Pictures for the Teacher

Kids always draw pictures for their teachers. Throughout interning, I was always getting drawings from my students. When I got my own class, I didn't have a lot of extra space to hang the drawings I received, so I decided to file them in a binder with clear page protectors. It was an excellent way to keep the pictures my students gave me without having to find space that didn't exist for me to hang them.

This year, I haven't really received many pictures. Until recently, we didn't even have any to hang. The kids have started drawing though. Now we have a handful of them hanging on our wall. I love the simple gifts I get for being a teacher. I also love the reminders hanging on the wall telling me I'm the Best teacher in the World! What lucky students I have... They have the Best teacher in the World! :)

Actually, I think I'm pretty lucky, as far as my students go. Despite a few of our "favorites" with behavior problems, our class is filled with wonderful little people! They make us laugh often, and they are really starting to feel like a huge part of my life - a part that I don't think I want to give up (even though June is a Long way away). Since I am still new at teaching, I often wonder if every year I'll feel this way. Will I miss my last class so terribly it makes my heart sick, like I did this fall when I thought back to my first class and wondered what they were doing without me? Will every year's class fill me with wonder on how I'll ever be able to teach another class? Then I think about what it will be like someday... when my kids are all grown up. Will I keep in touch with them long enough to know where they go and what great things they do with their lives? Although it's hard to let go of students and let them grow up and move on, I hope I never lose the ability to build connections and relationships with them.