This past Monday, I taught my jewelry class at Notre Dame Middle School. It was my first time teaching a jewelry class, and it was, to say the least, an adventure. I started out by getting lost on the highway no less than three times and showing up five minutes late. Luckily, there was some wiggle room built into the timing, so I still had a few minutes to start setting up before the girls arrived.

To set the context, I should tell you that I am currently taking weekend classes on education. In every single class so far, my professor has said these exact words: "When you are letting students leave their seats, make sure that you've given them all of their directions before you allow them to get up. Once they leave their seats, there is no getting them back." Yes, I have heard this said multiple times over the past month — I cannot claim ignorance. My only excuse is that I'm one of those stubborn people who must try everything out for myself before I can really believe it.

So Jane (my wonderful assistant for the day) and I were just getting everything set up for the class when the girls arrived. We handed out kits, and I gave a brief description of the project. Then I opened my mouth to tell them that they should pick up their lockets from the back of the room. It went a little something like this: "You can grab your lockets from the back of the roo—" And then . . . chaos.

Oh, how smoothly it all went in my mind when I planned this class. I would explain how they should pick the locket that best fits their picture, and I would calmly remind them to take a guide for tracing out their picture. Instead, I was in the middle of a pack of fifteen girls, all of whom were busy grabbing at the lockets. And the pile of beads that I had set out for people to carefully select after their lockets were attached? Gone. My hurried instructions to not take a whole container went unheard in the midst of all the activity.

Once everyone grabbed their lockets and beads, things settled down. We demonstrated how to open jump rings and how to make wrapped loops. The girls listened to music as they worked, and Jane and I went around the room helping them put their bracelets together. It didn't go perfectly, but it went all right. I can live with that for my first jewelry lesson.

It was, overall, a great learning experience (more for me than the girls, I'm sure). It taught me that even the best laid plans don't always go the way you would expect. It taught me to adjust when things don't go as planned. And it taught me to trust my professors — they obviously know what they're talking about.

Finally, I would like to say that the girls at NDMS were fantastic to work with. They were polite, enthusiastic, and creative. And they were very good about staying on track as I tried (and sometimes errored) to teach a class for the first time. I will be helping out as Jane's assistant for the next two weeks, and I'm really looking forward to going back.