I made it through the first week!!!

The first week of kindergarten is tough!  Its exhausting to get them used to the routines, to lining up in a straight line, to not calling out, to sharing, to understanding what an indoor voice is, to taking out their supplies and hanging book bags in the cubby with their name on it.....wait...can you recognize your name?  Please, please don't cry cause trust me, believe me, I promise you that lady you call mom is coming back.

So I am tired..exhausted really.  So happy to be at home in my pjs with my coffee and the sweet thought of slumber past my alarm time.  Such happiness really!!

But in all seriousness....getting to know the little people in your class is a serious task.  You want to know what they like and don't like.  You want to know how they retain, solve, comprehend, learn...I mean you want to learn as much as you possibly can about each of them so that you can be an effective teacher.  But there is a part of this that is bigger than all of that.  You want your kids to have a relationship with you. Students do not learn from non-care and any teacher can tell you that it is very difficult to teach a broken child.  I want my kids to trust me and my intentions.  I want each and everyone of them to build a process of thinking that will carry them into adulthood.  I want them all to love great literature...to use a great book to escape from the difficulties of life.  I want each of them to feel the freedom of knowledge and education.  I want a lot I know, but I do believe that if I make that energy present in my class, my kids will be better for it.  Today I came across this video that puts into words all that I was trying to say here.  Being a teacher is not easy and it seems to be getting progressively harder, but the rewards of doing it with great positive intention is indescribable.

Until next time!