The Most Important Thing That Happened in My Class This Week: He Gave Me a Hug

It seems odd to say that the most important thing that happened this week was a hug. But it was. I have a little guy in my class who has struggled in many ways this year. He came in low academically: he had no knowledge of his letters or sounds. He struggled socially: he didn't seem to know how to make friends. He struggled with me: he didn't seem to grasp that working hard was mandatory, not optional.

The year went on and he grew in his academics. He grew in his knowledge of how to make friends (nope, you don't have to buy them!). Yet he still struggled with me. It was hard on me. I'm sure him too. I sounded like a broken record, "You can chose to do your work now or at recess. That is your choice." I had realized, as the year went on, that he was capable of much more than he was willing to show. I was committed to being his rock. Someone he would remember for the rest of his life that didn't give up.

As so many times before, and surely to come, this kiddo had a past filled with trauma. His current situation is great, but, just like with us, the past makes us who we are and escape is futile. All we can do is learn from it and move forward. A hard task.

It's mid May. The year is almost done. On Wednesday I was explaining to the students that we only had 20 days left of school... and how much I would miss them. Post morning meeting my little guy came up. "I'm really going to miss you Ms. Foley." And he proceeded to initiate a hug. He has never done that before. I stood in awe. He continued with two more unsolicited hugs that day.

My thought: I did it. I finally bonded to this guy. He knows I care for him and he cares for me. The week couldn't get any better.

#EdBlogADay: 3 Important Things to Remember at the EOY

The end of the (school) year is upon us and I'm in shock. Some people call it result of age: that the years seem to fly by quicker each passing year. I'm in denial about that one...my birthday is fast approaching and I'm pretty sure I'm turning 21 yet again this year. Regardless, we have only 21 days left of the year. A month, yet when counted in only days, it makes even the most experienced teacher shiver...so much to still do, so little time... With that in mind here are three important things to remember about the End of the Year.

1) You are a great teacher and you have done enough.
     Not to say you won't still pack in plenty of learning in the last 21 days, we will, but don't feel like 
     the kids lives depend on it- you've spent a year teaching what was needed.

2) Relationships matter.
    What's most important is to continue letting the kids know that what matters most is them and the
    time left in class will continue to honor that.

3)  Have Fun!
     Life is meant to be lived. Experiences are the best teachers. Take that Field Trip or two. Enjoy a 
     day at the park, a day at the library, whatever gets you out of the class and makes memories with
     your kiddos.

Well that's it! Profound? No. True? Yes. When the craziness of the end of the year starts to freak you out, remember back to your own experience at school. What did your teachers do that you loved?
Whatever that was, do that.

Teacher Appreciation Week: The Dream and the Reality

So, every year as I'm perusing Instagram I see teachers posting photos of their haul for Teacher Appreciation week. First thought: LUCKY! Second thought: Wait, Do I Suck?

I can admit, and I'll admit for my teacher friends who won't, that we can get lost in thinking what we receive during Teacher Appreciation week is in some way tied to our worth. The fact that some teachers get boat loads of gifts can't be because the school sent out a reminder, but because they are somehow 50X better than we are.

But as we all know

 

So I brush myself off and instead realize hey, I forgot my OWN daughters teacher (you know the daughter of the mom who is a teacher) during Teacher Appreciation week and it wasn't because I don't think she is the bomb, because she is, but because the hamster wheel is spinning to fast and I can never seem to escape it.

 

 

 

If you are like me, you rush from the school day, to the preschool pickup, to the Tball game, to the dinner, to the bath, to the bedtime routine and then you pass out. If I'm lucky enough to remember to put info like Teacher Appreciation week on my calendar, it's later eschewed because I don't remember the reminder is there. Yes, folks, we are doing too much and paying attention to too little. Solution: Try to find a better balance. I know, I know, hard to do (you are talking to a single parent here) but having a goal of self preservation is important.

 

 

 

So now that you remember Teacher Appreciation week, even though it's now over,  give the most wonderful gift imaginable: a note to the principal stating what is great about your kiddos teacher and how much you appreciate him or her. Not to say my gift card to D&M and Burt's Bee chap stick isn't fantastic, because I'm jumping up and down ecstatic that I got them, but because I got an email sent to my principal this week and it rocked. It felt good to hear that I'm appreciated, and for my principal to hear it. We are not validated enough and we need to be.

 

 

Go out and fill a bucket today!

PS: No worries about my daughters preschool teacher. Since she doesn't have a principal she is getting treated to happy hour. And we all know THAT is a good thing.

 

#TeachingIs Not for the Faint at Heart

"You seem scattered," my principal stated during my post observation conference. My inability to form coherent sentences at 2 in the afternoon was not lost on him.

"It's been a hard day in K," I muttered.

