"Don't be surprised if you get a sudden windfall today, Erin. It may come in the form of hard cold cash, or more likely it will come in the form of an opportunity of some kind. From a business and creative standpoint, this is the most auspicious time for you."
I'd be perfectly content with continued work and success where I'm at! Now that our Dinosaur Tea is over, I'm attempting to re-focus my kiddos and get back to our more structured routine! I honestly didn't anticipate the school year going as fast as it is! I've been placing a lot of pressure on myself as of the last few days to get my class back to our goals and the learning objectives set in place for them! And with Valentine's Day parties, Mardi Gras, and the Lenten season, it's going to be a struggle! But it's kind of like having kids of your own, you want them to be the smartest, most well-rounded, independent kids they can be! I feel that way in preparing my group for their big move to First Grade! As I am sure any first-year teacher would admit, there is an extra degree of pressure in proving your capability in this preparation of your very first student group. The progress of this particular group never ceases to amaze me! There are times where you can actually see them "get it". That "aha moment"! I feel it's the reason most teachers go into the profession. It's such a cool thing to witness. My group will get so excited that it just reaffirms my career choices every time!
After last Friday's events, I had Saturday to myself and did quite a bit of reflecting on the past few weeks at school. I was evaluating my performance in reaching each individual student (even with the craziness of preparing for a program). Am I paying enough attention to each of the 27 I have? Am I making it personal and showing compassion to each and every one of them?! It can truly be hard with a class size as large as mine, but I always try to provide time in the day to listen to them banter about the things they find so important in their young lives! Hopefully my kids remember their Kindergarten year and recall fond, fun memories of our time together. Did you remember your Kindergarten year??! I think about this a lot actually because quite honestly, I don't remember too much from my own year in Kindergarten. And I had a wonderful teacher! I guess that would be enough for me too- to have my former students remember me as a caring teacher, even if they don't remember the fun activities (or recognize the hard work and money put into the activies) we shared together.
I wonder which ones of mine will become teachers themselves! I've got a few that seem to have the qualities already . . . I hope they keep in touch . . . and I'm getting emotional thinking about it so I think I will close with that thought!
