I have officially turned a corner to realizing how little time is left in the school year and feeling like I am going to be a big ball of sadness when my kiddos leave me and become first graders. Lately I have been trying to do things a bit more "my own way" and I have been loving it. Today as I circulated the room while my kiddos were writing in their journals, I literally felt like I was just soaking in their adorableness. I seriously LOVE them.
They make me laugh.
They make me smile.
They make my heart feel full and happy.
Even the ones who need constant reminders to stay on their bottoms and keep quiet when I am talking are pretty awesome little people.
Case in point....Today I read the story The Three Questions, which is pretty deep and very philosophical. The main theme is that a little boy wants to figure out how to be a good person, so he is trying to find the answers to three important questions. The "moral" of the story so to speak is to be good to the ones you are with. We talked about how it's important to be kind to one another and do nice things for each other. I asked both classes if this story reminded them of another story we read earlier this year (thinking about Have You Filled a Bucket Today?) and they came up with many different stories that we have read that included acts of kindness...like Trixie giving away Knuffle Bunny to the crying baby on the plane. We have started talking about "book to book connections" and they were all over it, thinking of wonderful examples and really remembering those acts of kindness displayed by some of our favorite characters.
At one point today we started talking about how soon they will become first graders and they will go to another teacher. One little boy said, "I am going to miss you Mrs. Sneaker."
::tear::
ok, let's be real....
::lotsandlotsoftears::
Those little peanuts who showed up on the first day, some of them never having been in school before, are just so grown up. Reading. Writing. Making book to book connections! I almost can't take the fabulosity! (yes, I made that word up).
I used to look at the Kindergarten students (back when I taught first grade) and think that they were such babies. So not capable of things that my kiddos could do. Now, that I have been on the other side, I feel like they are going on to first grade with so many skills! They are seriously awesome.
I love my job.
3 comments:
I thought the same thing when I was only a first grade teacher. I would go into the k classes wondering which ones would be ready. I realized how gifted K teachers are when I taught it the first time. Many of these kids; at least at my school; had no school experience. I learned a lot about teaching and learning when I taught kinder. Today, I get the best of both worlds; I loop k to first.
I think their first grade teachers are going to be so happy they had such a great kindergarten teacher. You have made such a difference in these young lives...I'm thankful for teachers like you.
Are you heading back to Germany after this school year or will you be teaching again in USA?
I love this post.
This is my favorite time of year to be a kindergarten teacher because you start to see the results of all of your efforts :)
I never taught first grade but I was a student teacher in grade 1 and I thought for sure that was the grade I wanted to teach. I think kindergarten has really won me over though. I love to see just HOW little they know at the beginning of the year compared to HOW MUCH they know at the end of the year. It's amazing to watch. Plus I love to watch the friendships of the kids and families from the beginning of the year to the end. I love my job too. Thanks for the reminder!
Post a Comment