Another Viewpoint....

Thank you to another guest blogger (especially these final days of the school year).  This guest blogger is a kindergarten teacher (1st year) who also worked as a permanent sub in our building.   This wonderful teacher also attended our school as a little one!  I've never seen her without a bright smile on her face!  My class was buddies with her class this year and I got to see her in "action" with her kids.  She's a wonderful, caring, and enthusiastic teacher - and it's only her first year!  I can tell the students adore her and I look forward to working with her for many more years to come.  

  

It is two o’clock in the morning and I can’t sleep.  With only three and a half more days of school, things are winding down.  My student MAP forms are complete, report cards are done but my mind keeps going.  Perhaps it is the excitement of summer break just around the corner or maybe it is saying goodbye to my little ones that I have been with for 172 school days.  As educators, we know the importance of routines for our students.  Switching math from before to after lunch can quite frankly turn the room into a chaotic mess.  The students are used to eating lunch at the same time, going out for recess at noon and their lives are about to alter for almost three months. 

Our students are more intuitive then we give them credit for.  They feel that change is coming and show their anxieties in different way; becoming more emotional, acting out, showing a lot of affection, etc.  As educators, we have to remember the impact we have made on these little beings lives and understand their uncertainties. 

Maybe our students are not the only ones stuck on routines.  Our daily routines as educators are about to change drastically as well.  More time for laundry, organizing our lives, lunch dates.  Though it may be more fun, we are also so used to our daily routines.  It is scary to think of change, even if it is just for the summer.

After writing down my own anxieties and uncertainties, I hope to sleep better knowing I have made a huge difference in the lives of 21 little minds.  The next few days will bring laughter, sadness, frustration and excitement.  In the end, students and teachers alike are sharing the same emotions and trying to let go of a wonderful year of learning and growth.  Enjoy the last couple days with the students you helped shape and teach.  Listen to them, share with them, and continue to guide them.  Then maybe next Monday night we will all sleep better.