Ship Shape Classroom

Alright friends, here are some pictures of my 4th grade classroom! It's NAUTICAL themed :) 

The welcome sign that is outside our door.

This is on the door to my classroom. All the little boats have the students' names on them.

 The anchor has the school's vision statement on it... with several nautical adjustments.

"El Camino Academy is a Christ-Centered (ANCHORED) educational community (CREW) biblically equipping bilingual servant-leaders to transform their world."

This is our behavior chart. Students have clips on it that go with their number and they start each day on "Ready to Set Sail." Then based on positive or negative behavior they will move up and down the chart with varying consequences. 

These are our various class jobs. 

On this bulletin board I intend to take a picture of each of my students and post it on here. 

This is our class birthday chart and a little hanger for no name papers. 

The math corner. The posters will change depending on what we are working on.

This is our CHAMP (s) program, which is a behavior system we use to help students know how to act during a given subject. They are awarded points whether or not they are following the system during each subject area.

This is our "I can ..." statement area of the board where each day I will write our learning objectives/goals for each subject area. 

Some of our class library. I will be creating a wish list soon of books I'd like to add to my classroom because we could definitely use some more quality 4th grade literature!

Whole classroom pics

Hope that gives you a little bit better of an idea of where I am everyday :)

I'm a teacher...What?!

Whoa! Tomorrow I will finally be a "real" teacher! Tomorrow marks the first day of school at El Camino Academy and I will have 22 students under my care ... A bit intimidating, huh !? But really, I could not be more excited! This school year is definitely going to be a challenge, but lucky for me I have an all-powerful, omniscient, holy, gracious God on my side.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has Given me  strength , That I've Considered trustworthy, Appointing me to His service. (1 Tim. 1:12)

Our theme for the year is RESPONSIBILITY and I have been given the grand responsibility of ministering to and discipling my 4th graders. Although God has given me this responsibility I must be mindful that it is not of my own abilities, but the Spirit's work within and through me.  

I have spent this past week preparing my nautical themed classroom and it will be wonderful to finally welcome my students into it. After countless hours it will finally feel complete! The Lord has truly blessed me in bringing me to ECA and I cannot wait to bless the children and families of the school in turn. 

To name a few blessings...

1. Wonderful roommates! It has been so fun living with Annie and Carrie, two godly women who have hearts of service and are always making me smile and laugh.
2. A teacher aide, named Zayde who has a heart of gold and is ecstatic to be at ECA and to work with the students. She is a true disciple of the Jesus and has been an enormous encouragement to me spiritually.
3. Wise, god-fearing administrators at ECA who are more than willing to help and work right alongside you.
4. Energy and perseverance. Getting a classroom set up is no easy task, but the Lord was with me every step of the way.
5. Fantastic friends who love the Lord and want to serve Him here in Colombia right next to me.
6. Health! So far so good so thank you for your prayers :)
7. Finally, my AMAZING supporters! Thank you to everyone who is supporting me through prayers and finances. You are an incredible blessing and I wouldn't be able to be here without you!

 Please, please be praying for me, my teacher aide, Zayde, my students and all the teachers who will be starting the 2014-15 school year tomorrow! Yahoo!!!

Some Colombian graffiti 

Montañas 

Santa Fe... the mall across the bridge from my apartment that is my 2nd home....

Bogotá traffic ... fun, right?!

Pictures of my classroom to come!

Thanks for reading :)

My Cross Continental Move

Wow! What a week! I cannot believe I am actually here, living in Colombia--something I've prayed about for the past 7 years. God is so great! Am I right?!

So I just wanted to give everyone a little update on this past week... 

Monday : I flew to Colombia! Woohoo! All went well, which was such a blessing so thank you all for your prayers. I did not have any problems finding my connection, going through customs or getting my bags. Got to my little apartment around 10:30 pm and hit the pillow.

Tuesday:  Tuesday was basically spent unpacking. I live in an apartment building called Los Cipreses and I have 2 wonderful roommates: Annie Johnson (6th grade teacher) and Carrie Bergmann (3rd grade teacher). I added some pictures of my apartment so you can check those out!

Wednesday: Wednesday was a big day! 5 of the new teachers and I went to get our work visas. It was a long day, lots of sitting and waiting and answering questions in Spanish, buuuut after about 4 hours we were each given 3 year work visas! Apparently this is almost unheard of so that is a HUGE blessing. Hallelujah!

Thursday & Friday: These past 2 days were spent at El Camino Academy! Yay! We received training, looked through curriculum, organized and set up our classrooms, and got familiarized with school procedures. So fun to finally be jumping into it! The fact that I am really a 4^th grade teacher is becoming more and more real every day. It is a bit overwhelming at times, but also extremely exciting!

Prayer Requests:

·      Please pray for me as I continue to set up my classroom and look through curriculum.

·      Pray for my 4^th graders! I have 21 kids headed my way J

·      Pray for energy as I settle into the routine here and adjust to the altitude.

·      Pray for unity among my roommates and I as this is the first time the 3 of us are living together.

·      Finally, please pray for continued financial support. I am not yet fully funded for my year here, but I know the Lord has a plan. Pray that I’d have peace about it, but also that the Lord would give me wisdom on what He’d have me do.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers! Without it I would not be here and I would not be able to serve the people of Colombia.

Serving Him,

Becky

P.S.- If you at all are interested in supporting me please email me at  becky.e.almer@gmail.com

Our cute little kitchen

Cozy family room complete with fireplace!

What I call the "sketchy stairs"

The upstairs landing. That hall leads to my room!

My little bedroom! Excuse the unmade bed and bad picture... it was difficult to get a good picture

Hola Blogging World!

Alright...here I go! I am now entering the world of blogging! I will admit I have no clue what I'm doing, so just bear with me here readers.

I decided to start this blog in order to keep all my lovely fans...excuse me, supporters informed on what all I am doing. As most of you know, "what all i am doing" is leaving for BOGOTA, COLOMBIA IN 6 DAYS! Yes, you read it correctly! 6 days! While in Colombia, I will be teaching 4th graders at El Camino Academy. If you want to hear how that all came to be just click on that little tab above that says "My Story."

Anyway, so many thoughts and feelings have been running through my head as I prepare to leave for Colombia in 6 short days. Just to name a few... stress, excitement, and yes, I am a bit overwhelmed! This last week in the states will be spent packing (my least favorite activity in the world), taking a few extra trips to Target to get last minute things, spending time with friends and family, dealing with super fun paperwork and the like... Oh! And of course getting in those last meals at Chick-fil-a and Portillos!

However, in all honesty I truly am elated to finally be venturing out on the trip that I have waited so long for, to finally head to Bogotá as a missionary! It has been a long road, but the Lord has been so faithful in showing me exactly where He wants me and exactly what He wants me to do. I am excited to be His hands and feet in Colombia.

Please pray for me as I continue to prepare to leave! More updates to come :)