In Eight Years...

Welp. That's it. School is over for the year. 

It is truly bittersweet. Part of me is so dang excited to sleep in, babysit my niece, travel and sit beside the pool all day. The other part of me has been a little choked up all week. Because, I'll miss my buddies. A whole, whole lot. 

I told them today that they were my favorite class. Ever. And, as much as I've loved every single class I've ever had, I've never said that to a group of kids. So, I mean it. I really do. 

I can't believe this was my eighth year to be a teacher. If you're new to this profession, I just want to warn you. It goes by in the blink of an eye. And, it seems every single year like the years get shorter. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun! 

So, I just thought it would be fun to share tonight a little bit of what I've learned in eight short years of being a teacher. 

These are the things I would tell myself if I could go back in time to my first year of being a teacher...

1. Every single year, you'll have "that kid".

 You know what I mean. The one kid who tries your patience to the point where you think you're going to either cry or die. And, honestly, you're lucky if you have just one! Ha! Just accept that there will be one every year. And, you'll try a million things with this kid and about three weeks before the school year is over, you'll find the magic formula that seems to make this child finally buy in to what you're selling. You know I'm right. But, the good news? This child will grow on you. And, guaranteed they'll make you laugh. 

2. It's not worth it to argue with parents. 

I've been very blessed as a teacher that I've had very few run-ins with parents. But, one year, I had a kid whose dad would get SOOO mad about every little thing. And, I learned a very valuable lesson that year. Even if I thought he was being completely ridiculous, I just said "You know what, I'm sorry that happened. It won't happen again." And, he would always calm down and then it would be fine. I had another parent last year who was the same way. She had a reputation for giving teachers a really hard time. And, I think teachers got really defensive with her and then she got defensive and the situation always escalated. Here's what I know: you need that parent to be on your side. You have their child for a whole year and it will

Not be good for anyone if you aren't getting along. I'm not saying to be a complete doormat and let parents walk

All over you. I'm just saying that sorry goes a long way and nobody wins when you argue with a parent. Least of all the child.

3. Never, ever write on your report cards with an orange sharpie. 

Trust me. Your principal will NOT be happy! (And, in my defense, it WAS a fine-tip and looked very pretty!)

4. Be involved. 

Here's the thing. We're all busy. Everyone is busy. But, being a teacher is more than showing up from 7:45 to 3:15 on Mondays through Fridays. It's just as important to be at school events and PTO meetings and school performances. Because, not only do your students look for you at those events, but other teachers notice who comes to stuff and who doesn't. Believe me! They notice. And, when you don't participate in things, it makes it seem like teaching is "just a job" to you. And, maybe it is just a job. But, I can tell you with 100% certainty that I don't ever want anyone to say that it's just a job about me!!!

5. Remember why you're there.

This is a hard one. Because, we all know that when lots of women work

together, there is drama. And, a lot of it is passive aggressive and gossipy in nature.  Not only that, but teaching isa stressful job that is deeply personal in a lot

of ways.  I am completely at fault of letting things that were said in a team meeting or in the hallway effect the rest of my day in my classroom. It's hard to take your mind off something that you feel was hurtful or troubling. But, you have to remember why you're there. I think it's taken me eight years to get there, but I think I'm finally able to do this. No matter what is happening that stresses me out, I just go in my room, shut my door and teach my kids. Because they are the reason why I'm there. They come first. 

6. Kids notice everything.

It's probably best to brush your hair and take a shower every day because, if you skip a day, they'll notice. I promise. They'll also notice if you gain a little weight, have messy handwriting, don't put your hand on your heart during the pledge, let another kid go to the bathroom, don't hang up a piece of their work or try to have a private conversation with a student who made a bad choice. But, luckily, they also notice when you paint your toenails a new color, when you're wearing earrings for the first time in months, when you got a new dress and when you don't feel good. They notice everything. Which is awesome, but is also an awesome responsibility! 

7. When a kid comes out of the bathroom and yells "You're really not gonna' like this!!!" you should be afraid. Be very afraid. 

8. Every single year, you'll change as a teacher. For the better. 

I think back to my first year as a teacher and I can't even describe how differently I teach now. A few things are the same, I'm just better at them because I've been doing it a long time. But, for the most part, I've changed it all. Here are a few words I had never even heard of when I started out as a first grade teacher eight years ago that I use every single

day now: common core, Elmo (I used an overhead projector my first year!), intervention, Aimsweb, accountable

talk, SPI's (remember, I taught first!), anchor chart, Pinterest, Gradespeed, and project based learning. Nope. I just taught from the textbook. As in, each day, we did workbook pages in math. And, I threw in a few manipulatives here and there (probably wrongly) to tie it together. I don't even pass out the textbooks anymore. They literally sit on a shelf all year. It's just so different now. But, in a good way. I'm ten times the teacher I was eight years ago. I know that. 

So, that's just a snippet of what I know as a teacher. 

Here's what else I know...

Every single child that I've taught in the last eight years has made an impact on me. Omari taught me to laugh at my mistakes and my students. Kevin taught me to fight for my kids because I'm the expert on them. Marvin taught me that I have to push them and can't accept mediocre work. Zeke taught me patience. Lots and lots of patience. Andrea taught me how to motivate kids. Twice. Braylon taught me to set goals. Maria taught me that it's okay to cry when you're sad. Karla taught me that it's okay to smile when you're happy.

And, hopefully, I taught them some things, too. 

Here's to eight years worth of amazing memories with some kids that I'll never, ever forget. 

And, hopefully many more!

My Favorite Girl

Here are some pictures from this morning. My brother invited me to go with them to the opening of a new playground and splash pad where he lives. And, since I hadn't seen my niece in two weeks, I decided to tag along!

