Rebecca Kim will serve as another Explorers II homeroom teacher, including the Discovery program with Mrs. Schuchardt in the afternoon. She has a passion for ministry and teaching, most recently teaching English as a second language.
Please share a little about yourself and your family. Where is “home” to you and where do you worship? What led you to teaching?
As part of a missionary family, I grew up primarily in South Asia. During this time, my parents homeschooled my four siblings and me. The way they taught caused me to love school and have excitement for every subject. I then attended an international high school in Germany, where, for the first time, teachers who weren’t my parents poured into me and taught me to follow Jesus. Both of these educational experiences showed me the transformative influence a teacher can have in a student’s life. I began to dream of becoming a teacher so that I could disciple students in similar ways and help them love learning. To this day, these are the two aspects of teaching that excite me the most!
This past September, I married my husband, Ethan, whom I met during my time at Wheaton College. We attend College Church and feel continually blessed by the community there. After moving around so much earlier in life, I am really thankful to have the chance to put down roots in Wheaton and am beginning to feel that this is home.
What are some of your favorite stories/children’s tales? What are you personally reading right now?
Some of my lifelong favorite children’s books include James Herriot’s Treasury for Children, Tales of the Kingdom, Little House in the Big Woods, and The Chronicles of Narnia. I am currently enjoying reading The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis for the first time.
What are you most excited about for your first year as a kindergarten teacher at Clapham School, and what do you hope students will remember most about their time in your classroom?
I cannot wait to get to know each student and to watch them form friendships with each other. Additionally, I am so excited to help students discover the joy of reading. Kindergarten is a pivotal stage in which they will begin to see how their study of phonograms and words gives them increasing access to a world of fascinating ideas and gripping stories. I cannot wait to see the wonder in students’ eyes when they realize the freedom to learn that their developing reading skills give them.
I hope students look back on kindergarten as a foundational year in their understanding of God’s goodness and as a year that kick-started a love of learning. After Explorers II, I hope students remember the joy they felt in the small moments in our classroom, like when they finished a beautiful handwriting assignment, finally heard the long-awaited resolution of a book read out loud, counted to one hundred by fives for the first time, or engaged in imaginative play during break with their classmates. I also hope students remember Explorers II as a time when they experienced how all the beautiful things in nature study, arithmetic, composer study, literature, artist study, and even their very selves were made to reflect the love of their Creator.
The transition to kindergarten can be a big step for both children and parents. What’s one piece of advice you would offer to families as they prepare their child for this exciting new chapter at Clapham?
As you seek to prepare your child for Explorers II, consider helping them develop the habit of attention. Some practical ways to develop attention skills are by reading a book out loud to them, giving them opportunities to spend time playing outside and enjoying nature, and limiting or eliminating technology use. As the beginning of school approaches, these activities can help ease your child’s transition into their school days and familiarize them with some of the joyful activities they will take part in.
Beyond academics, what are some key social or emotional skills you hope to help your kindergarten students develop during their time in your classroom?
During their time in Explorers II, I hope to help students develop conscientiousness, conflict resolution, and empathy. I also hope to help them develop the ability to choose delayed gratification over instant gratification and practice self-control in how they express emotions. I hope to help students learn to treat others with kindness, ultimately pointing them to the kindness of God and how we can reflect Him as His image bearers. Lastly, I hope to help students develop habits of tidiness and responsibility.
How can we be praying for you as you make your transition to our faculty?
I would love prayer that I would rely on God’s strength as the school year begins and receive His wisdom for every decision in the classroom. I would also appreciate prayer for my classroom to become a joyful learning environment where students feel known and loved.
