Gearing Up

Things are falling into place, slowly but surely, for my return into the great 7th grade adventure this year! Stuart's parents are coming next week to keep the children at my house on Tuesday- Friday while I attend inservices for new teachers. Then, Arden's mother's day out teacher from last year who is also a friend of mine volunteered to keep the kids the following week from Monday through Thursday at my house. A good neighbor Laurie is going to watch the boys at her house the final two days on August 17 and 18 while Arden starts at her full-time childcare. I feel good having a plan in place for the children, and I'm glad that they can be in their own home with their own surroundings (especially for Arden) for two weeks.

God also provided a spot for Arden at a well-reputed childcare center in Bentonville called Pine Crest Private School. It is right in front of the boys' elementary school campus, so I will be able to drop off and pick up in one place. Arden got the only spot open in her age group! Many places I called had waiting lists up to one year long, and Pine Crest initially told me they had a waiting list too. God opened up a spot, and I think it will be the best place I can find with one week's notice. I'm praying that Arden adjusts well to her new school and teachers and doesn't have any behavioral changes.

I did my final "hiring" interview with Bentonville Schools yesterday and met with the director of human resources. He approved my hiring and sent me on to do paperwork. I did all the tax forms, verification of experience, intent to hire form, and got information on benefits. Stuart was able to take a half day off work for me to go to the district office plus get my fingerprinting done at the sheriff's office. The school board will vote and approve all new hires on August 17, so then I will sign an "official" contract on August 18 and pick up my first paycheck! Yea!

I resigned from my online teaching job yesterday after I passed the final interview. That will give the college two weeks to reassign my sections to other instructors which I don't think will be too difficult since only one section is currently full, so they might not even need to keep all of them on the schedule. It was a little bittersweet to relinquish this online job since it has been such a blessing to work from home for six years, but I think God provided just the right time to change jobs since it appears that the economic slowdown is finally trickling down to the community college. My enrollment was low this semester which, in turn, dictates how many sections I would be able to teach any given semester. At least with secondary education in Bentonville, it is not affected as much by the economy since it is mandatory public education in the fastest growing school district in the state. If I do a good job for the district, I should not have to worry about job security.

I'm anxious to get into a classroom and start unpacking. I have twelve boxes of materials and files in my attic from my P.A. days, and I'm ready to go through them. I'm sure I will be spending several nights and weekends up at the school in the next few weeks trying to get a room ready for the first day with students on the 19th. I don't like feeling in limbo, so I will be glad when I'm "unpacked" and have some idea of what I will be teaching during the first few weeks. I will meet with the English department on August 10-11 for curriculum and should get my textbooks and have a much better idea of where to start.

Tomorrow is the boys' birthday party, and it will be just a small gathering at our neighborhood pool since we don't know many people in town yet. Several friends were not able to come and were traveling. The boys picked a "Cars" theme from the Disney movie, and we ordered a cake from Sam's Club and picked it up today. I'm glad we are having a simple, outdoor party, so I don't have to worry about my house!

I'm finally sleeping normally again after the whirlwind of stress and excitement with this job change. I feel relatively calm and more excited than nervous. I know it will take a month or so to even get my bearings and feel like I have some sort of rhythm, but I know I can do the job once I figure out the curriculum and have some time to plan.

God's timing is perfect. It wasn't what I envisoned for this year, but He has a purpose in my assignment. I love teaching and always looked forward to returning to the classroom. I hope I can be used positively to reach many students this year!