Big Surprises, Little Packages

I have no words to describe what happened in my classroom today. After a mere four hours of sleep, I was sure I should have stayed in bed. When I jokingly suggested this, my friend, Brian said, "The kids, think about the kids!" And now I'm convinced that he has psychic abilities.

The day started out normally. Made some copies. Taught some math. Remade some copies. By lunch, right around the time I was takings bites of lunch in between fighting with the copier, taking the afternoon off was starting to look very appealing. And then.

And then I picked up my kiddos from the cafeteria. They had something up their sleeves. I knew this, because for the last week they have been badgering me to go out for lunch, leave my classroom for that hour of the day. So insistent were they that they got my mom on board. So today was that day.

"Have you been up to the classroom yet, Miss Wilke?" they asked, crowding around me.

"No, why, did something happen to the classroom?" I replied, pretending to be completely oblivious.

"Oh no, no. Just let us all go in before you when we get upstairs!" Let my 27 darling angels linger briefly in an unsupervised room? Sure, why not. Sounds reasonable.

I wasn't prepared for what lay beyond the door of my classroom. As I opened the door, several things happened simultaneously: 27 voices yelled, "Surprise!"; balloons were thrown at me; and the teacher next door, Becky, peeked her head around the corner and said, "Good luck teaching them the rest of the afternoon."

As I was bombarded with more balloons and several hugs, I looked around and saw decorations.

"What's all this for?" I asked.

"It's a party!" my students cheered.

"A party? Why?"

"Because you're the best teacher in the world!!!"

Floored. Absolutely floored. Every day, I am amazed by my kids. By what they know, what they learn, and what they can do. But today they melted my heart. They really planned this. They had soda. And cups. And cards. And pictures. And one kiddo even bought me a sweet ninja turtle piggy bank to add to my collection. I really don't have words enough to explain just how special my students made me feel today. Another moment of affirmation: this is why I teach. I will teach my kiddos many things this year, but I am slowly realizing that they are going to teach me a lot, too. Today I learned how genuine they are. They melted my heart and put a smile on my face for the rest of the day--and possibly the week!

Today, I am a teacher!

I Don't Teach

I don't teach because I like waking up early.
Or because I like giving out homework.
I don't teach because elementary schools are such a great social scene.
And I don't teach for the money. (Shocking, I know.)
Or the health insurance.
I don't teach because I enjoy getting paid for 8 hour days when I work 12...or 15 hour days.
And I don't teach because I like dressing up and feeling fancy every day.

I teach because of this:

I teach because when I come back to school the next morning after having a stressful day, one student hands me the cutest stinking homemade bookmark I've ever seen, covered with contact paper to protect it from the elements, and finished off with some heart-patterned ribbon. And another student hands me a handwritten note that says, "Dear Miss Wilke, got your art, gym, music, lunch shoes on? Your the best 5 grade teacher, got your dress on?" He told me I was either going to laugh or cry when I read it. And at that point in my day, I could have gone either way. But I'm glad I was swayed towards the laughing. Because already five minutes into the morning, there was no possible way I could have a bad day.

THIS IS WHY I TEACH.

Today, I am a teacher.

Wake Up in the Morning Feeling Like P.Diddy

Exhausted. That's how I felt yesterday afternoon once all the kids left and building was quiet. It was a good kind of exhausted, don't get me wrong, but wow. I slept for a glorious 9 hours last night. GLORIOUS, I tell you!

Week three of being a fifth grade teacher is over, and I am still loving my job. Sorry Nicki, Karren, and Becky, not jaded yet! haha. By this time, I've really started to get to know the kiddos from the other two classes. One of the kids, who was previously surly and kind of disengaged, found out that I share his love of Ke$ha, and now I get hugs every day and he has started paying attention more and putting more effort into his work. Hey, if that's what it takes, I will listen to every Ke$ha album in the world in order to hold on to that connection! My attempt at turning a lyric into humor with his this week was, "Hey, what did you feel like when you woke up this morning?" 

Student, with a puzzled look: "I don't know, pretty good." 

Me: "Wanna know what I felt like?" 

Student: "Uhh sure?" 

Me: "P.Diddy! I woke up in the morning feeling like P.Diddy!"

The smile on his face told me all I needed to know: mission accomplished!

I have four girls who are not from my homeroom who like to come in my at recess and do "The Cup Song" while I sing along. They think it's super fun, and I don't mind it either. On Thursday we also jammed out to One Direction together. Thank goodness I worked at a summer camp, or I wouldn't have known any of the words! haha.

