Done With Student Teaching

Done! I have officially completed my time student teaching. It was a bittersweet goodbye as I left Kandern and traveled to Munich to meet up with my roommate Becki. She arrived safely yesterday and we had a great reunion. 

I cannot believe that this chapter is over. It is so exciting though that the next time I am teaching in a classroom, it will Lord-willing be my own class. I now feel ready to have my own classroom and although I still have so much more to learn, I am ready to begin teaching. At the same time, I am ready to get back to Taylor and be a regular college student again. For those people who say education isn't difficult, I would challenge them to student teach for a semester. Teaching was so much more draining, physically, emotionally, and mentally than any other semester of college. It was also one of the most rewarding semesters of my college experience. I am definitely ready to have a lighter load though and be able to adjust back to college.

Well Becki and I are off on the adventure of a lifetime: Munich, Venice, Florence, and then Rome. We would appreciate your prayers as we travel. 11 more days until I return stateside and I can't wait to be back with my family and friends. If I don't write before Saturday, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Countdowns Begin

I have a lot of things coming up in the next few weeks, some extremely exciting and some a bit more difficult. Here are the current countdowns I have going on...

2 days - I have to say goodbye to Heather, a friend I have made here at BFA : (
3 days - Actual teaching days left
4 days - Actual school days left and my going away party : )
4 days - I will be completely done with student teaching! I will never have to write another TU lesson plan again!
5 days - I leave Kandern to travel to Munich. Lots of goodbyes. : (
6 days - I GET TO SEE BECKI CONWAY, MY BEAUTIFUL ROOMMATE. (There will probably be tears of joy.)
9 days - Venice Italy (Hopefully go on a gondola ride)
11 days - Florence, Italy (Eat yummy pizza)
14 days - Rome, Italy
17 days - I GET TO SEE MY AMAZING PARENTS AND FABULOUS BROTHER!!!! I can't wait to just hug them repeatedly.
21 days - I drive back to Taylor and see my BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL friends!
22 days - J-term begins and I'm a normal college student again.

So many fun things that are coming, as well as some goodbyes which won't be fun. I am so excited for the next three weeks of my life. So much to be thankful for and especially thankful for those whom I love and who love me back.

there's a what on my bed...

The other night, I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep. All of the sudden, I saw something move very quickly across my comforter...something very black moved across my very white comforter. I flung back the covers and flipped the lights on as quickly as humanly possible. Frantically, I grabbed a shoe to find this unfriendly visitor, which I found on the other side of the room. (Either it was really quick or I am an excellent flinger with incredible force and power...most likely the latter.) I quickly made it clear that I didn't want this unwelcome visitor as I repeatedly crushed it under my flowery shoe. The below picture is post mortem.

The bobby pin is to show you the size. When the legs weren't crushed repeatedly, it was even bigger.

Needless to say...a spider in my bed was only one of the bumps in the road this week. I had my first parent-teacher conflict because of a miscommunication, the fifth grade had a slight emotional explosion one day, and I wanted to jump out the window because I was so overwhelmed. (Don't worry we're only a few feet above the ground...it would just be a jump out the window to run away into the mountains of Kandern.) Teaching is fun and so rewarding but it is also very draining some days. There are many things that keep me going...right now it is sixteen children whom I have grown to love and cherish. There are days that require more patience than others but overall the kids bring me so much joy.

Just today, we were having a discussion on Genesis 43. In this chapter, Joseph meets his younger brother Benjamin and he weeps in private because he is so overwhelmed with love for his brother. I had so much fun using my dad as an analogy as a man who doesn't like to be seen crying. (Sorry Dad I'm outing you on the Interent) I told the story about the day that we dropped my brother off at college. To say the least, our family was not at our best emotional state. My mom and I, both sobbing hysterically, pretty much had to be dragged out of the dorm. My dad, Mr. Tough NJ "Mobster" man, put on his sunglasses so that no one would see the tears coming down his face. How does this connect to Genesis you may ask...do not fret, I can make it connect. I used my dad as a comparison of men who don't like to be seen crying (aka Joseph running to the other room). Needless to say, my kids and I were laughing a lot as I retold the story of my dad being the strong man.

I have one week left with these children. My prayer is that I make the most of each day with the incredible children God has blessed me with for this time. I am very excited to come home but I am also grateful that I have more time here in Kandern with the people I have grown to love. Even though this week has been full of ups and downs, I can still say confidently that God always provides exactly what I need, emotionally, physically, relationally, spiritually. He is my Everything and I am so grateful for all the way He provides.

"I am paid to be annoying"

One thing that I love about teaching 5th grade is that I have been able to build a mutual relationship with the students. I love talking to them and hearing their thoughts. They marvel me with the things that they write and even better yet, the things that they say. This past week was filled with many different wonderful moments, mixed in with some frustrating ones. I will share a funnier one.

This past weekend Black Forest Academy had their opening game of the basketball season. These games are a huge event and very community driven. The majority of the BFA families are there to support the high schoolers even if they don't have children on the team. My fifth graders were so excited about the opening night for more than just basketball; they are the team's devoted sweat boys (aka they wipe up the sweat off the floor). Now let me point out how disgusting this job is. Mix that with the already questionable smell of most preadolescent boys and you have quite a stench. I bravely went and sat down with my kids for part of the game and I was so glad that I did because they thoroughly entertained me. I tend to banter back and forth with most of the kids, a little joking around in an appropriate amount makes learning so much more fun. (And I have finally found my niche of an age group that thinks I'm funny. The parents have told me that their kids think I am hysterical. Score for me!) One of the boys I joke around with was one of the faithful "sweat boys." This is somewhat how our interaction went.

