Arlene Birt

I am so thankful to have a job that doesn't feel like a job. I feel very blessed to be called to teaching and to love what I do. I am in my 30th year teaching first grade at Ephrata Mennonite School, where I also enjoy being the Curriculum Coordinator, serving on the accreditation planning team, and sometimes being involved with secondary school activities. I teach Sunday School and Bible School and do home-school evaluations. Reading, gardening, sewing, crafting, babysitting, and traveling are other areas of interest. One of my goals is "to know Him and to make Him known" and I aim for that in my teaching and pray that my students may see Jesus in me.

My Brother’s Keeper

Crash! Oh, dear. Nelson’s box of 64 crayons just spilled again. Five children rush from their seats to help him pick up the crayons. This is in the middle of math class, so I would like for them to leave the clutter for a bit....

Full of Compassion

O to be like thee… full of compassion!* As we looked at this hymn in staff devotions and thought of areas in which we wanted to be like Jesus, this phrase stuck out to me. I want to be full of compassion for my students. For the...

Expectations and Order

Photo by Oliver Hale on Unsplash Rules, laws, guidelines, expectations, or even commandments—as stated by the first grader who was handing out papers to a reluctant classmate, “You have to take it! It’s by her commandment.” As we...

My Charge

“A charge to keep I have… to serve the present age, my calling to fulfill. O may it all my powers engage to do my Master’s will.” (Charles Wesley) Who am I working for? If I’m working for God I should be doing my best to work...

In a Rut?

“Time for Heggerty!” I say cheerfully even though I am tired of Heggerty*. Moans and groans come from the first graders. We are all tired of Heggerty! In math class, I look around and see several children sitting listlessly, some...

Celebrating Success

Photo by Kuanish Reymbaev on Unsplash Our team meeting agenda said we would celebrate successes and find areas to improve upon as we discussed testing results. I was disappointed after the meeting that there were no successes...

Hope

Photo by Натали Хмельницкая on Unsplash “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious light!” (Placide Cappeau) It really feels like a weary world, with many hard things in our school family,...

Teaching About Persecution

Photo by Hanna Morris on Unsplash Persecution and martyrs may not seem like topics for children, but at the time of this writing, it is a theme my Sunday School students (1 st -3 rd grade) are studying. We had lessons about...

Cultivate Gratitude in the Classroom

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash “I’m thankful for vultures!” We were making a list of things we were thankful for and “vultures” was one item listed. (Have you ever thanked God for vultures?) When I wondered about this,...

Prepare

Back-to-school supplies are stocked in stores, teacher meetings are beginning, and school cleaning is happening. We are preparing for another school year! As you think of getting ready for school, maybe this is your first year...

Let’s Pray

“Don’t forget to pray for Monster!” This request was called out just as I was preparing to pray at the end of the school day. I had to think quickly—“Who is Monster?” Then I remembered: Monster is a cow that has a hurt leg. So we...

Lord Willing

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels “Tomorrow we don’t have school, because the teachers come to work. Monday when we come back, we have music and library.” This was my end-of-day announcement on March 12, 2020. Little did I know that...

Getting Along

“These girls are just not getting along. I think at one point each one has felt left-out or bullied. I don’t know how to help them!” worried a new first-grade teacher. “Teacher, they won’t let me play with them.” “They ran away...

Invisible?

Photo by Florian Schmetz on Unsplash “We must be invisible!” my sister and I said to each other when a truck pulled out right in front of us as we were traveling. We did feel invisible – didn’t the driver see us? I wonder if...

Tell Me a Story!

Stories are great for teaching academic lessons, spiritual lessons, and life lessons. Tell the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” to teach about telling the truth and what happens when someone is lying. Relate experiences from...