Carden Heights

I'm thinking now that Ben and I will have like 10 kids or something. lol We were thinking Joy would be our last but the thought of that makes me sad really.  10 kids just might be in our future. lol  We can get a 5 bedroom double wide trailer, have 3 kids per room lol it will be great! 

 

I always knew all my jobs with children was preparing me to be the best mom ever!  Which I'm not but I'm trying to be. lol 

 

My hardest job really was at a school called Carden Heights in Orange, CA. Sometimes I was literally in charge of like 50 kids at a time for after school care. It was pretty insane actually. No ratios when it comes to private schools. Looking back I really cannot believe how much responsibility I had there. At any moment the large number of kids could have started a riot and overthrown me as the supreme power watching over them. haha  And then I would have been SOL  :) But praise God my time there went pretty well. The kids were very well behaved and I loved my job there, for the most part. :)  It really was run like a military school so they were very good kids for sure.  The best of the best!  There were hard days for sure, but the good days FAR outweighed the bad days, just like it is in parenting. :)  I thought of quitting many times, but I'm so glad that I didn't. 

 

Carden was the school where I got to actually be a teacher, which was super cool!  I had my BA in English at that point but no credential yet.  About half of the year, from December to May, I taught 6th, 7th and 8th grade English. "Taught" being a relative term. lol  I didn't lecture really. I just facilitated essay writing and book reading really lol.  We read the Hobbit together, which was tons of fun, and Huck Finn etc.  I love the book Huck Finn. :) I've never been big on lectures and always hated sitting in them myself.  But I had tons of fun "teaching" or working with those kids. Some of them are on my Facebook so that is cool. :) It's nice seeing how they are doing these days. :) 

 

For our essay writing days I would research good debate topics online and have them write essays for or against different things, like is watching TV good or bad etc.  It was awesome! I loved being able to come up with writing topics, and I loved my experience with those kids!  I also would bring in nature calendar pictures and had them imagine that they were in the picture and to write about what it was like etc.  That was cool too. :) 

 

 I hope all my former Carden students prosper and do well in life and find great spouses for themselves! lol They are all around 18 and going to college now so that's cool.  Hope you are all doing ok out there Carden students! I loved all of you so much! :) May God bless you all!