Lessons WE learned during the first year of school

Last Day as a Kindergartener

Meet the Teacher Night

So no one told me....nor even hinted ....that the LAST day of kindergarten would be twice as difficult emotionally, as his first.

My son and I BOTH learned a lot this year (I began working in the schools at the beginning of the year)!

You see, day 1, I sent my kid out, fingers-crossed, covered in prayer, hoping that his teacher would love him half as much as I do.  That maybe, just maybe, she might find his quirky ways funny and adorable, like I do.  That she would be able to keep his attention somehow and that he would learn a lot.

Over the past 9 months I have come to realize several things about kindergarten teachers (probably teachers in general but my personal experience is limited to one year):
1) They are grossly underpaid....I had never thought about the challenge it would be to take 22+ kids from all walks of life and train them to do basic things like walk in line, sit quietly, empty a backpack, put up a folder. I mean CEOs of companies spend tons of money on consultants when their team is not on the same page and kindergarten teachers do it with silly rhyming songs, funny stories, and more creativity than I can imagine.
2) Kindergarten teachers have the patience of Job.  Seriously.  I began working in the school this year and kindergarten rooms can fluctuate between complete order to mass chaos in the split second the teacher takes her eyes off the group to look at who is coming through the door.  I want to yell and scream at kids (because I am totally loving and kind like that) while they pick out one or two kids and say ever so sweetly, "I really like how Johnny continues to sit quietly". I have yet to see a teacher lose their cool.  Not to mention how they handle crazy first time parents who question everything (I am talking about a friend, of course!).
3)  They are thesbians.  I mean, even on Nate's last day of school, the teacher was reading a story to the kids and I was moved...almost to tears because of the passion with which she read the story.
4) They are magicians.  They make everything magical, from story characters, to Mike (the stuffed tiger), to Chippy Wafflenoggin (the class elf on the shelf), to how to do math or science. It is amazing to watch how they capture the attention and imagination of 5 and 6 and 29+ (ahem) year olds!  We pay big bucks to take in Broadway shows for a 2 hour play, these teachers do it EVERY DAY.
5) They are nurses, or at lease nurses' aids, as they wipe tears and dry blood from a fall on the playground while comforting a child and ensuring another teacher will take on supervision of the other children while they personally take this one to the nurse.
6) They are counselors as they hear triumph and hurts shared by the kids and express genuine (or at least fake) enthusiasm or concern over the trivial to us, yet ever so important matters, that the kids may share.  They also have to be neutral mediators with the constant tattle-telling that goes on in the classroom.
7) They are compassionate, beyond belief.  I have seen teachers moved to tears when they feel a child is not getting the assistance they need to be successful (I work in special ed) or when a child is moving away and they are concerned that another teacher may not know how best to get little Susie to learn.
8)They are generous.  I know the school supply list seems huge at the beginning of the year but teachers shell out a LOT of their own money to make sure the art projects look amazing (of course they need more googly eyes), or the kids get to hear the latest Disney soundtrack (If my son sings Frozen all summer I may lose it!), or just put aside extra for the kids who don't have lunch money/clothing, etc.  In the schools there is constantly a worthwhile fundraiser going on and teachers are amazingly generous!

I saw this...in action....daily.  I am forever changed, my son is forever changed.  Teachers love your kids; or trust me, they would be doing something else!

So...as I was saying.  No one warned me that while I was slightly concerned and emotional at the beginning of the year, that I would be even more concerned and bawling like a baby at the end of the year.  Yes, I was THAT mom.  The mom really hoping a loud sob would not escape as I was trying so hard not to cry.  The teacher read a poem, where she got a little choked up...and I lost it.  I mean LOST it.  I have so much admiration for the journey she has taken my son on and everything she does daily.  Academics are great and he made tremendous progress but the life lessons she has taught him have been amazing.  I don't know that I will ever love another teacher quite as much as I have loved this one.  She is leaving some really big shoes to fill.  Thankfully she has developed a love for reading and learning in him and provided a solid foundation that will set the course for the next 12 years!

Oh, and did I mention she is super fun???

She also found the perfect frame to keep a poem we wrote for her during teacher appreciation week

Can't believe kindergarten is really over :(