There was a huge milestone for my class today. Like, so big it was almost EPIC! Seriously. Wait for it....drum-roll please!!!! All of my students walked from our classroom to the gym for PE in a straight line, WITHOUT talking. Seriously, it was so amazing. The best part was that three other teachers saw my kinders walking in their most awesome line and were impressed!! e even got a shout-out from another teacher-"kinders, you're rocking the hallway today!" It was mind blowing! I did not know that something as simple as teaching kids how to walk in a civilized manner in the hallway could be so incredibly rewarding. Oh my goodness. I am still elated just thinking about this HUGE milestone that my students have passed.
Okay, so maybe there is the possibility that I am enjoying kindergarten way more than I ever thought I would. It really is enjoyable. I am to a point now that I can do a little breathing and think about my classroom as a group of learners that I am going to have for the whole entire year!! They're all mine! That might sound a little creepy but having subbed year after year after year and never having a group of kids long enough to see if I was even effective at my job was frustrating. Knowing that I have the opportunity to apply what I have been learning, through formal education with my Master's Degree and classroom experience, is absolutely mind blowing to me.
I honestly feel like I won the lottery with this job. The community of professionals I work with are top notch. Everyone I interact with really wants to be at school and a part of the community. I have never really been able to articulate what I was missing as a substitute as far as teaching but now that I have it, I am struggling to describe it. The community. It is that good. Having a principal who supports me 100%, checks in on me on a regular basis, and follows through with what she says she is going to do, AND visits my classroom is outstanding! I've never had a principal come in and just want to observe. It doesn't bother me at all to have people visit my classroom. In fact, I like it when people check in because they are another mind I can glean information from in order to improve the learning that is happening in my class!
Speaking of visitors, I had a big one in my classroom last Thursday. Actually, it might have been Tuesday. I can't remember. I am sitting down at the carpet with my students, in a circle. It is the first day of our new science unit and I have just brought out the worms in their bins and am giving instructions on how to hold the worm in addition to introducing vocabulary They are very excited to get new critters to hold and observe. I have quite a few scientists in my class. :) The students are anxiously awaiting a turn to see what I have in the dirt and worm filled containers. In walks the superintendent! She is very nice and had a badge on so I knew she was someone important from the district. She promptly sits down in my students' circle and dives right into the lesson as I take a roundworm (the ones that get really, really long and skinny in the rain), and ask "who wants to hold a worm?" and the class erupts into screams of surprise, glee, joy, nervousness as they wait for their chance to hold or look at a worm. I wasn't quite sure how she would take the loud excitement but she just hung around, asked the kids questions, held a worm and said thank you for letting her visit! I love visitors!
I feel I can't close this post without a shout-out to all have supported me and encouraged me while I have started this new job. It has been amazing to be surrounded by people who genuinely are excited that I am teaching kindergarten in my very own classroom. It's still a bit surreal that I get to wake up and go to the same classroom every single day, until the end of the school year. Really. It's happening.
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