I love my kids

Each year, at the end of the year, I try really hard to like my students. Or rather, to remember how much I like them--because really, they're very likeable kids, even the ornery ones. I try to not fuss at the ones I'm always fussing at (or at least as much) and to just smile and let things roll off my back. It makes the end of the year so much more enjoyable and helps me remember them with a smile on my face and actually look forward to the next year of teaching, haha! So far this year, it's working like a charm. Especially today.

Today my pull out reading group put on a reading program for some of the staff at our school and it was awesome. It was honestly probably the best moment of my four years of teaching--that may be exaggerating a bit and I'm REALLY tired today so I may just not be remembering everything, but I'm pretty sure I'd place it at the top of the list.

My 5 kids spent a few days last week choosing their two favorite books from the year to read at the program, practicing reading aloud to people and writing out invitations to their teachers and then delivering them to their teacher mailboxes. SO cute.


Then today, about 10 teachers (some of their teachers and some teachers at the school who just came to support them) and some of our administrators all gathered in our room and listened to them read. And I have honestly never been so proud. They did awesome. They read the words correctly and showed the pictures like a pro and smiled at the funny parts and used expression while they were reading. It was so cool to see, especially thinking about where they were at the beginning of the year, barely knowing their letters. And to see the looks on their faces, knowing they'd done well and feeling thrilled (and nervous!) that so many people came to hear them read, was priceless. We even had one little girl's mama come, which is practically unheard of at my school.


After they read everyone told them how awesome they did and then sat around and ate some snacks and chatted with them. It was a cool, cool moment.


Then, after everyone left the room and it was just the four of us (two of the students were absent today), they were so cute--they couldn't stop talking. Talking about how nervous they were. Talking about how many people were there--and counting out everyone they could remember. Talking about how the people laughed at the funny parts of their books. Talking about how fun it was and how we should do it again next year and maybe go to some of the elementary schools and read to those kids. Priceless. For kids for whom school is difficult, because they're trying to learn middle school content at the same time they're learning English (they've all been here in the US anywhere from 3 months to 3 years), I pray that today was a moment that they will remember. It was their moment to shine and their content teachers made sure to tell them that. Their smiles were huge. :)


Today, I did not have to work hard to love my students. :) They totally made my day today. Heck, they totally made my year today.