fancy ladies

I'm thankful for the frequent appearance of these three in my home. Through our homeschooling  arrangement Natale has given so much back to me, Jen has become a friend whom I trust with my heart, and little Elli, with her afternoon visits, brings a delight like only a toddler can deliver.

thankful journal

When I started Kindergarten with Natalie we started our day with prayer, writing in her thankful journal, bible story and worship. We typically didn't get to math until after lunch. Much longer than it should have taken me I realized this was a mistake as the subject of math is the area that Natale struggles with and we were both tired by the time we got to numbers. So we switched things around....starting with prayer and then jumping right into math....writing and scripture studies sneak into our morning but for the most part math is the subject of the AM. Recently I read an article about the importance of counting your blessings, and teaching your children to do so as well....so we've brought the thankful journal (that only got used on a hit or miss basis) back into our morning. We use this activity to practice our classroom skills (just in case) so I write in my journal at the same time and it is a no-talking activity. I showed Natale how I started numbering my thanks after reading Ann Voskamps One Thousand Gifts book. We started at the beginning of her journal and read each page and numbered it. It was fun to look back together at her early writing and see how much she has grown.

I'm thankful for the chance to teach Natalie, 
for being able to use my teaching skills in a homeschool setting, 
and the delight it has been to incorporate the Father in my teaching.

unexpected encouragement...

It's been a rough couple weeks (or truthfully months) for me here lately....yesterday after a miserable day of detoxing pain I found this message on my facebook page. The message if from a former student, Mindy's mom. I taught Mindy for first and second grades in Elkhart. When Mindy was in my class she was a "selective mute". The entire two years I never heard her speak. I have frequently thought of Mindy and wondered how she was doing. 

Last fall I started looking for my former students on facebook. I was please to find Mindy, married with two cute red head and functioning just fine in society.

Hello my name is betsy browning mindy browngs mom.....I just wanted to thank you for all you did for mindy in elementary school! You are the best teacher ive ever known. You really helped her come out of her shell! As you can see she turned out to be pretty amazing and beautiful and great with her own children. I want to truly thank you again for caring and believing in my daughter soo much!

 I have been encouraged by several other notes from former students recently found on facebook. Here is another. I had Yosy in third and fifth grades (I think).

Hey Mrs. Ingold! You have been on my mind. When my oldest daughter was going to Model Elementary in Goshen, her teacher was doing mini economy. I said i did that in school. She she i got the idea as a student teacher at Roosevelt. And you know with me having a different name. I told her who i was, and we hugged & cryed. I asked about u. She told me the other teacher passed. She was like OMG its been over 20 yrs. It was so great seeing her & hearing about you guys. Thanx for being a great teacher! Yosminda Jackson