I think my favorite moment of the week, though, was this conversation:

Students: "Miss Wilke you should come to homecoming parade tonight!" "Yeah come!"

Me: "Oh, I would but I am hanging out with Mrs. Wilke."

Student: "Well good, you can bring her along!"

Me: "Aw sorry girls, we have other plans tonight."

Student who also had my mom: "Wait, you're not married right?"

Me: "Haha...no, no I'm not."

Student: "Well that's just silly, you're so nice, how could anyone not like you?!"

Ladies and gentlemen, the world according to a ten year old! Good thing our guidance lesson next week is about developing relationships...I didn't think math class was an appropriate time to attempt to explain the ways of the world and why being nice doesn't necessarily mean someone will like you and marry you. I mean, I've heard it helps, but I'm no expert!

Although I've hit some roadblocks in the teaching, I am still embracing my role as teacher and lover of mathematics. I've learned that I need lots of patience and understanding, and that it's okay to go back and reteach. The downside to this totally new math series is that it is based on the building up of certain skills and concepts, so some of the lessons ask students to draw on what they learned in fourth grade...but most of my students didn't have this series in fourth grade. So I spend lots of time going back to basics, which is fine because I know if I take the time to do that now, I will gain back that time in the future. 

Surmise it to say it was another good week, one in which I worked on the ongoing struggle of finding balance. But at the end of the day, the scale always seems to tip a little more to the positive side :)

Today, I am a teacher.

Small Moments Brought to Me by Little People

Recently I accepted a job as a 5th grade math teacher in the school I worked in as an aide last year. I am beyond thrilled! I accepted to job on a Thursday and hit the ground running the following Monday with all kinds of trainings and meetings. Meanwhile I was putting long hours into getting my classroom ready for open house--a mere 7 days after I began setting up! (see pictures in previous posts!)

So here I am, day 7 of teaching now over, and I have to say...I am loving my job. It came to me today, somewhere between being given an apple by one student and joking around about fancy pants and music shoes with another, that my day is made up of small moments brought to me by little people. I love all my kiddos. They have great personalities, they are at just the right age where I can infuse my humor and sarcasm into my teaching, and they make me so proud every day. Watching those lightbulbs go on is what I love about being a teacher. 

I only have my homeroom kinds for about two hours out of the school day, and in the other times I am teaching math to the other two 5th grade classes. The first two days of school were spent getting to know our homeroom kids. We did some team building, some Three Truths and a Lie, and lots of going over rules, procedures, and expectations. I have been modeling some of the things the kids will get to do when they are the Star Student of the Week. Each week I will pick a student to fill this role, and they will get to fill out a fun All About Me Poster, do some show and tell, and answer one question from each classmate. I am constantly surprised at how preceptive the kids are, and about how much they pick up on. Briefly I mentioned that I once aspired to be an author. Today as I was answering student questions that they had written on index cards, I came across one that said, "What would one of the titles of your books be?" I was floored. I had forgotten I had even mentioned it, and here was this student asking for an example of a title of a book I would write. So cool!

I have an ongoing joke with one of my kiddos who loves the Packers. His question to me was, "Who is your favorite football team?" Before I got the chance to answer this in class, he approached me at the end of the day and tried to weasel the answer out of me. So after some back and forth, I whispered to him, "It's the team that's on your pencil!" He takes a step back, opening himself up to the whole room, and says, "What's that, Miss Wilke, you said you love the Bears?" And of course the room immediately erupted into peals of laughter and subsequent teasing, with me saying, in exasperated tones, "You guys,  this is how rumors get started!" A few days later this student was wearing a purple and gold Lakers t-shirt, and I took the opportunity to point out that he was representing his team--THE VIKINGS! And now we go back and forth.

Although I've never been called a mathematical genius per se, I am enjoying teaching the subject. We have a new math curriculum this year, so I am learning right along with the kids--how to teach that is, not the math itself! Although the material is unfamiliar, and sometimes we all feel like we are slogging through molasses, the lessons are punctuated by aha moments, moments where they really get it, moments where they are explaining the way they solved a problem in a way I didn't even think about--and I am so proud of them. Today I had two such moments right in a row and I swear I almost cried!

There are so many things I love about my job. I get gently teased by the experienced teachers for being so positive--they say I'm in the new teacher "honeymoon stage". And they may be right. I know I'll have my days--they can't all be rainbows and sunshine. But right now I am content to ride on these happy feelings, because there is so much that is good about what I am doing. I have never felt a greater sense of purpose. This is where I belong :)

Today, I am a teacher.