Tomorrow I will wrap up another year teaching PreK. 9 months ago I met my tiny new best friends. At first I mourned the loss of my previous class but eventually they grew on me and I fell in love with each of them.
The end of the school year (for those who love what they do) is like a really terrible break up. This week has been full of emotion, some personal but a lot of sadness about what's coming to an end. I'm not going to say that this year has been smooth or easy. There have been many challenges. If you think about the amount of time I spend with these children each day it's a lot. I spend almost 5 hours each day 4 days a week with theses kiddos.
There have been tears (from them and myself). When they walked through my door 9 months ago many of them were quiet, scared and unfamiliar with me. I was able to earn their trust, and show them that I was more than just their teacher. I loved them and was completely invested in them. It didn't take much time, and we were in a good rhythm.
If you know anything about my teaching style, I am firm, very loving and routine. My students have respect for me but also know I will always stick up for them, give them a hug and tell them I love them. I've learned many of their unique quarks. I know why needs space, who needs a smile, and who needs to reminded that they a smart cookie, they really good kind. We have silly jokes that only we understand.
Today as we were in our morning meeting I was quizzing the kids on things we've learned over the year. We got to shapes. Each month we have a new shape, Bible verse and the letter and numbers change weekly. Anyways, back to the shapes... I give the kids little sayings or silly things to help them remember attributes of the shapes. Today when we got to diamond, many hands went up (and a few giggles). As I called on one of my students she said... Diamonds are a girls best friend. (yes sweet girl, yes they are!) Sometimes I digress with my students but it's always sweet and fun. I hope one day they remember me and some of the silly things we did and learned together.
This year I mixed it up a bit. I love to cook, in the past I've cooked with my students; But this year I took it a step further. We cooked every single week, it either focused on the letter or the theme of the month. This was amazing and lead to so many kids stepping outside their comfort zones. Many tried things and enjoyed new foods. They will tell you that I completely had a fail with the roasted broccoli. I'm still learning to use the ovens at school.
All this said, I'm going to miss my friends. They will forever stay in my heart, and I hope that many of them in my lives. Many of them have pushed me to grow myself. Teaching at such a tender age is a privilege. The fact that parents trust me with their children at such an important time is huge. This is make it or break it (in my opinion... either they love school or they don't). There will be many tears tomorrow, but goodbye is not forever.
Tomorrow I graduate PreK again. I have my best blue dress picked out of the occasion. I hope my kiddos know I will be there for them and they can lean on me!
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