As a kid, I remember feeling excited, but also a little anxious to start each school year. I was excited to go shopping for new clothes and school supplies, but I was anxious about meeting my new teacher(s) and classmates. Now that I’m a teacher, the start of a new school year brings these same emotions, but for different reasons. I still get excited shopping for school supplies – especially when the Target dollar bins are full of school stuff – but what I’m most excited about is meeting my new group of students. This is also the part that makes me feel anxious. Why? Teaching is so much more than helping kids reach their academic goals. It’s also helping them learn how to treat others with love and respect. It’s helping them understand that they are loved and have something unique to offer the world. Teaching is a challenge and a huge responsibility, but it’s also an incredible privilege and the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Most teachers will tell you they feel anxious and overwhelmed at the beginning of the school year, and that is because we care so much. We understand the importance of our job and want to do everything we can to make sure our students have an enjoyable and successful year. This is why we are willing to spend days/weeks getting our classrooms ready and hours planning lessons each week. It’s also why we continue to think about our students even after the dismissal bell rings. Some people may be surprised to learn that I don’t have any control over who gets placed in my class, and I honestly prefer it that way. When I receive my class list, I get excited, as I believe that each student was placed in my class for a reason. God chose me to be their teacher. These are the kids that I get to invest in and love. Having that perspective has changed the way I approach each day, and it encourages me on those really challenging days. Since I’m a public school teacher, I can’t pray with my students at school, but I can still pray for them. Once I have a class list, I start praying for them by name. Driving to work each day I typically pray, “God, help me to be the teacher my students need today.” It’s a simple prayer, but it has proven to be effective. I also rely on help and insight from my incredible co-workers. They help me be a better teacher. Another school year is about to begin. A new group of students will walk through the door and it will no longer be my classroom, but our classroom. I’m so thankful that I was chosen to share it with them. “What I love most about my classroom is who I share it with.” ~ Anonymous
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I gave these sunglasses as a gift to my students. You can download “My Future’s So Bright I Have to Wear Shades” for free by clicking here. I just finished my 12th year of teaching. In some ways, it seems like I started teaching a few years ago, but then I remember that my first group of students graduated last year. That makes me feel old. In elementary school, by the last day, our classrooms have become like a close family. We have spent the past year working together, helping one another, learning how to be good friends and how to resolve conflicts, laughing, and even dancing (thanks to gonoodle.com). I spend more time with my students and co-workers than I do my own family. At my school, on the last day, it’s tradition for the entire staff to line up outside to wave goodbye to the kids. The buses all leave at the same time in a single-file line while honking their horns. The bus windows are down, and as the buses pull away, hundreds of kids are all waving back while shouting the names of their teachers. For once, we, as teachers, feel like celebrities. At this point, many teachers’ eyes fill with tears of joy…not just because summer is starting, but because seeing our students express their love back to us reminds us that all of our hard work throughout the year was worth it. You would think that all the kids would be happy as they leave for summer break, but every year I see kids waving back with tears running down their faces. This is when tears of joy mix with tears of sadness, and the last day becomes bittersweet. It’s at this moment I’m reminded that not all kids look forward to summer break. At school, we have tried to create a safe environment where our kids’ basic needs are taken care of and where they are encouraged every day. Our classrooms have become like a family, and summer break means our family will no longer be together. For many kids, this can tough, but it’s even more difficult for those kids with challenging home situations. These are the kids I think about the most over the summer. Even after our students leave our classrooms, we continue to think about them and care about them. While I look forward to summer, I always miss the kids. As teachers, we love our students and do everything we can to set them up for success. Then, they move on and we trust that the next teacher will love and care for them just as much. Today, was very bittersweet, especially since I will be moving to a new building next year. There were many tears and hugs, and as one of my students left he said to me, "I will always love you." It was the sweetest moment. I responded, "I will always love you too." That was the perfect way to end the last day of school. Since I was a kid, I have always wanted to be a teacher. I actually come from a family of teachers (8 other family members have taught at some point in their lives). Going into the teaching profession was an easy decision for me, even though I knew it wasn’t an easy profession. When I was in college, one of my education professors told us, “Kids don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.” This has always stuck with me, and the longer I teach the more I realize how true it is. I’ve learned that many times, what my students need the most is not found in any textbook. It’s not found on my pacing guide, and it’s definitely not found on a standardized test. That’s because what my