Really?!

It's Saturday, June 11th. Which means I officially have no students in my care. How we got here, I'm not really sure. That was a super fast school year, and I'm extremely grateful for this first year of teaching.

Last week I was trying to tell Adam how I was feeling about the school year being over, and the tears just started coming. That day one of my little girls in the 4s class came up to me and said, "Miss Rodriguez, my new school isn't going to teach me about Jesus. And they won't pray for my owies. And we won't sing to God." Instantly I had tears in my eyes. But I quickly swallowed them and reassured my sweet friend that she still gets to go to church and Mommy and Daddy will keep teaching her about Jesus. She nodded her head, gave me a hug, and went back to playing.

See, it's not that I think I'm the best teacher for these little guys; I just desperately want someone teaching their minds and their hearts. As important as it is to be reading, writing, and conquering math facts, their hearts are in need of training, guiding and nurturing. I'm confident their teachers next year will love them deeply. It's hard not to love these guys. Really hard. But I want someone helping them identify truth. Someone who will guide them as they turn their hearts more and more towards the Father. Someone who will carefully speak life into them with a gentle voice and gracious smile. Let me be clear, my voice wasn't always gentle nor my gracious smile always present. But I long for these kids to know and love Jesus.

This week was a good week for us. We played lots of games, sang our silly songs, and laughed through it all. On Wednesday each kid made their own scoop of ice cream in a plastic bag. I did this experiment when I was in middle school, but I knew my kids could do it. They thought I was performing a magic trick when their back of milk, sugar, and vanilla turned into ice cream after shaking it for 5 minutes in another bag of ice. The looks on their faces when I would scoop the ice cream out- priceless. I got major cool points that day!

Hand made ice cream demands toppings, you know?!

I do have the cutest class, in case there were any doubts.

Adam and I worked all week long on making memory books for each kid in my 4s class. It included artwork from throughout the year, pictures of our fun times, all of the memory verses we memorized, and it ended with a picture of me with each kid and a note to them. Each book was uniquely theirs, and it took a LONG time. Adam was a real trooper to help me out.

Yesterday we had a fun day, and when there was just 10 minutes left in class, I gathered them all together for one final Circle time. One of my little guys burst into tears because it was the last day of school. "Joy" from my previous post told me she had water in her eyes the night before because she only got to come to school one more time. Gosh, I love them!

I sat them down, told them I loved them and always would. I gave each kiddo their book and a hug. We packed up, and walked out to carline for the last time together. Thankfully, I had arranged for all of us to go to the park for a picnic and final play time. The goodbye wasn't too sad because I knew I was about to go play with them. Adam came with me to the park to meet my kids and the parents, and it was so fun!

It also stopped Miss Rodriguez from shedding any tears. The parents were so kind, and they continued to beg me to move up to kindergarten. Almost every parent was intentional about thanking me for loving their child. It was a real sweet time, and all the moms were relieved to meet Adam. He was his usual charming self, and I'm fairly confident Adam made me more of a person to these moms instead of just their kid's teacher.

I had to go back to work, so I couldn't stay long. I hugged each kid and each mom, and off I went. Adam was bracing himself for waterworks, but it was the perfect way for me to say bye. We went back to my classroom where Adam stayed for the rest of the afternoon helping me clean my classroom. What a sweet man!

This year certainly had it's challenges, but I mostly feel deeply blessed to know and love the 35 preschoolers I hung out with every week. I can't believe I'm going to go 8 weeks without hearing preschool conversations, watching preschool imaginations at work, and hugging their sticky selves. I am confident I have the best job at the school.

To think that a year ago I was in the middle of an FCC summer, hoping to move at the end of it but had no clue where I would end up. To see what God has done in the past year is truly amazing. The provision of this job, the ways my heart has loved and been loved, and the personal growth that has come from moving across the country has been remarkable. I miss the people I left immensely. There are days that I long for that community again. But I am so grateful for where I am right now. My time out here has looked COMPLETELY different than what I envisioned before I moved, but I love the life I'm living.

I am oh so blessed!