Shining Our Pumpkin Lights

This past week seemed to go by sooooooo slowllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy....and I was even out of the classroom for 2 days for Engineering training and  for writing Science curriculum. I think having a sub for 2 days in a row erased some of the things we had been working so hard to learn. Does that happen to your class when you have had a sub????!!!????

At one of the meetings we talked about how the time period from mid-October to the middle of December is so hard for teachers but especially for our kiddos. It is a time for meetings, programs, crafts, fun activities, holiday celebrations, Red Ribbon week, bright intense colors like red and orange, and then the stress that our kiddos might be feeling at home as their parents prepare for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. For many of our kiddos and their families, the holidays that we LOVE are stressful for them as they try and find the means to buy Thanksgiving dinner stuff and Christmas gifts. Meanwhile, any routine in our classrooms is starting to be disrupted by all of the fun activities and programs of this time of year.

This helps to explain why our kiddos start going a little nutty and by Christmas Break we are ready to be the Nutcrackers and find ourselves telling the kiddos we are in contact with Santa and have been telling him all of the things going on in our classrooms.

Thursday some of my kiddos we definitely a little squirrelly and I had to stop myself from going a little nutty too!

What popped into my head was the poem about God picking pumpkins.

It seems to be that "yucky stuff" that we let get in the way of so many things we do. I let it get in the way of remembering to be patient and even at times from stopping and looking at all of the blessings in my life. It is easy to get caught up in the negative "yucky stuff". 

I think I need to try and remember to scoop out all of that "yucky stuff" before I even get out of the car each morning. Part of our job is to keep the light inside of each pumpkin God puts in our classroom burning. I think of each year when we put "Jack" our jack-o-lantern in a jar. For the rest of the year, we watch him decompose. It is nasty. Last year to my horror Jack almost was knocked off of where he was sitting...I would have died if all of his nasty, smelly smithereens were splattered on our already nasty carpet.

I think we sometimes feel if some of our little pumpkins might already be rotting. We might not take the time to even see why their light might not be burning very brightly.

When I went to find the pumpkin poem, I also came across this one.

source: http://happyhomefairy.com/tag/christian-pumpkin-poem/

I am a Jack O’ Lantern

My lights will shine so bright

For I’m a Christian pumpkin

My symbols tell what’s right

My nose is like the cross

On which our Savior died

To set us free from sin

We need no longer hide

My mouth is like a fish

The whole wide world to show

That Christians live in this house

And love their Savior so!

The story starts at Christmas

My eyes are like the star

That shone on Baby Jesus

And wise men saw from far

My color, it is orange

Just like the big bright sun

That rose on Easter Day

Along with God’s own Son

I just love this! What a great way to let your love for the Lord shine out to others this month.

Since pumpkins have been on my mind, here is a little *freebie* that I hope you enjoy. The kiddos roll a dice and add 10. The first player to cover 5 in a row wins. This is to help with place value and those tricky teens. =)

graphics by Scrappin' Doodles

As you get ready for a new week, remember to look for the light in each one of your little pumpkins. Be sure and keep the light going with your love and patience...and you'll see it shining through their little jack-o-lantern smiles. =)

From My Heart to Yours,