Taize, France

Good Night!

Currently I am in my little sisters bed, with a flashlight on my shoulder, an observation journal on her back (she is sleeping), typing on my computer, and listening to her nocturnal hamster Ella, chew annoyingly on her cage. It is quite a zoo in her room. However it's much warmer in her room than it is in mine. Alas, I am finished complaining and will move on...

Today when I was daydreaming in my math class I was thinking about the most beautiful place I have visited. I was thinking that it was somewhere in America, because America is beautiful. But then I got into thinking about the countries I've visited that aren't overly Americanized. (Amazing! "Americanized" is literally a word...)

What I started thinking about, and singing about, was Taize, France. I will be really, really surprised if you know what that place looks like or what they do there. 

So let me show you.

Taize, France is located in The West of France. It almost neighbors with Switzerland, which in my opinion is a beautiful place too. Taize is a Catholic Monastery. There are about 200 brothers that live there 34 hours a day, 7 days a year, for the rest of their lives. I was lucky enough to visit there when I was 16, for a whole week. 

Anyway, after I came home from back to school night, I went into my room to find the journal I kept while I was staying there. I briefly read through all of the journal entries and reflected on what a peaceful and tranquil place Taize is. 

Every day I would be awoken by bells at 7:45. I would then get ready for breakfast, which was a baguette, butter and a chocolate stick. Then everyone, meaning the 4,000 youth that were living there that week, would go to service. That was the crazy thing about being there. Nobody knew the same language, but after being there for less than 24 hours, when the bells went off, everyone knew exactly what to do. 

After this trip, my hunger for God only grew. While I was at the monastery, I attended service three times a day. While it was mandatory, the experience I had in there was mind blowing. Sure, I didn't know what most of the people were saying because it was in a different language, but the way that they meditated was unreal. They sang songs in every possible language and sang the few lines over and over again for five to ten minutes. Everyone also was instructed not to speak and we all had to sit on the floor for the hour long services too. And yes, my legs did fall asleep often, but I made it through just fine.

If you ever get the chance to visit this place, take advantage of it. This is one big reason why God is a part of my life and what makes me me today. I don't know if Taize is beautiful to me because of how God changed me that week, or because it really is just one of the most beautiful places on this earth. I guess if you want to know, you'll just have to go there and find out for yourself!

Madalyn

P.S. For all of you who have been reading, I have almost been off Facebook for a week. (silent cheer for me!) 

P.S.S. Back to School Night was tonight and it was amazing. The parent support in my school is unreal and so are the beautiful children that I work with everyday!

A Trip to The Apple Orchard

Today, Josh and I took a trip to the apple orchard! We decided after canning salsa last week that we wanted to can some apple sauce. After consulting some very credible websites, on google, about which apples are best to use for apple sauce, we finally embarked on our adventure to the orchard.

When we arrived to the orchard we were surprised to see how many people were there. After we signed a waiver to pick our apples, we were also surprised to see that a lot of the apples were gone or on the ground

We decided to call in for some backup. A call to Mrs. Weaver, Josh's grandmother was all it took to discover what the best kind of apples were to make sauce. Then the fun part of the day began...

We first started picking apples that were in hands reach...

Then when we couldn't find anymore at our hands reach I went on a mission to find a ladder.

After I found the ladder, picking the apples up high was much easier.

Before weighing our apples, we took a photo of us together. 

When we went to weigh our apples, we had to pull out the ten bags and set them on a scale. We couldn't believe our eyes when the scale read 112 pounds! We then realized we had our work cut out for us. 

When we arrived home, we set the apples on the porch by type. We picked three different kinds: Jonathan, Jon Mac, and Fuji. These were the three that we thought would be best from our research. And of course, when there is an opportunity to take a photo, we take advantage of it.

I have to tell you that we did in fact can 24 quarts of apple sauce, however the camera battery died. With that being said, next weekend when we can the other half of the sauce, I will show you how it's all made. But here is the finished product, just so you believe us!

Have a great evening!

Madalyn

P.S. Today Josh and I went to church where we were given $50 to multiply to help pay off the new church building's debt. If anyone has any good ideas to make money multiply, let us know!

Day Seven: I'm Exhausted

I forgot to post this before I fell asleep last night... So I will post it now!

Good Evening Everyone!

With there being a holiday weekend last weekend, my week has turned into a four day week. Last week, I only had three full days of school. Adding on one day has been more exhausting than I once thought. The kids come into school with so much energy and such a desire to learn. With twenty children in our class, sometimes it very overwhelming. It's especially overwhelming after we eat lunch. At that point in the day, the children are either exhausted themselves, or have checked out mentally from school and are ready to go home.

I have to say that today I felt this way too.

I give teachers so much credit. There is so much that they have to do to get ready for school each day and to have it run so smoothly. To motivate students when you are tired yourself is much harder than I could have ever imagined. Each day the teachers come in and leave their lives on hold as they provide love and support for the children in their classroom. Somedays it's easy, but other days they have to dig from within to not show their feelings, no matter how hard it might be.

