first grade memories

last wednesday was my last day of school for the 07-08 school year. we had a great day of games, pizza, ice cream sundaes and sodas of choice. it was hiliarious!

the pizza was supposed to be picked up by our room mom, erin and brought to the school at 11:15. at 11:37 the pizza still wasn't there. i took a few moments to pass out drinks and get the party started. i literally had kids jumping up and down with hyperness. it was ridiculous. apparently, the pizza place had delivered the 8 pizza's to our school under the name barbara. huh? when no one (ahem...me) claimed the pizza, they took it back and sold all 8 to other customers. erin ran into the pizza place a little late and quickly asked for our order. they were as shocked as erin when they explained that they no longer had the 8 pizzas. i'm guessing they got a mouthful for delivering pizzas to the school under the name barbara when erin clearly said she would be picking them up. where do you get barbara from erin anyway? after i talked to erin and realized the pizza would be a little longer i explained to my class that they must be the luckiest class in the whole school. they got to have dessert before lunch! you could have heard the cheers from a mile away.

we spent the rest of the afternoon playing games, taking pictures and laughing with each other. i'll miss all 21 of those little stinkers, but i didn't cry at all. ;)

teaching is an amazing career. i don't know if there is another job that can affect you the way teaching does. there's just something about those sweet, little, innocent faces that you see everyday that really makes you attached. we spent a day a couple of weeks ago making classes for second grade. while all of the teachers in our second grade are wonderful, some are more sensitive than others. i was very concerned for some of my kiddos. there are just some kids with fragile hearts. they need love and nurturing and hugs and high fives. it has always been important for me to be that to my kids. i understand that some of these kids may see me more than they see their own mothers. some of them may have more consistency, boundary, and discipline from me than anyone else in their lives. even for those kids with great involved parents who are always there and always doing the right thing, i have a part in raising them. i have a part in the lives of the future.

i know that i still remember my first and second grade teachers and they had an impact in my life. i hope that one day, with each of my students, they will look back and remember mrs. kotze and how much she loved them. there were times of frowns and disappointments, stern talking to's and discipline issues. but despite that, i know that my kids know i love them. i know because they smile at me and hug me before they get on the bus. i know because they joke with me as much as i joke with them. i know because they were happy to make me happy. they were proud to show me their corrected math problems, incredibly creative art pieces, or books they could finally read with confidence. those kids knew that in me they would fine encouragement, pride and love.

this class was incredibly sweet and i've already received an email from caprice. she is a foster child who is very well taken care of now that she's with her foster family. she is sweet and artistic and loving. charlee is her best friend and both were the kind of girls who would smile and smile and never get in trouble. both so artistic too!

on the last day of school, kylie (the tiniest girl in our class who cried each morning for her first two weeks in first grade) walked holding my hand and told me how much she was going to miss me when she went to second grade. i squeezed her hand and said, "i'm going to miss you too. but, you'll be a grown up second grader and you'll have to be brave and not cry." she looked straight ahead and with a smile on her face said, "but, i think i'm going to."

aisley was the best thing any teacher could ask for. she was a middle of the road student when it came to academics, but she was never without effort. she was the kind of helper every classroom needs. she knows what needs to be done but isn't bossy or quiet about it. she takes care of things and can be trusted with the most serious of tasks, like getting her teacher a dr. pepper from the library.

joshua, nicholas and david were the smartest in my class and were totally and completely all boy. if any of the three of them got near any other boy, they would play and crack up and tell jokes like crazy. they were fun and unforgettable.

courtney. so smart, creative and quiet. i hardly ever saw her talking and could sit her next to her best friend without ever getting on to her. her mom saw another side of her at home and wondered why she didn't spend her day at school bouncing off the walls. if i hadn't seen that side of courtney one night at open house, i wouldn't have believed her. but seriously, that night, courtney would literally jump into the wall and bounce off of it. crazy girl. i appreciate a six year old who can control themselves when they are supposed to. that's quite a feat.

brad and theodore, theo for short, were best of friends and great guys. i often hugged brad on our way out of the building. he was the first person in line all the way down the hallway. i would walk with my hand on his shoulder and tell him how proud i was that he was in my class. he would smile a quiet smile and give me a high five before walking to his daycare.

madelyn, the girl who wouldn't stay in her seat but always had a good reason to be out of it. she just always needed to ask me a question. i cannot tell you how many times i said, "mady, sit down like i told you to do. you do not need me right now, i promise." she just liked my affirmation.

there were so many sweet kids in my class this year and i know that i will remember many of them for years to come. don't worry, i had some not-so-sweet kids too.

what a memorable year for my third year in first grade. and what a sigh of relief i breathe now that it's over...