Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Teaching at Co-op

First off, you need to know I'm pregnant. Now that we got that out of the way, this is the story. We have our son in a co-op, and there always seems to be a shortage of classes for his age group. When there were several gaping holes in the schedule for this last trimester, I figured it was time to be brave and teach one of his classes. Now I've taught there before, but not kids this young when they are unpredictable, sometimes unruly, and do weird things like spontaneous crying over trivial matters.

Wouldn't you know it, the week after I volunteered two more classes suddenly popped up at the same time. What are the chances? Had I known that, I would have put it off. Except that it was all part of God’s plan.

Anyway, I was a little apprehensive…OK, I was terrified. I sought some degree of comfort by asking for a co-teacher to plan half of the classes (and provide moral support, of course). Surely I could come up with material for 4, one hour sessions . I decided to teach what I enjoy most – something just for fun. I even called the class that: "Just For Fun." Then I began brainstorming and ended up with more ideas than I could fit in one trimester! My co-teacher decided not to do co-op, and I became the main teacher. We had our first class yesterday, and it went great! This is some of the most fun I’ve ever had! I’m already starting to plan a similar class for next year!

We played a fun game that I highly recommend for all ages and thought I’d share. You buy two identical puzzles with 60 to 100 pieces. Get something colorful and interesting. Split your group into two teams and have them race to see which side can complete their puzzle first. If you are feeling generous, you can even have a drawing at the end to give one (or both) of the puzzles away. (I’m keeping mine so I can do this again in the future.) That first sentence was April Fool's. Did I get you?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was wondering when this sudden pregnancy came about! Glad you are enjoying teaching the class.

Karla Cook @ Roads to Everywhere said...

Ha! No... you didn't get me! Good try, though.

Hey, for your puzzle game, to make it even MORE interesting, you could mix the two puzzles together and see how long it took them to put it together! LOL! Probably wouldn't go over so well with the younger set, though.

A Romantic Porch said...

I thought you were foolin'!

I love the puzzle idea! I'm glad you're having fun. Love,rAchel

P.S. You've gotta tell your teacher fooling memories.

Kelli said...

You didn't get me, but only because I say that same thing almost everytime I talk to my Nana! Haha!!
Hugs,
Kelli

Karla Cook @ Roads to Everywhere said...

Tag! You're it! (See my latest post.)

Anonymous said...

You got me!

lauralavon said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog, Farrah. I appreciate your comments. The one on books to read and reread was really good; so true.
You got me too...for a moment, but then I remembered what day it was yesterday!
Have a great week!

Anonymous said...

Nope, I looked at the date of the posting right away! :) Love your blog's new look.