Seeing the Good

Disclaimer:  If you are not in the mood for a teacher-y post, stop here!

This week has been kicking my butt.  Like really kicking my butt.  And it is only Tuesday!

If you are not a teacher, you may not quite understand this, being that we just came back from a short break, and that we only TECHNICALLY work from 8:00- 3:00.  (Read technically and understand that, if you are any kind of good, this could not be further from the truth.)

However, if you are a teacher, you know that the demands are great to push your students, have meticulous data to prove it, be ready and willing to have visitors in your room at a moment’s notice, and do all of that while holding your pee, smiling, and channeling Glinda the Good Witch, in an attempt to remain positive and engaging at all times.

However, somewhere through my near tears and piles of writing samples waiting to be filed, I took a merciful moment to think about what went well over the past couple of days.  Ever the reflective one, I am glad I did…

* My incredibly literal, if-he-was-any-cuter-I-wouldn’t-know-what-to-do-with-myself, first grader lost his first tooth ever, and was ecstatic!  One hour, a flimsy tooth-box, and a gym class later, he, I, and our 16 friends were on the search for the tiniest tooth known to man (of course, he lost it!).  I don’t normally talk to the kids like they’re adults, but in a moment of exasperation, I sighed, “This cannot be happening.”  He looked at me and said, “It really IS happening.”  Haha thanks for the slap of reality, buddy!

* One of my students is writing an “All About Miss K” book in Writing.  It is almost as good as the time I was the star in another student’s fairy tale last year.  (Hey, nothing beats being referred to as a “beautiful girl who lived in a big, big house.”)  Love my kids.  And it’s totally mutual.

* I got a hug from a child who has had a permanent “stank face” on since the first week of school.  I’m starting to see her smile more, and I was floored at the hugging today!  Si se puede, chica!  Life is good in first grade.  Promise.

*The kids absolutely FREAKED at dismissal time today when they saw the snow... In a good way.  You would have thought it was the first time they saw it.  Some were trying to catch it on their tongues, some started singing “Let It Snow,” some shrieked with delight, and some needed reminders NOT to eat the snow on the ground.  Sigh.  There’s always one (or three).

* I got an email from a parent I haven’t heard a lot from telling me, that her son is enjoying my class.  She added “y te quiere mucho tambien.”  Week.  Made.  

So data and observations aside, I am reminded that I am a blessed girl, and that, even when I’m stressed, the kids are seeing the beauty in snowflakes, “all about” books, and lost teeth.  I don’t want to become so wrapped up in the other stuff that I miss it.  I know there’s more good on the way.