And for that I am thankful

My alarm goes off every weekday at 5am. The first thought that crosses my mind every morning is, "I can't wait to come back home and sleep." Eventually, I roll out of bed around 6am and struggle to prepare myself for the long day ahead. By 7am, I have my headphones in and I'm walking out the door. As I wait for the bus, I pray for there to be an empty seat so I don't have to sit on the side seats, because they're just not comfortable and you're constantly swaying back and forth with the stop and go movement of the bus. Luckily, I've been able to get a decent seat on the bus thus far, allowing me to sit comfortably while I wallow in the fact that it's only 7am for 20 minutes. Around 7:40am, I'm sipping on my cup of tea, waiting for everything to happen. Finally, 8:15am comes and the doors open for parents and students.

A group of students, animated and energized, come running through the doors as if it's not 8:15am and instantly a smile forms on my face. Stories of the night before and weeks ago are shared with laughter and amuzement as I try to direct them in unpacking; sometimes I give in and help them and other days we spend more time in the closet putting things where they belong. By the time every student has unpacked and is ready to start the day, their energy has rubbed off on me. We go out to the play yard and run around, have morning meeting, and then it's time for an activity. All of a sudden, it's snack time and soon later 18 students are gone and I'm having lunch waiting for the next group of students.

Around this time, my energy is low again and I'm once again, wondering how long until I can go home and sleep. Then 12:15pm comes around and I hear, "Ready for round 2?" and before I can fully prepare myself, another group of cheerful, vibrant students run through the doors. Here we go again! Hugs, stories, unpacking and they're off to play in centers. Before I know it, I'm helping them pack up their backpacks and putting jackets on to go home.

At 4pm, I walk into After Care and I'm just drained from the day, but my smile stays on and my ears stay open for more stories. Finally, after umpteen stories, pictures, lego structures, and activity pieces are packed and sent home, it's time for me to go home. On the ride home, a co-worker and I share stories and laughter and prep-talk eachother for tomorrow.

When I'm finally home and in bed, I think back to all the things that happened during the day and I'm thankful for all the good moments and the not-so-good moments.  I often compare students to the comercial about sourpatch kids. They do something that isn't so good then turn around and do something so wonderful that I can't help but smile. My day is a rollercoaster of positives and negatives, but at the end of the day all is well and 3 year old kids will be 3 year old kids. I've grown very fond of the phrase, "age appropriate." Sometimes I forget how young they are and as teachers we must correct negative behavior and encourage positive actions and good choices but also be mindful that even their "negative" actions are age appropriate for their age group.

Today, one of my students had a difficult time transitioning from home to school and he spent his first few minutes crying. My head teacher and I did what we had to do to calm him down and help him understand that school is fun and his mother will be back soon to pick him up. He ended up making a card for his mom and when he finished, went on to participate in regular class activities. At pack-up time, he said to me, "I love you Ms. Ker. You make me happy." It turned my whole day around; everything from waking up at 5am to having to address negative behavoir became miniscule events. Just one phrase, one action makes it all worth it. It makes me so happy and proud to know that I am doing something that effects lives.

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I had shared my interest in education with my friends and one friend responded, "Remember all the **** you gave teachers back in high school?!" Oh, I remember and if I could apologize to them all, I would. My mother always said that  karma and irony are real and I ignored her but I've learned that they are. Irony -  the student who never liked school is now teaching and spending most of her time at school. Karma - now I'm at the receiving end of "negative" behavior.

-Ker