the past two months.

To start, I became a TCU alum (Whoo Go Frogs) and turned 22. The school year ended and I wrapped up long term subbing. My plan was to have a teaching position in Texas BEFORE I moved home to Arkansas for the Summer…well…life doesn’t always work like that. June 2^nd rolled around and it was time for me to head home even though I did not have a job yet.

Things got a little interesting shortly after I moved home because I was still interviewing for teaching positions in DFW. At one point, my super awesome mom and I drove back down with less than 48 hours notice so I could interview in person. I did some phone interviews and a FaceTime Interview as well.

That FaceTime interview is responsible for officially beginning my career as a teacher. Shortly, I will tell you how it all went down, but first, let me give you some important backstory. After spending my internship semester last fall in a 3^rd Grade classroom, Student Teaching in a 4^th Grade for half the time, and finishing up the school year long-term-subbing in 3^rd Grade, I was planning on teaching upper elementary (3^rd-5^th Grade). Pretty much all of my interviews were for 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th Grade, so that’s just where I figured I would land. I had started building my classroom library for the older kids and even had some lesson plans that I had written and used, and was banking on modifying a little to use again for one of those grade levels.

Fast forward to June 22^nd. My now principal called me while I was on a loud bus with my Summer Camp kids heading to a field trip. Naturally, I answered it. She was calling about the First Grade position I had applied for, let me know it was actually a Kindergarten, and wanted to know if I wanted to interview. I said I would love to and we decided to do it over the phone or FaceTime if technology would allow us to do so since I was not in Texas at the time. On Monday, June 26^th, I sat in the parking lot of Busch Stadium in Saint Louis wearing a Cardinals t-shirt and talked to my principal, assistant principal, a 1^st grade teacher, and a Kindergarten teacher, answering a few questions I was familiar with, but many that I had not answered before…and yes, FaceTime worked. This was the very first time I had interviewed for a Kindergarten position. The next day, June 27^th, I was in a McDonald’s somewhere in Missouri heading home from Saint Louis, when I got a phone call from HR offering me the job. I enthusiastically accepted and am so stoked!

Even though I had been planning for quite some time on launching my career teaching the “big kids,” God obviously had a different plan for me and I am beyond excited to see what He has in store for my first year as a teacher. As unpredictable as the beginning of my teaching journey may seem, after doing some thinking, it’s actually more predictable than it looks. You see, I did fall in love with my “big kids” this year, but the little people are my first love. I spent the first semester of my Junior Year in a Kindergarten classroom on Monday mornings and it was the highlight of each week. Once my observations ended and second semester rolled around, I went back and volunteered in that Kindergarten classroom almost weekly because I loved being there with those children and learning from their wonderful teacher. I also finished Student Teaching in Kindergarten and loved those sweet kiddos as well. It actually makes sense that I’m kind of going back to my roots and starting where I began in college…in Kindergarten.

Y’all. God is so faithful and I am beyond blessed to be able to teach in a great district at an amazing school. I am super pumped for “Meet the Teacher Night” and cannot wait for MY Kinder Babies to come walking through the door to our classroom at Castle Hills Elementary on August 28^th for our first day of school together. If you want to join my journey as a First Year Teacher, stay tuned for the Kindergarten Kronicles, coming September 2017.