students need the most is to know that they are loved unconditionally…that someone cares about them and believes in them. When this happens, they realize that their worth is not linked to their performance, and they feel safe to take risks and make mistakes. I always tell my students, “It’s ok to make mistakes. That’s how we learn.” Then, progress starts to happen, their confidence begins to grow, and they start believing in themselves. Once students realize that they are capable of meeting expectations, they will often exceed expectations. For me, seeing my students make progress reminds me why I teach. It reminds me why the long days and stacks of papers to grade are worth it. Over the years, I have received many gifts from my students and their families. If you’re looking to give your child’s teacher a gift, I highly recommend a handwritten “thank-you” note/card. These simple notes of appreciation are so meaningful. I have saved these notes over the years and have often pulled them out to re-read them, especially on those challenging days when I need some encouragement. While I love thank-you notes, my most memorable gift came from a student four years ago. It was during Teacher Appreciation Week. I had received a few gift cards throughout the week (teachers also love these), but this student came in one morning with a huge smile on her face and gave me this gift: I can honestly say I had never received a gift like this before: a small blown up bunny, an apple, a pen (that didn’t work) with a hair tie wrapped around it, a broken rubber band, a plastic bracelet, a seashell, and 3 smarties. Yes, this was my most memorable gift, because at the same time it broke my heart, yet it encouraged me. Why? This student didn’t have much, but she gave what she had, and she gave with excitement! She knew that I cared about her, and in return, she wanted to find a way to show that she cared about me. This random gift reminded me that the most important part of teaching is not found in any lesson plan, but it’s helping our students understand that they are loved. Our lessons become meaningful when students realize their lives have meaning. And that is why teaching can be so challenging, yet also so rewarding. I love teaching. I love laughing. I love looking for ways to have fun in the classroom. When I saw we were going to be in school on April 1st, I knew I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play some fun jokes on my students. Like any good teacher, I started researching and planning. I even collaborated with other teachers. What's more fun than doing one April Fools' Day joke? Doing three of them! Of course, all the jokes would have an academic connection. I was so excited to carry out my plans and fill our classroom with laughter. Here are the 3 jokes I played on my students this year (I found all of these ideas online): 1. Lirpa Loof (Science/Literacy connection) – After reviewing migration and hibernation, I told the students that there is very rare bird that migrates to our area at the beginning of April. Then, I passed out this handout from another teaching blog. We read, discussed, and completed the activity together. I told my students we were going to go outside to see if we could find a Lirpa Loof. I reminded them that the birds respond best if we chant/sing its name repeatedly while waving carrots in the air. I then passed out baby carrots to everyone, and we went to the field behind our school. There’s nothing like seeing a group of elementary students running around, waving carrots, while chanting, “Lirpa Loof, Lirpa Loof." Some students claimed they even saw the Lirpa Loof's nest! After about 5 minutes, I let them in on the joke – That “Lirpa Loof” is really “April Fool” spelled backwards. The look on their faces was priceless. Prank #1 was a success! 2. Spring Word Search (Literacy connection) – This is a classic April Fools' Day joke – give the students a word search where none of the words are in the puzzle. It works better if you have the students put up "privacy folders/dividers" while trying to complete the word search. This way, they don't realize that no one else is finding any words either. Prank #2 was a success! 3. “iPad / Eye Pad” (Technology/Literacy Connection) – Earlier in the week, I set a gift bag on my desk, but didn’t say anything about it. I thought this joke would be more believable if the gift bag was seen in our room prior to April Fools' Day. It’s all about building anticipation! A day or two later, I mentioned that I bought the class a gift, and they would find out what it was on Friday. My students started wondering what was in the bag…was it chocolate? Books? I told them they would find out on April 1st. Today we opened the bag (they had been asking about it all throughout the day). They were so excited to see an “iPad!” We already have 1 iPad which we use in class, so this would be a 2nd one. Their excitement soon changed to shock (and then laughter) when they opened the box and found an “Eye Pad.” We then quickly reviewed the importance of understanding homophones (because then the joke was funny and educational). Prank #3 was also a success! Today, in the midst of our regular assignments and tests, we had some fun. We learned a lot, but we also laughed a lot. Time to start planning for the next April Fools' Day.... Spring is finally here! The calendar tells me today is the first day of spring, but when I stepped outside this morning it was in the 30s. Oh the joy of living in Ohio…where one day you have your heat turned on, and a few days later you might be tempted to turn on your air conditioner. As a teacher, I remember some spring breaks when we had snow. And then as soon as we went back to school we had beautiful weather. In the words of Alanis Morissette - ”Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?” Since it's officially spring, here are 10 things I love about this season (in random order):
What do you love about spring? |
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