We had to lather on the sunscreen...

Me and my favorite girl! (Some of the pictures had this filter and I didn't mean to do that! Kind of annoyed, but still turned out cute, I thought.)

Gotta love a ruffle butt bubble...

So thirsty!!

She did not enjoy the splash pad! Haha!

And, on the way home, she held onto my arm and went straight to sleep.

Such a fun day with family!

A Place in my Heart

Hello? 

Is anyone out there?

Probably not and that's okay. I admit that I have not been into blogs lately. I haven't even been reading blogs, either. But, ultimately, I do enjoy going back and reading my blog and I don't want to give it up. Plus, it's just a place for me to get out what I've been thinking about. And, I like that. 

So, here goes...

We have a day and a half left of this school year. And, although I haven't blogged about much of it, it's been an incredible school year for me. Just, really, all around a great year. I think I grew a lot as a teacher, I think I developed more meaningful relationships with my students than I have in the past, I think my kids rocked the state test and I think that I will miss this class more than any other class I've ever had. 

I've been kind of sappy this week. I know, so annoying. I've posted several Instagram pics and Facebook statuses about how much I love my class and how much they bless my life. But, I truly mean every single word of it. I feel SO BLESSED to get to be THEIR teacher! I feel like I am the luckiest one in the room because I get to spend my days with THEM. I know every teacher feels this way, but I think I teach the best 21 kids in the whole wide world. I wouldn't trade out one of them because, together, they make US. And we are a close knit family that depend on each other, help each other and love each other. 

Does that mean that they are perfect? Of course not. Does that mean I'm perfect or I think I'm perfect? I'm laughing out loud to that one. 

It just means that those kiddos have carved out a little chunk of my heart and they'll always have a piece of it. They're just a special group.

I'm going to come back soon and talk about accountable talk. Because, I ised it this year and I completely changed the way I teach and the way I think about teaching. And, guys, it worked. It worked better than anything I've ever tried in eight years of teaching. I had kids who had cut scores of 47 at the beginning of the year and were so shy and unsure of themselves in class make 96's on the TCAP test and who became classroom leaders. That's how well it worked! 

But, somewhere along the way, all that accountable talk changed us. It changed how I saw my kids and I think it changed my relationship with them. Instead of them coming to me to solve their problems and tell them how to do everything, they all became leaders. They became confident go-getters who just blossomed and bloomed this year. It was amazing to witness, I have to say!!

I'm not really sure what else to say. I just wanted to write down my thoughts because I don't ever want to forget these kiddos. I think they made me a better me. And, I think they taught me more than I taught them. 

I'm going to leave this post with some pictures. Today before field day, we made posters for each other. And, they seriously wrote the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful words to each other.

I may have teared up a little. Maybe. Possibly. 

This kid is "that kid" this year. The one who causes so much trouble but who also just means the world to you. This kid is SUCH a leader and I talk to him all the time about how everybody is watching him. He's precious and he just burst into tears when he read my note to him on his poster and promised me he'd never let me down. Straight through the heart, ya'll. 

(This kid is a doll! He wrote the sweetest, most thoughtful notes to everyone.)

(This note was for a student who is in Special Education. And, it might have made me cry again. Because, what third grader says something like that? And, because she taught me and my students sooooo much this year. About stuff that's more important than academics.)

(I don't know if you can read that. It says Karla, you have changed this year. You were shy at first, but now you are almost smarter than everyone. I will miss you the most! Bryan

And, then I cried again. Because, she has changed this year. She barely spoke English at the beginning of the year and she wouldn't even answer when I called on her. And, a week before TCAP, she threw her hand up, ran up to the board, explained her way through an elapsed time problem, and explained why all the other answers were wrong. And, I cried that day too. Because, I could not have been prouder or happier. Could not.)

So, yeah. As excited as I am about summer, it's a little bittersweet this year.

I'm also moving to second grade next year and so I have to pack up my classroom. I'm sure that's adding to my sadness. But, I'm super excited about second grade and my principal wants me to loop up with that class back to third grade the next year, which is something I've always wanted to do! 

And, this time next year, maybe I won't be so darn sad!! Ha!

Once school is out for good, I'll be back. I promise I won't let you down ;)

My Bad...

Guys, sorry I quit blogging. And, sorry for saying sorry every time I do blog. I just can't get into a blogging groove, it would seem.

I really do want to keep it up. It's just been a rough year. Lots of stressful changes at school and when I get home, the last thing in the world I want to do is blog. So, I'm not going to make any promises except to say that I'll blog when      the desire hits me. Hopefully, it will be more often, but if not, I'm not going to force it. 

So, here's a little recap of what I've been up to since December...

I got a new leopard print pillow that makes my heart pitter-patter...

I babysat this girl and she started acting like a teenager, cause she has teeth and can stand now...

I got some fun new lamps from Target...

I turned thirty and celebrated with my family... 

Did I mention the baby teeth?

I made a Valentine's Day wreath...

I took my class on a field trip to the Country Music Hall of Fame...

I got sweet notes from kiddos...

I babysat this one a bunch...

I snuggled with FinDog...

I got sweet surprises...

We learned about topic sentences (again, for like the tenth time...)

We had a fun Valentine's Day at school...

Then, I got to smooch all over my baby love...

And, as you can see by her eyes, she was not feeling good...

But, she preserved. Then, she fell asleep with Aunt Lindsay and gave me the best snuggles ever...

And then we had an ice/snow storm and missed an entire week of school. And, you'd think I'd go stir crazy being trapped inside for a week. But, nope. I've loved every second of it and watched about 60 episodes of Parenthood on Netflix. 

So, I think that's about it. Hopefully, I'll be back before April! 

Take care! :)