Week 12: For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

This week...
Today, Saturday I was reading in the book of Mark and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to read the entire book in one sitting which is something I have not done for awhile. The passage that stood out to me the most were the words of Jesus in Mark 8:35-36 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"
Those last words are a reminder to me that the things which I possess here on earth are of such little value in comparison with the blessing of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. I could lose all things and still be content because my satisfaction and greatest treasure is found in my Savior. Praise His mighty Name!

Top 10 of the week:

1. Finished reading 2 Kings and Mark
   
2. Started reading The Wizard of Oz with one of my guided reading groups
   

3. Finished my 16-hour Oliver Twist audio book
   

4. Police Officer Nate Tyler came into the classroom to share about bullying
   
5. Helped out with "Around the World in 60 Minutes" where different displays were set up in the Emmaus gym representing different countries and you could visit each place and learn about it
   
6. Saw Caleb and Amy in the Dubuque newspaper!
   
7. Skyped the uncle of one of my students. Cael's uncle is a missionary in France
8. Started a “Mr. Eby’s Favorite Books" tub in the classroom
   
9. Fire drill and tornado drill at school this week
   
10. Was digitally fingerprinted so that I will be ready-to-go for my teaching license
    

Week in Pictures:

Officer Nate Tyler sharing about bullying.

Skyping Cael's uncle who lives in France. Each student prepared a question so that they could ask him about life in France.

This is Cael's uncle up close but lots of the questions were answered by his daughter who is currently in 3rd grade and it was a unique opportunity for the students to learn about France from a fellow American 3rd grader who is living in France.

My bulletin board for Ch. 8 on "How does our economy work?" We learned a lot about supply and demand and how those two factors affect price.

Top Quotes & Stories:

My class in numbers:
-3 girls love Justin Bieber
-2 students like drilling holes into their pink rectangular erasers
-1 student is passionate about ice hockey
-More than 15 students have read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid
-About 4 students have sack lunches
-About 90% of my class has German ancestry
-At least 2 of my students are fanatics about Pokemon
-At least 3 of my students love playing Club Penguin on the computer
-At least 5 students have read a book by Rick Riordan
-Only about 3 students take the bus
-About 4-5 students stay for Y-Care after school program
-At least 3 students have been to Wisconsin Dells during the school year
-1 student is doing a research project on J.K. Rowling
-1 student is doing a research project on Michael Jordan

"I will occur tomorrow." (Student trying to use the word occur in a sentence)

The IT lady at Carver Elementary put sticky notes under teachers' computer mice so that they wouldn't work. When teachers' pulled the sticky note off it said, "Happy April Fool's Day!"

Teacher Thoughts:

1. 3rd graders need a lot of scaffolding when it comes to writing. Be sure to provide ample time to work on writing projects and have sponge activities for those who are fast writers so that they are challenged as well.
   
2. If students are not able to quiet down when you get their attention, count how long it takes for them to stop talking, put that number on the board and continue to add to it as the day progresses. Explain to students that they must come in for that much time before they go to recess.
   
3. Having copies of writing rubrics is helpful for students to have while they type up their writing pieces.
4. Make sure students save their document so that they do not lose it.
   
5. It is helpful to read the portion of a guided reading text the night before so that that you will be able to discuss it with your group while it is fresh in your mind.
6. Make sure you have a list of those who completed a test so that you don't have missing tests floating around. Sometimes, students will put it into their desks without thinking and they will become frustrated when you tell them that they didn't turn in their test.
7. During a spelling test encourage students not to take drink breaks because otherwise they miss a couple words and you have to catch them up at the end and take everyone's time.
8. Get good rest. Rest is important. Also read the Bible in the morning to start the day on the right foot. Even if it a short verse or a short passage. You may want to do more reading in the evening if that is when you are most alert but ALWAYS set aside time for the Lord...especially on the busiest of days.
9. It never hurts to ask another teacher. Get their input and see what they think of a student's answer or of a lesson idea.
10. Make sure students do not get paired up with the same people every time.
    

Please Pray...

• that I will read the Bible and pray with diligence
  
• wisdom as I finish my student teaching in the next 3weeks (My last day is April 28)
  
• that I would learn how to teach writing successfully
  
• for me to be more firm and know when to use appropriate discipline with my students
• for me to give clearer instructions when teaching a lesson