*In the gospels, Jesus was so moved by a woman who gave out of her lack, that He said wherever the gospel was preached in all the world, what she did would also be told in memory of her. I feel like I am beginning to understand that. Tuesday was V Day. First thing in the morning, one of my sweetest students comes in with her mom to give me a small balloon, homemade card & single rose. The card said: "Happy Valntine Day. I LOVE you Mrs." I was so touched. Later that day I received half a box of chocolates and several other homemade cards. The best gifts I've ever received. Students came in with their Valentines....one child brought 12 small stickers and asked me ALL day if she could pass out her stickers. Another brought small pieces of candy and couldn't WAIT to pass them out. Their eagerness to give was the sweetest thing. Before our VDay party, I passed out my gift to them. My mom gave me my used beanie babies from when we were kids--I picked out 20 clean ones & put a card on each one. The kids LOVED them. I let them pick out which one they wanted and go put them in their backpacks. One child caught me off guard and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you SO much, Mrs!!!" Today at a conference, a parent told me her son sleeps with the beanie baby every much, because "I love Mrs. and she gave it to me". One of the best days ever.
*I came home to a candlelit steak dinner made by my husband, which was equally special. He is equally incredible. I am so blessed.
*I talked to a "grandpop" today after school. It opened my eyes to how this particular student is treated at home. :( They are expecting perfect behavior out of a child who is a little bit of a mess. Their version of punishment is not what I consider helpful. The child left the school with his face full of JOY--during the conversation, I saw his face slowly become more and more defeated as his "grandpop" spoke. He was very respectful to me, just very degrading to the child. I ended the conversation by looking at the student straight in the eyes and said--"I am SO proud of how much you have learned and improved. I LOVE having you in class. I CARE about you so much!" He smiled and gave me the biggest hug ever. I am not blaming the parents, etc...just sad at how some things are handled. I know the man thought he was trying to reassure me that they want their son to succeed and that they respect me so much, but it really made me much more cautious about what I tell them about his behavior...love that boy!
*Today was picture day. The librarian was complimenting my students on how the boys looked handsome, and the girls looked beautiful. One student beamed out--"Mrs. is beautiful too!" All the other students--"She is so beautiful!" Ha. They are so funny. The did look really cute all dressed up in their Easter dresses today! :)
*One of my students quit coming this week. No warning, no goodbye. Just stopped coming to school. It is sad, but I guess that's the way it goes sometimes. He was my most "fighty" student--punched kids in the lunch room. etc./...so to be honest, my classroom is more peaceful without him. I still wonder how he is...he had made SO much improvement. I'm sad that I may not see him again!
*One of my students plays around constantly. He has so much trouble focusing. I can't tell you how much he has improved--but still...kind of a mess. He was especially crazy on Wednesday. We had indoor recess because of rain, so while the other kids were watching a movie--I had him clean my room. He was so cute as he went around the room using a baby wipe to wipe down EVERYTHING he could find. I think he enjoyed it a little too much for it to be punishment again. Lol But my room was CLEAN. :)
*I was on a roll on Thursday morning. My kids were with me--they were on task and working hard. I was squeezing in every bit of learning I could during reading time. I wanted to move on from their word sort to another activity, but some of the kids weren't working fast enough. I had them freeze, and asked them to set that paper to the side and that we were going to work on something else. Everyone was ready. Except one. Me-"Peter-I asked you to set that paper to the side. Why are you not doing that?!
Student (so confused and frustrated)-"But Mrs...Where IS the side?!?!" :) Love them!
*This week I taught greater than/less than, and we began addition sentences in math. I was so nervous, thinking it was too much for them....but OH MY GOODNESS--they are doing SO good. After counting & labeling their papers--students are writing 5 +10=15...etc. They can count by 5s, 2s, 10s, and 1s. :) Once in awhile, if they're doing a super job, I'll let them sing along to a counting rap. They LOVE it. Some of the kids get so into it. It cracks me up.
*I had to leave the room laughing during music yesterday, because the teacher was having them bark like dogs during a song. Cutest, most hilarious thing in the world.
*One of my kids is living in a VERY small apartment with more than 9 other kids....This child is the SWEETEST child in my class--every teacher in the school adores her. I begged the school to squeeze them onto the backpack food program...but they only had 2 open slots. When we asked the kids if they enjoyed the food, they said "OH YES! It was SO good--but it's all gone now." I asked if the girl ate it all alone or shared it with her siblings--Looking at me shocked that I would ask such a thing..."Mrs!! We got 10 kids livin in our house...We GOT to share!!" This parent also opened up a lot to me about hardships...heartbreaking. I've started to send food home with my student--looking for people who want to donate nonperishable food. I want to be able to send home food every Friday..any takers?! :)
*It's hard to express how great this week was. Every morning, I run on my treadmill before work. I have been listening to "Go Hard" by Lecrae. You should check it out. It is one of me & my husband's fav songs. One of the lines..."If the cross don't move me, then I don't want to breathe no more. If you didn't know Christ, would your life look the same? Can they tell you follow Jesus by the way you rep His name? What's the point of living if I'm living for myself. So for God I go hard--I don't want to die tonight, but there's too many people living who haven't heard about the Christ. Lord, use me up! Thank you for the grace--for the willing, the desire.....Lord use me up!" He has taken my prayer literally. So thankful for a 3 day weekend. So tired. :)
*I told my husband that between being so sick for the last 2 weeks, all that my family is going through with my sisters' brain, not being able to help them, the terrible things my students are experiencing everyday--I have shut off my emotions & I feel like I have become apathetic toward everything. He disagreed--saying I've been talking about my kids nonstop, but this week, I started to listen to a mixture of Lecrae and the Bible on my treadmill every morning before work, and it has been the best week ever. I know anyone could step into my classroom and do my job....I just feel so blessed that the Lord allows me to do it.
I am decorating my classroom door for March with 4-leaf clovers with each kids' name on it. The door is going to say--"What a LUCKY teacher..." Seriously!!!!
:) Happy 3 day weekend!!!!! :)
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