Kisses Of Sunshine For Teachers

Kisses of Sunshine for Teachers Copyright © 2005 by Speak Up, Inc., and Vicki Caruana Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kisses of sunshine for teachers / Carol Kent, general editor; Vicki Caruana, editor. p. cm. ISBN-10: 0-310-24767-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-310-24767-8 1. Teachers-Religious life-Anecdotes. I. Kent, Carol, 1947- II. Caruana, Vicki. BV4596.T43K58 2005 242'.68-dc22 2003018891 This edition printed on acid-free paper. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The website addresses recommended are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for their content for the life of this book. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. Interior design by Tracey Walker Printed in the United States of America 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 /?DCI/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 the cowboy, the princess, and superman Carol Kent Teachers are not born; they are made. . . . A good teacher is first of all teachable. Henrietta Mears Afew months after our marriage, my husband and I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Gene enrolled in graduate classes. Our move was in January and there didn't appear to be any teaching positions available in my subject areas. However, there was a kindergarten class that had an opening-and the school system was so desperate for a teacher, they asked me to join the faculty even though my credentials were in secondary education. My first day was a blur of activity-parents taking pictures, children crying, keeping order, setting up routines, enforcing nap time, and trying to teach something of value that would validate my worth as a paid teacher. That day I also discovered why some educators choose to teach kindergarten. I had a room filled with dynamic, charming personalities who suddenly found me in the center of their world. Jeremy was dressed in jeans, a plaid shirt, red scarf, cowboy boots, and a mini-Stetson. He ambled up to me and said, "Hi, pardner! I'm here to protect you and to defend our class against any enemies. Let me know if I can be of service." (I liked this charming young man from the Wild West!) Susan was dressed in a white eyelet dress that looked more appropriate for church than for school. On her head she proudly wore a plastic crown. As I passed by her desk, she gazed up and said, "My daddy says I'm a princess. Do you think I'm a princess, too?" With a smile, I nodded in agreement. As I rounded the corner of the next row, there was Peter. He was wearing blue jeans, but instead of a shirt, he wore the pajama top from a Superman outfit, complete with a red cape that dangled precariously from Velcro on the tops of his shoulders. His eyes twinkled as he said, "If you need me, I'm here!" I chuckled out loud and verbalized my appreciation for his offer. A couple of weeks into my adventure with the kindergartners, I came into the classroom with a heavy heart. That morning I had had "words" with my husband and felt unjustly criticized. We'd had the classicFreeman, Becky is the author of 'Kisses Of Sunshine For Teachers ' with ISBN 9780310247678 and ISBN 0310247675.