Today was rough. I think teachers just have those days when the weight of our responsibility just punches us in the face. The realization of how many skills we teach throughout the whole year is awe-inspiring and completely daunting at the same time. I felt stressed today and it showed in my teaching - which in turn rubbed off on my students. Finally, by the end of the day, it occurred to me that it was all my fault that we had had a rough day (ha imagine that). I apologized to my students for not being myself and for not having a positive attitude. Ten set of eyes looked back at me and one little voice spoke up, "It's okay Miss Counts. We still love you and you still love us. It's just what a family does."
I tell my class each day that we are a family and that we take care of each other. Somehow, I always assumed that my students understood the family "comparison," but figured they never really thought of me as family. Ridiculously, I felt like crying and 6 year olds are not easy to fool! So we all shared a giant group hug and the children proceeded to compliment me on what I had done well on throughout the day (because I compliment them at the end of everyday). At that point I understood that I can teach my students 75 sight words in 9 weeks and I can teach them to add 5 and 6 together.
But maybe - just maybe - 10 students and a teacher have a better idea on what grace and kindness can look like.
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