Working with Kids

I AM SO EXCITED! lol :)

I'm about to have the coolest job I probably will have ever had.  This nice, newish church by me is hiring part time child care workers and I'm pretty sure I will be hired.  I can pick up up to 30 hours a week and work with ages anywhere from infants through 5th graders.  I am so excited. :)

I think this job will work out even after I have the baby cause I can just opt to work with the infants and have my kid there too.  That will solve the problem of being a lonely and bored stay and home mom lol.  I have never thought just staying at home with my kids would be all that fun.  I knew I would need some adult time and time to get out and socialize.  This is the perfect way to do that. :)  I think being a stay at home would feel like being on house arrest. lol  So I'm glad I found a job I can still do even after I have kids. :)

And how cool that I found a job to do what I already want to do.  I would almost do this job for free just to have something to do while my husband is working.  I've had nothing to do for long enough now.  But the fact that it pays too is so cool! 

I like the idea of switching around in age groups too.  That was the issue in pre-schools that I've worked in was that it is just too much time with the same people.  I love meeting new people and doing different things all the time.  I like change, so this really is the perfect job for me. 

Hopefully I will start next week! 

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you."  The things being a pay check again woohoo :), fun at work, fellowship and having more purpose and meaning to my life in general.  Which nothing provides more meaning I think than working with kids and helping them grow up the right way, helping steer them on the straight and narrow path. :)

I can't wait to start helping get all these kids saved! lol  I hope to work with the 4th and 5th graders a lot because that I think is when kids can finally really get it.  I think the age of accountability is probably about 9.  Meaning if a kid dies before 9 or so I think they automatically go to heaven but after that if they have not made the choice on their own to make Jesus Lord of their life there is no guarantee where they will go.  So therefore that's the perfect age to work with.  Get them right when they need to make the decision.  Also, they are more likely to make Jesus the Lord of their life at that age because they are more open to it. :)

When I was working at a Salvation Army camp one summer a leader told of how William Booth's goal was to pull people out of the water that had jumped off a cliff metaphorically and were drowning.  He said, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could build a fence for these kids so they never jump off the cliff?"  I was like amen!  That has always been my goal in working with kids, to help prevent them from making some of the dumb choices I made as a pre-teen etc. 

I also benefitted a lot from growing up in the church and going to Awanas etc.  I think most of the verses I have memorized are thanks to Awanas making me memorize them.  But they made it fun.  I loved going to Awanas and getting more jewels on my little pin thing.  I loved doing the game sports and singing the songs. 

So I want to help give kids the same great experience in church.  And I think I will. :)  I can help make it fun for them. :)

The lady I interviewed with today, the head of the kids program, told me she said to her co-worker, "You will not believe this girl and all she has done with kids."  haha

I suppose it is pretty crazy all that I've done.  Since I was 14 I've been working with kids, so 14 years.  My very first job when I was 14 was as a summer camp counselor.  I had a lot of fun going to the pool with the kids and letting them climb all over me lol.  I remember playing a lot of sports with them and watching movies. 

Then when I was in college I did a lot of tutoring with kids.  After college I worked at an after school program helping kids with homework.  There were three kids I picked up from school every day in 2nd and 3rd grade.  They were so cute. :) 

Then my next job was at another summer camp.  I worked at a Salvation Army right by my house with their Junior High camp.  That was tons of fun, getting paid to go to Disneyland with them and the aquarium.  I was always like, "How is it that I'm getting paid to do this job?" lol  But God provides. 

Then I worked in a private school, Carden Heights.  I was first just an after school daycare person from 2-6 pm.  Then when a teacher quit I took over the Junior High English class as well and "taught" composition and literature.  I didn't really teach, I facilitated lol.  I've never been big on lecturing, getting lectured at or lecturing others.  But man was I excited when the principle asked me if I wanted to do that.  I was jumping out of my skin I was so excited! lol :)  It had it's ups and downs though.  It was definitely a challenge that's for sure. 

Then the next summer I worked with the Salvation Army kids camp again and this time with the younger kids 1st-6th grade.  I had a lot more fun with that one.  I was in charge of the 4th grade group and they were all just so wonderful.  I had so much fun hanging out with them all the time. :)  We got to do really cool stuff again like go to Knotts and kayak in a bay and water parks.  It was the best job ever!  Again I was always like, "I get paid to do the best job ever wow!" lol

The next job I had was in a pre-school.  I loved that job a lot more than I thought I would.  At first I was like, "Why would I want to change diapers all day?  Ewe."  lol but then I got really attached to the kids and found that I absolutely loved working with toddlers.  Then I worked in the two year old room and then floated around to all the rooms.  That was also one of my best jobs ever. :)

Then I worked on the cruise ship with kids.  I either worked with 3-7 year olds, ages 8-12, or ages 13-18.  It changed each week what I was assigned to.  My favorite was the 8-12 year olds and doing games like Charades and Pictionary with them.  I had tons of fun with that age group.  The younger kids were a bit harder and the teens were really challenging. 

Then I worked in a few more pre-schools but thought I would try out being a waitress.  I had fun doing that too.  I loved working at Chilies but it's just as tiring and stressful as it looks lol. :)  Then I worked in a student loan call center.  That was fun getting paid to just talk to people all day and help them. :)  And then my last job was in another pre-school.  Two's have become my favorite age.  They are by far the cutest and it's exciting to help them learn how to talk. 

I think God would most be able to use me with the 4th and 5th graders though.  I think all that I know about the Bible would benefit them and I know a lot of games for that age group.  When I worked at the Junior High camp I was in charge of coming up with the games the whole summer.  The most fun one we did was probably Spoons with cards.  Dodge ball was a lot of fun.  And we played a lot of Frisbee. :) 

I also really like leading worship for this age group.  I like coming up with motions to worship songs and leading all the kids in worship that way.  Kinesthetic worship lol.  I don't know why adults don't do this too.  I guess because we generally are more self-conscious and don't want to look like an idiot.  But kids don't care about that so you can have a lot more fun with them and do more in worship. :)  I think worship is meant to be a full body experience but for some reason it has become very rigid.  That is why Jesus says we are to come to him like a child, because kids are uninhibited.  They don't care what people think.  They can be freeeeee.  So nice. :)  And so nice to watch and be a part of this freedom that they have.  Kids are great. :)