Positive Thoughts For Today

I had a long (longer than usual) drive into work today due to our buddy "Mother Nature" and her snowy morning.  I was feeling a bit tired by the time I arrived an hour and 35 minutes later.  Throughout the day, I wanted to find the positives today.

While reading "Duke" (do you DRA?), one of my kiddos was cracking me up.  She reads the first couple lines, looks at the picture and says "He does not look black and white.  I know that is what it says, but he does not look like that".  I told her I wasn't the author or the illustrator and if that is what the story says, then we'll have to go with it.  She continues reading and starts to giggle.  Then she says "Duke is a weird name for a dog because it sounds like "Doofus".  At this point I am laughing out loud; DRA is usually not LOL material.  We did make it through the book and she rocked it, even with her silly commentary.

I sent home a special reading log over winter break.  Those that completed their reading log (half the class) got to have lunch in the room with me today.  We had chocolate cupcakes for dessert too.  They were on cloud 9 over just having lunch in the room.  I'm a huge fan of free rewards that make them happy.  Those who didn't come were super bummed.  I guess we'll be using that reward again!  When they finished eating, they were allowed to play at centers until it was time to pick their friends up.  It was so nice to be able to enjoy them in a setting where I didn't have an agenda of things I needed to accomplish.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself with this class.  I've had lots of great kiddos in the past, and many of them I remember fondly, but this class is different.  My first principal, who is now retired, told me (many times) that you get "that class" about once every 7 years.  This is my 11th year of teaching, and I learned what "that class" is like.  Do we have our moments?  Absolutely!  I am so blessed to spend each day with them and love seeing their excitement everyday.  Many times I can see their wheels turning and can only image what will come out of their mouths next.  At times, I hesitate to share my excitement about what we are accomplishing because I know what it is like to have a class that "keeps you on your toes".  If you haven't had "that class" yet, it is well worth the wait!  I'm definitely looking forward to the second half of the year with them!