Where do I even begin?

I can not believe another school year has come to an end. This was such a memorable year for me and it is so bittersweet to see it end.

Let’s begin with a little “Flash Back Friday” to last year. It was my first year of teaching and while it was a good year, it was a challenging year. I say challenging because everything was new and first year teachers learn A LOT of new things that college just can’t always prepare you for. You are also starting from scratch and it takes a while to figure out a good system, build resources, and learn what works/ does not work, etc. If you are a teacher, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

This year, I took everything I learned last year and spent some time thinking about what I wanted this year to look like. I thought about everything from the organization of the room, transitions throughout the day, management strategies, class family routines, etc.

Then, I prayed for my kids. Both years, when I received my class roster, I prayed over each name and I continue that during my morning commute to work. I pray over my students and the day ahead.

This year, I had a prayer wrote out on paper that I taped to the back of my door that I prayed quite often. Along with praying for my students, I was praying for a successful year because it was also my SAFE-T year that all second year teachers go through. During this year, teachers go through lots of evaluations and  receive feedback!

I know God heard every single one of my prayers because y’all, it really was

A. PICTURE. PERFECT. YEAR. 

I had the BEST assistant in the world. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate her and everything she did for our class. We work hard and we laugh hard. She is hilarious!!

My kids were the best! I do call them “my kids.” They each brought something so unique to our classroom family. They brought so much personality, fun, and joy to this school year! I will NEVER forget them!

Some of the funny quotes that I remember from this school year:

“No, no, please don’t tell on me, I’ll buy you cookies.”

Teacher: “Has anyone ever used scissors before?” Student: “One time I cut up my mom’s paycheck.”

Teacher: “What happened to your picture money?” Student: “I gave it away because I didn’t know what it was for.”

Teacher: “What was your favorite part of 4K?” Student: “You and Ms. Belk teaching me new stuff.”

*We could write a book at the end of each year!*

My kids were awesome!!

And to my work twin: we survived our SAFE-T year!! I am thankful everyday that our teaching careers brought us to the same school. This teacher quickly became a best friend to me over the last two years and I don’t know what I would do without her!

~

I’ve got to say this too, when I graduated college, I had no idea where I would teach. I applied for jobs everywhere. I had a couple of interviews not work out and I felt discouraged, then I landed an interview in Woodruff and was very fortunate to receive my first teaching position. I feel truly blessed to be at my school for so many reasons. I work with some really great people and I love my 4K team. It just proves that God’s plan is perfect all the time and way better than we could ever imagine!

~

To any first year teacher, don’t give up, it does get better, SO MUCH BETTER!

And to all teachers, we did it!! Happy Summer!

P.S. I recently submitted my first donors choose project. My class is in need of a new area rug that will serve MANY purposes in my 4K classroom. I believe there is no greater cause than investing in our students education. Please take the time to read about our project here: The Magic Carpet (Pictured below!)