Back to K

I found out today I am going to be placed back in Kindergarten next year (per MY request)...... I am currently lamenting all the things I will not be able to do as a K teacher... things a 3rd grade teacher takes for granted..... having students call their own parents to report a good or bad deed they did (dialing the numbers alone and everything!).... discussing complicated concepts like matter or racism or grammar..... being told my new shoes are totally in style...... writing whole paragraphs on one topic.... having pen pals..... being able to check my email while they independently work on a task!! Of course then I remember this LO I made last summer..... I cried every time I read it for a good 6 months...... Loved those 5 year olds! You have to read the journaling.....


I have the best job in the world.
Every morning when I walk into Columbia Elementary, I am greeted with a hug by one or another of last year's students. You see, I am a Kindergarten teacher, and the First Graders like to hang around in the hallway in the morning waiting for the bell to ring. It is the best way to start the day.... these hugs from those who still know you even though they have moved on... I am always amazed at how tall they've grown since the hug before.... MEMORIES.

By the time I make it down to Room 4, there are one or two of my students waiting by the door.... grinning, laughing, panting. They are so excited to get to school each day that they race from the bus.... trading off on who will be the first to grab the doorknob. Their enthusiasm shines from their rosy cheeks.... ENERGY.
During story time I take a brief second between phrases to glance out at their faces.... and if I am doing a really good job of telling the story, I will see enchantment reflected in each pair of eyes.... a mischievious girl eating that sweet, little bear's porridge or a fat caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly, or a mother who holds her full grown son in her lap and rocks him back and forth, back and forth.... MAGIC.
Later, if Nathan remembers the difference between the words "no" and "on" at reading group, he'll grin from ear to ear... pulling on his cheeks to try to erase the smile, but failing.... still beaming over his masterful accomplishment.... PRIDE.
During recess when I arrive with the basket of milk, they all come running, riding, sliding, skipping my way. They are hungering for sustenance after an hour and forty minutes of hard work.... BALANCE.
On the best days I sneak a little time to talk to each one about all the most important things in life... like what we had for breakfast or how that scrape got on that knee or the funny thing that the kitten did last night. I try to steal these little scraps of joy while I am tying a shoe or helping to spell a word or applying a bandage.... MOMENTS.
But lately these moments have been bittersweet. You see, after 7 years of teaching Kindergarten I have been "promoted". I found out last week that next year I will be teaching Third grade.... I am excited but a little apprehensive. After all, there are no bikes up there, no Mary Janes, no toothless grins... They are too tall to grab my leg and say, "I love you, teacher."
But maybe, just maybe, if I really work hard and put in all the love and effort, once in a while I might catch one racing to my door, or glimpse the magic fro a book reflecting from their eyes, or see the pride of a new accomplishment beaming in one of their smiles.....
I will miss my dearest Kinders, and my work may look a little different, but I will still be a teacher, so I will still have the best job in the world.

OK, so I love teaching no matter what the grade!