Looking back, it was definitely the full moon, combined with spring fever, that led to one of the worst days for the last couple months. I had talked so much, and so often, attempting to mend friendships, disrupt violence, calm quarrels, answer questions--repeatedly the same question, over and over, that I had almost lost my senses.

Teaching Kindergarten is definitely not for the faint of heart. It takes love...a love of all things that tiny bodies and minds do and say, constantly, relentlessly, for 7 hours each day. It talks resolve to not leave the bathroom screaming when someone has peed over the entire toilet seat for the umpteenth time. It takes restraint to not bang your head against the wall when you have repeated yourself for the 26th time (and there are only 24 kids in the class). It takes resilience to not crumble into a ball when, for the 568th time, a kiddo walks up holding an empty glue stick saying, "Look at this Ms. Foley. What should I do with it?"

So why do I do it? Why don't I take that barista job at Starbucks that I have been threatening to do for the majority of the year?

Because #TeachingIs also amazingly addicting. When you get a preschooler in the fall with no concept of what his or her name looks like and they leave in spring a writer. That's why I teach K. When my previous kids scream and frantically wave at me in the cafeteria I know I have impacted their lives. That's why I teach K. When a group of kids is surrounding a kid yelling, "No, don't kill the spider" I know that my lessons on kindness remain. That's why I teach K. When I take my kiddos to the transfer station to learn about recycling and they claim it's the best day ever. That's why I teach K.

So, sorry Starbucks, I can't work for you. I'm busy changing the world...one kindergartener at a time.

The first kid isn't happy, but I have a crown, a beautiful dress, and I'm smiling.

I Have Plenty to Celebrate Today

Hello May! I can't believe you are here already! Where has the year gone? 28 days left of school!

This afternoon, I'll be honest, I had a little bit of the Sunday blues.

The unspeakable (wind) didn't blow here, which during Spring, is like a miracle in itself. The sun was warm, the shorts were out, the kids were playing, and I was in heaven. Then time starts to run out and I'm like

But I then realized I have plenty to celebrate today. I have enough food in my pantry and many do not. I do not have to work on the weekends and many do. I have 3 acres to call my own and many do not even have a yard.  I don't have to work the night shift...that in itself is a killer. I may not have the greatest house, the greatest car, the greatest income, but I have the greatest gift

My daughter. And every day alive and with her gives me plenty to celebrate.

Day 30: How the #BlogADay Challenge has Impacted Me

Well, that month is shot.

I gotta admit, I felt crummy missing the last 8 days of the blog challenge.

Everyday I would get the text reminders and totally expect to have time. And everyday my time ran out. Between Tball, losing my voice (the kids are hoping I "find" it), and going to a conference (which as teachers we know is code for spending 2 hours writing sub plans) I failed.

Or have I?

The #BlogADay challenge brought my blog to the front and center. It made me conscience of it and made me want to write. It also got me focusing on the great things about education, rather than staying mired in the educational despair that envelopes many of us this time of year.

It also helped grow my PLN on Twitter and gave me the confidence I needed to continue.

I am thankful for Chris Crouch's idea to start a #BlogADay challenge and look forward to failing at our next adventure in May.

Day 22: 5 Things We Have to Stop Pretending in Education

1. That we are Mary Poppins.
I like the quote, "Not every day is good, but there is something good in every day." Because, let's get real...when I have to ask my students to put their heads down, when no one appears to be listening to me, when I feel I need a bullhorn to get my students attention, it's not a good day and that is OK. We are human. We can have days when we'd like to park ourselves at happy hour.

2. That we need to look like teachers on Pinterest or Instagram.
I LOVE both Pinterest and Instagram. I love the ideas and inspiration. I love that I can think about getting crafty, at the last minute, on Earth Day, and can find something just right for my students. However, when it steps beyond that, when we start to compare ourselves to others and end up feeling like "losers" because our wall doesn't look like a scene out of Frozen, we need to back away. Great pictures don't equal great teaching.

3. That we will be provided the training we need.
It seems most teachers have the nice gene like me. We sit and quietly wait because SOMEONE will surely offer us the training we need. SOMEONE will make sure we grow in our profession. SOMEONE will tell us what we need to do. Note to Self: That SOMEONE IS YOU. You are your biggest advocate. Realize where you need to grow and ask for training in that area. Otherwise you'll be sad.

4. That we will be treated fairly in all things.
I like to believe in the inherent good in people, but not everyone out there is kind. Realize your boundaries and stick to them. Just because a veteran teacher asks you to do something doesn't mean you have to. Just because its a veteran teacher who is being rude, doesn't mean its OK. Be kind but assertive. Look after yourself and your family time.

5. That we can ignore technology.
Technology is here and it isn't going away! So don't hide from it, embrace it! Realize you need to learn how to check your email if you don't know how. And that it is a good idea to learn things that will better your students in the long run. We can't hide out in a cave because we feel Facebook is the devil. Become informed so that you can be a beacon for others.