Me: I don't know if I'm going to be able to make it through the whole game. I'm exhausted.
Kay: Why are you tired Miss Wilson?
Me: Well I'm on my feet talking to you guys all day long. It tires me out.
Kay: (in a very serious tone) You're feet talk?
Me: No silly, I'm up in front teaching and I stand while I teach.
Kay: Oh
Me: (smiling) And I have to deal with John all day long. He sure is a handful. Sometimes I just want to jump out the window because he just drives me up the wall.
John: Hahahahaha. You know Miss Wilson, Mr. Carey hired me before you got here to be as annoying as possible. He pays me 40 Euros per hour.
Me: (laughing) Well you do a great job of it.
John: Thanks...I try.
Kay: Wow he's going to be a millionaire by the time you leave.

A minute later...

Me: Where did Kay go?
Mike: (laughing) Oh she didn't want to sit next you anymore.
Me: Oh no. Do I smell that bad?
Mike: (with a smirk on his face) You said it, I didn't.

To sum it up, we were cracking up the whole game. There was one moment, when they all ran at me in full force, that I greatly regretted coming down to sit with them. The wave of body odor mixed with more body odor was quite unpleasant to the senses but I survived. I am thankful that I can laugh with my kiddos and enjoy the time that God has given me here at BFA.

"Is that your car? Then don't lick it."

Children are funny. Today I had an off day in the sense that it started out a little crazy.
My day in a nutshell.


8:15 - Accidentally tried to brush my teeth with face lotion. Not such a good move.
9:45 - Missed the bus. Had to be driven to school by some kind person.
10:00-2:00 - Thought it was Thursday several times. The kids had to remind me it was not.
3:45 - Slipped on ice walking down a hill (and when I say slipped I more mean wiped out)...in front of my teacher and lots of children.
3:47 - Heard myself saying, "Is that your car? Then don't lick it."
3:48 - Thought to myself, "Why am I asking a child to not lick a car? Why is she licking a car?"
3:50 - Confiscated 2 gameboys and 2 cellphones, one of which was a first-graders. Why does a first grader need a cell phone?


To say the least, my day wasn't the smoothest. But at the end of the day, I am thankful I can laugh at myself and at the funny things that kids do.

the mosaic

 ...colorful...
                ...beautiful...
                                                 ...unique...
                                                                       ...broken...
                                                                                               ...skillfully crafted...
                                                                                                                                           ...brilliant...


Mosaics are one of the most unique styles of art. The artist has a vision that comes together to create a masterpiece...all out of small pieces of colored glass or other materials. It is amazing that the artist can see the bigger picture when they are working with such unique individual pieces. And yet the finished product is stunning. When you step back, you almost forget that the artist has used hundreds or thousands of individual parts because the whole fits seamlessly together. 

The worldwide body of believers is similar to a mosaic, a diverse arrangement of pieces that all fit together to create a breathtaking masterpiece. I am reminded daily of this mosaic of believers when I enter my fifth grade classroom. My students are unique and varied just like the pieces of glass that make up a mosaic. Some are high ability while others would be in special needs classrooms in an American system. Some speak perfect English, while others struggle to find words for what they are trying to express. 


I could continue to list the differences and unique characteristics that make up my class but the one thing that always reminds me of the diversity  that lies within the four wall of our little German school is our daily prayer for lunch. Each day, a different student volunteers to pray, and the language that is spoken never remains constant for a whole week. I have heard prayers offered up in German, French, Swedish, Russian, and English. To add to that, we recently talked about how many countries each student had been to. Not a single student had been to less than four countries and two of my student had been to over 12 countries...all by the age of 11. I also recently babysat a little girl who has been to over 15 countries and she is only 8 years old.  

As a 21 year old, I have been to nine different countries, which before coming to BFA, I thought was a decent number. By the end of this trip, I'll be up to eleven countries, while although exciting to me, pales in comparison to the experience of these students. These children and their experiences amaze me. I love the creativity of God in the way that He created our world. Instead of being boring and having one universal language, God chose to give us many languages to speak. He even gave some the gift and ability of knowing more than one language. God is astounding and the mosaic of Christ is so beautiful to look at and listen to as I hear the name of Jesus spoken in a variety of languages.


This past week, I went to G5, a German church that I really enjoy attending. I love worshipping in German, partly because I somewhat understand it and partly because it reminds me once again of the universality of my faith in Jesus Christ. As I worshipped with my German brothers and sisters in Christ, I was moved to tears at the majesty of God. I can't imagine my life with Jesus...I don't want to imagine living without hope. We sang a song that said, 

Jede Schuld verliert die Kraft
Der Weg ist frei, es ist vollbracht!


Every sin loses its strength,

The path is free, it is accomplished.

Christ is victorious, the battle has been won. Praise God that He is mighty and majestic. Sin has no power because Christ has already won the fight against Satan. What powerful words that "every sin loses its strength because the cross has been accomplished...it is done." 


I know there are many different people who have been keeping up with my blog while I'm gone and some of you know Jesus and others don't. If you do know the Lord, continue pressing on towards the goal for which we were called. If you don't know Jesus, ask me or someone else about Him because He will change your life. I can't imagine my life without Jesus and I don't want to imagine your life without Him either. I hope you are blessed and encouraged today knowing that the worldwide church is alive and it truly reflects the magnificence of God.

I'm in a Winter Wonderland...

This is one of the most majestic places I have ever been to. Creation screams the name of God. It truly looks like a winter wonderland here and I love going to school because I get to see these beautiful sights on my drive to school and then continuing when I get there. 

In Sitzenkirch

A building in the village of Sitzenkirch.

The field my school overlooks.