How does being a teacher help me accomplish this? Let's see if I can effectively explain. When you teach, you are challenged with teaching a large group of children, who all have different strengths and weaknesses. As a fifth grade teacher, I had to teach five subjects everyday, to 20+ kids : below grade level, on grade level, and above grade level, while maintaining a structured, disciplined classroom, and keeping my sanity. And some of those kids are running up and down aisles, slamming themselves onto the desks of other children, screaming out randomly, and throwing objects. I kid you not. Of course, for students like these, I usually had a second hand in the room (you know who you are and I am forever grateful for your help), but nevertheless, it's utter chaos. And you know that if you don't figure out how to get the material taught and mastered, you could lose your job. These days, teaching jobs are a lot harder to come by. So you figure it out and you get it done.
That's how I felt this last week as I was putting my two children (ages 2 years and 6 months) to bed. I know, it's a bit of a ridiculous comparison, but it made me feel like I could persevere. Now, I know there are "supermoms" out there who have to do this everyday because their husbands have jobs that make them unavailable, or maybe things didn't work out with their husbands and they're single moms. I praise you all - you are ROCKSTARS in my book. Somehow, I thought that with my husband being on vacation, I too, would have a little vacation for myself. HAH! I forgot that he helps me with so much in the evenings (this is a shout out to you, babe). By the time I got everything done that we both usually tackle, I was exhausted and ready to pass out in my bed.
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| My good friend Kate, and her son Noah, came to visit while Trey was away. Bath time was easy to handle - throw 'em all in and let the dog supervise! |
So, back to the point: how do you teach children with different needs at the same time? You do what you can keeping the kids together in a whole group, and then you work with them in smaller groups. You give the kids who have "got it" something that will challenge them while they work on their own, so that way you can focus on the students who "don't got it" and work one on one or in small groups to strengthen their abilities.
I took this strategy that got me through my three years of teaching fifth grade, and applied it to our bedtime routine. Now, depending on levels of exhaustion, hunger, and wellness (Victoria had a fever two of the nights), different children got to work independently. If Samuel needed to go to bed NOW (he lets you know), then I nursed him while Victoria danced around us and read books. If Victoria needed to go to bed NOW (she lets you know), then Samuel would lay in her floor and roll around, working on his core strength, while I read a book with Victoria, said prayers, and sang to her (and yes, if she wasn't too tired, Samuel joined in on reading, praying, and singing too). Sounds obvious, I'm sure. But I'm so used to doing things a certain way when Trey is here, that change is hard. Usually, I'm in charge of putting one of the kids to bed and he's in charge of the other; so when he's gone, I feel like the substitute, who's been left with no lesson plans, trying to figure out how to best teach the material that needs to be learned.
Now that I'm staying at home with my children, I often think back to my days at Hollins University where I studied to be a teacher. Or maybe it's my monthly student loan bill that reminds me. But do I see my studies and time spent teaching as a waste? Absolutely not. How else would I have learned how to get my kids to bed when Trey is gone? Thank you, Masters in the Art of Education! Totally worth it.
See you mommies later,
Lizzie
