A Day of Observation, and 4 Days Till Departure

This week I spent a morning observing a preschool. Actually, it was the preschool at the academy that I graduated from, which is a Preschool-Grade 12 school. I know the preschool teacher from when I had attended the academy, and when I asked if it would be alright for me to come and observe a day of class she said that it would be perfectly fine. I had a really nice time there and got a lot of ideas from simply watching what occurred during the morning. The preschool runs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30-11:30, which is quite different from what I'll be doing this year. The Sunshine Preschool where I'll be teaching in Egypt goes from Sunday-Thursday, since Sunday is a working day in Egypt and Friday and Saturday are the non-working weekend days. Also, it begins at 7:30 in the morning and goes until 3:30 in the afternoon. It sounds more like a daycare because it runs all day, but they call it a preschool. I think it must have qualities of both since it caters to kids of all pre-kindergarten ages.

Anyways, I really enjoyed myself and appreciated the fact that all the kids really seemed to like me, even though I was merely sitting and observing, instead of playing with them. They talked to me and showed me their coloring pages and dress-up clothes and other such exciting things. They waved to me from across the room with adorable little smiles on their faces. When the class moved outside to play, two little girls brought me a few small flowers that they found growing in the grass. They were all really sweet kids, and throughout the morning I found myself becoming more excited about developing relationships with the children that I will be teaching this year. I also got a few interesting quotes from one child. I added them to my Quotes page so feel free to check them out.

All in all I think observing the preschool was really good for me. I got a clearer idea of what was in store for me, I took some good notes and got some new ideas, and I became more mentally prepared for the year ahead of me. I'm leaving for Egypt in 4 days, so it's coming up really quick! I don't think it's fully hit me that I'll be in Egypt in less than a week. I have a lot to do before I head off and I know this year will probably be very challenging in a lot of ways, but I'm confident that God will bless me if I stay close to Him as I serve. I'm excited and nervous at the same time, but I'm prepared to go out and live this year as bravely, adventurously, and spiritually as I can. I just hope that throughout this experience I learn and grow and become the person God wants me to be.