Early Morning Madness

I MADE IT!  36 weeks of early morning Seminary done!  I survived getting up at 5am every day, devoting all day every Saturday to lesson planning, and facing occasionally surly teenagers every morning.  And did I mention that I was exhausted nearly every waking minute?  I was truly carried through the year by the hand of the Lord--I never, ever thought I could do it be myself.  I stressed all summer about the impending classes, how I would fit in everything I had to accomplish every day (getting dinner on the table, having lucid conversations with my husband and children, keeping the house reasonably clean, getting some exercise) and what it would be like to face the class of 11 each morning, most of whom I did not know very well.  I got through the very first day, all the kids left, I went into the kitchen and said to Greg, "I've got to do it all over again tomorrow!" and promptly burst into tears.  After the first few weeks it got a lot better--I was more comfortable with teaching and with the kids, and my body eased into its new routine.  (For weeks, every day at about 10am my stomach would start screaming that it was lunch time.)  And now that the first year is over, it is hard to put into words what an amazing experience it was, all that I have learned and how deeply I love each of my students. 

Here are some of the fun times we had throughout the year:

 

This was our Joseph play, written, produced, and performed by the class.  (Costumes coutesy of my box of random fancy fabrics.)

 We celebrated 11/11/11 with a series of 11-related activities.  We even had 11 students!  Erika make the excellent "11" brownies.

 For Christmas we made gingerbread Tabernacles, as in Moses' ancient tabernacle, complete with a laver, an altar of sacrifice, and Sour Patch priests.  Dig the fruit roll roofing material!

The one thing I remembered from my own Old Testament year of Seminary as a teenager was slinging marshmallows at a huge Goliath, so I knew I'd have to do the same as a teacher.  The boys REALLY liked it.

We liked a good play.  This was an Esther play (also student-written) performed for our Purim celebration as we studied Esther.