'twas the night before summer....

Tomorrow is the last day of my first year at this fabulous school.  We have sang, we have danced, we have played, we have celebrated, and they are (dare I say it?) READY.  

Ready to go out into the world and leave their mark, ready for third grade, ready to take what we taught each other (because they have left quite an impression on their dear teacher)  and put it to good use.

I remember the first week of school like it was yesterday. 
Remember this?  As I watch this video it seems like Room 31 is a completely different place now.  True, we covered the walls with artwork (flags, portraits and paintings to put up left and right) and then tore it all down - but I walk into this room each day feeling like a different person - and I see it in a fresh light.

Walking into this building back in August - so ready but also so unsure about how it would go down.  Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is not always easy - What would it  be like with an open classroom?  How was I going to seat students so that they would work together but not bug each other?   Can I share my students with another personality?  Do I actually work well with others?  And what about being "the reading teacher"?  Was I going to miss science and math?  What is your day like filled with reading group after reading group, and sentence after sentence? 

All of the questions and doubts are reassured on the daily.   

Yesterday, during the first annual "Room 31 Scrabble Tournament" (it was so meaningful and fun it's now a tradition) the children in my classroom were STILL leaving me with my jaw-dropped, and face in awe as they showed me up with their creativity, curiosity, tolerance, patience, intelligence and ingenuity.  

"Why can't we put the tiles diagonally?  How come there is no rule that says you can't trade vowels for consonants with someone else at the table?  Can I spell a made up word? "

The children were not only pushing the envelope but also taking all of the things I had taught them all year long and applying them - we added suffixes and doubled consonants for inflected endings, we learned the different between homophones and SAT words like "aural" and "oral."  We used words we invented in sentences, and found them in the classroom.  The children were sitting around a table and working as a team while still having fun and maintaining an appropriate volume.  They were compromising, bargaining and bartering with their letter tiles, and cheering each other on.  It's OK if you can't spell a word and have to turn your entire tile-holder around so that a friend can give you an assist.  Sure, this is a game of spelling skills and rules, but it's also a game of luck, and sometimes you ARE that kid who draws all I's, E's, Q and J.  GRR.  We can laugh at our mistakes, we can knock over the entire game board and make all of the tiles shift from their neat little boxes, and it's alright.  Heck, it's more than alright - it's a great chance to see who remembers what the board had, or better yet, to start over.  Scrabble = LIFE. Am I right? 

There are so many things I learned this year -
Rules can sometimes get in the way
Some of the best moments are a huge mess
It's not that hard to see something with a fresh pair of eyes if you really look
Taking a risk is good for you
It's OK to ask for help and lean on others
You are NEVER done learning - even as the teacher

I have had several teary-eyed moments and having attended 4 graduations (Mom and Laura's graduation posts are pending!) this May I am definitely on the emotional side.  I just can't believe that these creatures have grown and matured so well and cannot believe all of the things they have learned to do on their own.  Just their handwriting, how much taller they have gotten, and how much more they can read is incredible to witness. 

These children and coworkers are my first friends here.  When I got into town and didn't know a SOUL in Dallas - who were the first people I spent time with?  Who were the friends I could lean on and and open up to when I walked in before the sun had even come up?  They know all about my weekend, my new apartment, my family, my relationships, how great it feels for me to be back in Texas.  True story - my first impressions of Dallas came from a dozen seven year olds.

And of course, a few amazing women.  One in particular: 

 

Thank you Jessa for being an incredible partner - for encouraging me to love these kids for who they are and let them be themselves.  Thanks for reminding me to choose my battles - some things just aren't worth it and the worst case scenario isn't that bad.  Thanks for calling me out when I'm a grump and sharing joyous with me on the days that I'm my best.  Thanks for helping me deliver hard messages to my favorite parents, for being the bad cop to my good cop (and vice versa) and for all of the moments where we have laughed so hard we cried, and cried so much we had to remind ourselves to laugh about it in the end.  I will always remember the way you taught me how to really teach this year (our first year hopefully of many years to come) - teach the emotional and social parts of the school day.  You are more fun than a seven-year-old yourself.  And thanks for introducing me to my favorite LL alumn. :) 
 
So, to my Smiling Green Gators -
I hope you dance. 
I hope you don't let school and being a grown up get in the way of you learning from or exploring the world around you.
I hope you are able to teach other people as much as you have taught me.
And I hope you always come back to visit me.  Your hugs work miracles.

XOXO,
Ms. C