Using Our Gifts

This week's blog post comes to us from our Discovery teacher, Mrs. Rebecca De Smith.  To learn more about the SCCS Discovery Program, click here.

Teachers at Sioux Center Christian School take our mission statement very seriously “to disciple God’s children by equipping them with a knowledge and understanding of Christ and His creation so that they can obediently serve God and others as they work and play.”  What does this look like for high-ability students in our classrooms at SCCS?

We know that God created all people with unique gifts and talents, and the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 reminds us of the responsibility we have for using those gifts.  In the school setting, one of the tasks Christian teachers have is to help our students “unwrap” their gifts and learn to develop them in order to serve God and others as we work and play.

In order to do this, teachers must offer opportunities for our students’ abilities to be noticed, developed, and used in meaningful ways.  We must provide a classroom atmosphere where all of our students’ gifts are valued and accepted.  We must model acceptance of their gifts and encourage humility in using those gifts to enrich others.

In the school setting, one of the tasks Christian teachers have is to help our students “unwrap” their gifts and learn to develop them in order to serve God and others as we work and play.

At Sioux Center Christian School, the Discovery Program supports the classroom teacher in enriching and challenging high-ability students.  Some enrichment activities happen in the classroom while others happen in small groups in the Discovery room.  Here is what this looks like:

• When 4^th graders are studying the Southeast region of the United States, a small group of high-ability readers meet in the Discovery room to read and discuss actual letters from a soldier written during the Civil War.  Then students choose key ideas they learned about the Civil War to share with their classmates, creating dioramas displaying the information they learned through reading the actual letters of a Civil War soldier.

• While the 3^rd graders are learning about rocks and minerals in their science unit, some students meet in the Discovery room to investigate a special kind of rock—a geode.  After using their beginning research skills to gather facts, students collaborate to create a PowerPoint presentation on geodes which they share with their classmates so everyone can learn about them.

• During the study of the human body, some 5^th grade students meet in the Discovery room to explore optical illusions.  After looking at several examples and learning what happens between our eyes and our brain when we see them, students prepare an interactive presentation to share with their classmates so everyone understands what happens when we see optical illusions.

The common thread in all of these scenarios is that not only are high-ability students given opportunities to use their academic gifts, but they are also encouraged to serve their classmates by sharing the information they learned so everyone is enriched.

Through our acceptance, nurture, and support, teachers at SCCS can empower our high-ability students to use their academic gifts to enrich the body of Christ in order to “serve God and others as we work and play,” even while they are developing their skills and talents at school.

Mrs. De Smith

Mrs. De Smith has been a teacher for over 30 years, with experience in preschool-3rd grade.  For the past 24 years, she has been directing and teaching in the Discovery Program at SCCS.  She loves working with these students, learning alongside them about interesting and amazing parts of God's world and His work.  It is her joy to engage students in their learning, to encourage them to ask questions and find answers, and to challenge them to serve others with their gifts.