We are well into the school year and Christmas is just around the corner! The crazy 11 in this picture are my LACS fourth graders. They are modeling painting smocks, bought for us by a church who wanted to bless us. We will most likely use these when we get to our Native Americans project, where the students make a diorama of their assigned tribe, something they can’t wait to do! We love our donors!
Thank you for your prayers that I would have the wisdom to know how to adapt the curriculum in order to best reach these students. Last year they were hardly working. They were given the privilege of participating in an afterschool “spelling club” headed up by our Principal. After working hard they were able to get A’s in Spelling, and with great relief, found that they had graduated out of spelling club. It was evident that they needed a little more prodding than some classes.
Our fourth grade motto is just two words, INITIATIVE and RESPONSIBILITY. The first has lots of I’s in it, so our definition is, “I make it happen!” Our second word means, “I myself follow through on my fourth grade responsibilities, both at school and at home.” They are rising to the challenge!
At the beginning of the school year we read The Velveteen Rabbit. This is a very special story about a stuffed animal rabbit who becomes real, after being deeply loved by a little boy. We learned about story elements: character, setting, plot, climax and theme. I wish you could see the fancy hand motions we made up to understand the definition of each of these story elements! The final test was given and the class received nine A’s and two B’s. This was a fabulous outcome, and they were SO proud of themselves. They asked if they could go show their test results to our Principal. They lined up outside her office door and each child went in one by one. You should have seen the grinning that happened when Mrs. Marroquin looked them straight in the eyes and said, “I am so proud of you!”
God has laid it on my heart to encourage these students by giving them success. This does require a lot of scaffolding and reviewing. We are not sailing through the curriculum, as you might guess, but they are encouraged. The curriculum is tough for many of them. Please continue to pray for us, for success, as our Heavenly Father might define it. He’s the expert!
Have a great Christmas. Let’s celebrate our Lord’s birth together!