“Miss Jennifer, can I do another page of math?”

A question like that never fails to brighten my day.  Especially when it occurs at 9:30, at which time we’ve only been in school for an hour and a half.  Because then it is a sign that this will not be a morning when I have to prompt Micah or Krista on every math or science question.  (Yes, even my amazing students have those days when it becomes “please do the next subtraction problem.”)

Monday was such a day.  But Monday was such a day in a double-blessing way, because both Micah and Krista were asking me the “can I do another page?” question by 9:30!

I sat at the kindergarteners’ table, my finger tracing the words as Aby read, “The dog and the cat and the goat are in a fog.”  Some words are already sight words for her, other words still must be sounded out slowly and deliberately.  Next Josiah read, “The dog and the cat and the goat came to a log.”

Behind me I knew that Micah and Krista were plunging ahead in their math books; Micah in the midst of division, Krista working on multiplication.  After weeks spent on addition and subtraction both of them were excited to be on to new horizons.

“Micah and Krista, please come to a good stopping place and join us on the mat.”  The kindergarteners and I began singing, “This Little Light of Mine.”  Then I taught the kids, “Deep and Wide,” before moving on to our Bible lesson.  I am using the children’s version of the Chronological Bible Stories (by New Tribes Mission), and we are currently learning about Joseph and his brothers.

After our Bible lesson we read a bit about the planet Mars, discussing how many years old we would be in Martian years compared to Earth years.  If you lived on Mars would you say you are 10 Martian years old or 20 Earth years old?

Then I read some of Winnie the Pooh to the kindergarteners, and they spent time putting together some puzzles.

Before the “noon bell” (or rather, “noon voice” that says, “Ok, kids, school is over!”) rang Micah and Krista had each done two extra pages in their math books and we read an entire chapter about the Louisiana Purchase (I was only going to read half the chapter, but the kids were so excited about more land for the USA that I finished the chapter).

It is days like this that make me love my job.  Days like this make memories that may be pulled out on hard days.  Days like this that make me wonder how I could ever do anything else.  Thank you, Lord, for blessings.