I loved my college days at BYU-Idaho. Would I go back tomorrow and do it again. Of course not. I am so grateful that I have graduated school and have an actual career. But the life lessons they incorporate at that school is priceless. Something I have been thinking about is the impact we have on a child. In this case, especially as a teacher. I love the quote a professor, Linda Hawkes, gave me. She said, "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." My patience has been extremely thin lately. It's not their fault. It's mine. They are so innocent, trusting, accepting, and forgiving. And I am a perfectionist who wants each child to succeed and will make it happen at all costs. It's a strength and a vice... trust me. Today was just one of those days.
In the past two weeks, I have had 4 nightmares about school. 2 of the 4 have been about the students moving on to 5th grade. I wake up every night with tears on my pillow. It kills me to know my time with them is so limited. I see their success and I just pray that every teacher will build upon those successes and not let them slip. The other two have been about the students deciding that they hate me as a teacher because I am so mean and choosing a different teacher. Again, I wake up having cried in my sleep. But honestly, after a day like today, I would not be surprised if that happened.
Today after school I sat in my chair, exhausted. I reflected on my day. I do this every day. I think about every word I said to each student. I cringed as I realized I was definitely not as patient, understanding, and loving as I should have been. I was quick to point out faults and areas of improvement and slow to recognize their small successes.
Our time together is about 100 days or less. Then they will move on to another teacher and I will just be apart of their elementary school memories. With such a short amount of time, how can I be anything but patient. I think back to my teachers. All I wanted from them is acceptance. To be told I was good enough. I didn't need them to point out my faults. I got enough of that from my friends and others. Regardless if it is your own child, a neighbor, primary kid, etc., YOU have the ability to affect their life. I love the quote from Elder Holland that says, "Be kind... imperfect people are all that God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but he deals with it. So should we."
Here is to a little more patience, a little more love, and a little more understanding. I love those children with all that my heart can handle. And for the few short months I have to spend with them, I am going to make the most of it.
I love celebrating babies! And this weekend, Sam and Kayla Merrell decided to throw baby parties for each other. Needless to say, it was a crazy weekend. I was an awful assistant in both cases. Total failure in the "help throw your friend a baby shower" department. However, both ladies did an excellent job. Something that creative Kayla came up with was a "Sprinkle." Sam is due any day with her second baby and it is another boy. Therefore, she didn't feel like she needed a ton of things and didn't necessarily want an entire shower. So, Kayla was like fine than we will do a Sprinkle, which is just a smaller shower. There were about 6 of us girls and we had pazookies (half-cooked cookie dough with vanilla ice cream), vegetable trays and just enjoyed each others company. It was splendid.
Then, the next night we had a shower for Kayla. Husbands were invited also and we played some fun games and ate delicious chili, cornbread, salad, and cake. One game we played was called "The Price is Right." The boys really got into this game. We played boys against girls but you could play against couples or individually too! It was fun to see what they boys thought on the prices. In fact, they did pretty good! Out of 9 items, they won 3. Impressive, right? Sam and I bought all the items on the list and then we gave them to Kayla, the mom-to-be. Therefore, there was no confusion on what they looked like or how big the container was. They were all present for the contestants to see! Here is the freebie:
What do I do in my spare time? Lesson plans of course. Seriously, I LOVE teaching, but it is definitely draining. But there is more good than bad. It helps that I have the best students in the entire world. The other day a few students were lingering after school (that's right - for some reason my students would stay for an hour after school with me if I would let them) and one student was working on their story. He turned to me and said, "Mrs. Thompson, I'll give you 5 bucks if you don't make me write this story." I just started laughing and said, "I am offended! You think I could be bought like that?" He replied with, "I will make it 10 if you throw in the book report due tomorrow." I couldn't help but smile. Lately I have been having dreams about my students leaving and moving on to 5th grade. In every dream, I just bawl. The same dream has happened 3 times in two weeks. Obviously, it's a huge fear of mine. I tease them that I will just have to become a 5th grade teacher and keep moving up each grade with them. I may or may not be considering it.
I am an awful blogger but I love blogs. I love to checking Abbie Martinsen's blog and reading all of her updates. Then, I click on all the other blogs she is linked up with (well at least the ones I know). I love Kayla Merrell's blog and reading about baby Liam. Although, I know all the information, I love her sense of humor and reading it again. What I love about family and personal blogs is that they are so real. They are good days and bad days and days that are just "blah." They are heartaches and triumphs and everything in between. I just love personal people. They remind me that we are all trying to do the best that we can. So, mark my words, I WILL take time for myself and blog more.
