My New Adventure

When this school year ended, I had been teaching for 19 years. 5 years in Pre-K and 14 years at a Christian school in grades K, 1, 3 & 4.  Fourth was my favorite. I loved working at this school. Made a lot of friends and memories. However, my dream has always been to teach overseas as a missionary teacher. (You can read more about that here)

When this school year began, I knew it was going to be my last year at this particular school. At the time, I thought it was because I would be working in a public school. I needed insurance and retirement, and it seemed like the logical conclusion. However, as I began applying to different districts, it occurred to me that I could go anywhere!  My daughter is grown and recently moved to another state, and my sweet daddy died in September, 2012. (Blog post about how I dealt with his death)  Nothing was holding me to my current city. The desire to teach overseas resurfaced. So, I began applying to different mission organizations. I had a few interviews, via Skype. After much prayer, I accepted a position at The International Academy of Suriname in Paramaribo, Suriname, South America. I will be teaching first grade. I am beyond excited!  I will be leaving the states sometime in late July. It is a 2 year commitment. I will get to come home at Christmas and summer break.

It is an English speaking school that provides internationals an American education. They follow the Texas state standards and use American curriculum. I am so excited.  I will finally be able to develop my own stuff. At my previous school, that was limited because we had to stick by the curriculum. It was hard doing extra stuff due to time and curriculum restraints. I've already been doing some planning based on the Curriculum maps they've sent me. I am excited to finally be able to start contributing my ideas on this blog! :-)

I will post updates as I make the transition from 4th grade, American teacher to a 1st grade teacher abroad.