From watching this, I have begun to watch myself as I interact with my students, especially after lunch. I keep reminding myself that this is a job that is not about me. I will be the one who teaches these children what they need to know. Along the way I will need to swallow my issues and be a provider for whatever my kids need. It's something that I think I am ready for, but I'm still learning.

I'm exhausted, but I'm not going to let my kids see that tomorrow.

Tomorrow I get to read my next read aloud: Alphabet Adventure. Hopefully the little alphabet letters can find the missing dot on the little i!

I'll update how it goes tomorrow.

Until then - have a great night!


Madalyn


P.S. Keep those in flooded areas in your thoughts. I hope I'll be able to make it to Lancaster tomorrow but the roads are closed by the river.

Day Six: The Effects of Bella

Hey all!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. It's been a busy weekend, into a busy week! Forgive me!

I hope your long weekend went as well as mine. If it included scaling a mountain, eating a large pancake, or seeing an entire town in Vermont underwater, then you must have been doing the same thing Josh and I were doing this weekend. 

When we came back Monday it was around 8:30. At that point I was off to my room to get ready for the upcoming school week. Before I went to bed, I suddenly remembered that we were going to have a new addition to our classroom tomorrow. Her name was Bella.

This is what Bella looks like.

I walked in yesterday morning, and sure enough our furry friend was quietly sitting in her cage taking a nap. For those of you who don't know, Bella is our classroom pet. She is a grey, decently large, older, rabbit. Looking at her, I began to feel more comfortable in my environment.

As the students filed into the room, they eagerly greeted the bunny. twenty little sets of hands were suddenly all over the cage in a matter of seconds. It was difficult to get the children to keep attentive to the task at hand because the bunny was so much more interesting to look at.

All morning the students wanted to sit toward the back of the rug so they could see her and look at her. At choice time a few of the children sat around her cage for thirty minutes talking about her. I couldn't help but overhear what they were talking about.

The little girls who sat there began talking about how it was Bella's first day of school and how they felt when they came to kindergarten just a week ago. They discussed that even though Bella couldn't talk, she probably felt scared because she was sitting in the corner of her cage and had her eyes wide open. As I was hearing them speak, I finally understood one of the reasons why kids are so attracted to her and other class pets.

Much like when students start their first day of school, Bella's transition from her outdoor cage with her other bunny friend, to a noisy classroom filled with so many students was really scary for her. For the students to kind of sympathize with the rabbit was so interesting. They compared their feelings to how the bunny must be feeling. That warm feeling of comfort swept over me again as I kept listening to each of the girls speak about the bunny.

For me, the bunny represents me as a learner. I am still nervous and scared with the years to come in my career, especially finishing up my last year of school. However, just like the bunny and the students in my class and every other classroom, eventually over time, everything will start to become easier.


Madalyn

Day Three: Miss Bamer Learns to Love Everyone Equally

Today went much better than yesterday. As the busses arrived this morning, the children all came into school with smiling faces and a lot to tell me about. Some even gave me hugs. One of the greatest parts about being in kindergarten is that these kids really don’t have much of a filter, so I really hear everything.

As The Polar Bear Team (that’s my kindergarten classroom’s name) walked from the front of the building to our classroom, I was sure to greet every other child in the hallway that I encountered.

I don’t know why, but I am so drawn to see a smile on every child’s face. I was once told that I have the ability to make or break a child’s day. Ever since I have heard that, I’ve taken it seriously. Whether it is one of my students, my little sister, or a little kid in my neighborhood, I try to find a way to make them feel good about themselves. Sometimes it’s not easy, but most of the time I get a smile or a laugh. And as I see that smile start to form on their faces, my heart becomes so warm.

What I found is that making others feel good about themselves makes me feel good about myself.

I’ve already started to make things hard for myself. In life there are always going to be certain people that you are drawn to and others who you aren’t. For one reason or another, we are all attracted to different kinds of people. In school, this is called favoritism. It’s something that no teacher wants to have or to show to their students.

Lucky for me, I’ve not shown my favoritism, but have already been drawn to different children in our classroom for trait or another. Surprisingly they aren’t the kids who I thought they would be like the kids who blend in. They are the children who stick out. Surely I thought it would be those students who were so sweet and adorable you wanted to take them home. Or even the students who were super smart and understood everything.

Nope.

The children who I am drawn to are the kids who talk out of turn, can’t sit still, are quiet, shy, and are oblivious to what’s going on around them. These children I can empathize with. I used to be one of the kids that always talked out of turn and had no idea what was going on because I was talking to my neighbor all the time.

It wasn’t until I sat at my teacher’s desk in fifth grade so many times that I started to get sick of my own voice.

The children who I am drawn to are like my little ugly ducklings. Right now, to most, they might seem different and awkward, and maybe they are. However I believe that loving them and all the other students unconditionally, I can assure you that as the year progresses, they will change colors into something beautiful and learn how to fly.

Madalyn