the ones that touch your heart

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, im still trying to process everything. Things at school are busy, like maybe people, and many jobs. The place and time we live is just a busy place. But for the last 2 weeks I feel like i've been stuck in a bad dream. I've always heard the horrible teacher stories ever since I was in college about the lives some of the kids have etc, of course that became even more real when I moved to Little Rock and took the 1st grade job teaching in southwest LR. Last year, yes I didnt really know what I was getting myself into and pretty much everyday something new became a shock to me, so I honestly thought I could take anything this year but apparently I was wrong. Long story, short....one of my little girls was taken out of her home by DHS for several reasons, their story and mug shots of her mother have been all over the news, and now she is living in a foster home and has to attend another school not in our district. I know, the story sounds so sad and almost like it should not be that big of a deal but I just cant get this image of this little, innocent 6 year old with tears streaming down her face because her world has suddenly been turned upside down and there isnt one thing I can do. I've always heard the horrible stories of their lives at home, the kids who have 1 or both parents in jail, the kids whos 1 pair of shoes dont fit so they cry all day at school, the kids who sleep on the floor with their siblings, I could keep going. I dont know why this is the one thing I cant stop thinking about, but I guess its because its really made me realize that maybe I have forced myself to become so numb to all of this and for the first time I feel almost helpless at my job. I'm not super-woman, I cant fix the worlds of these 6 and 7 years olds, all I can do is hug on them and teach them and hope that that will be enough. I never thought teaching would be like this, I guess these lessons are just some of the many that they cant really teach you in college. I'm sure I will say this about most of my kids and most of my classes, but this class may just change my life. How can they not, they may have horrible things going on in their lives but they spend their days with me and they are all smiles, and I couldnt ask for anything more. I say this all the times but I feel like they always teach me more than I ever could teach them.

so far, so good

So, 2 post in 1 week...thats better than I had been doing :-) Here are a few pictures of my new group of kids.

This was from Community Helpers Day. They had a vehicle display outside with police cars, fire trucks, etc. The kids had a blast!

And this is obviously not one of my 1st graders. This is my puppy, Marley. He's a Razorback fan :-)

Two of my kiddos from last year...I miss them!

Playing on the playground.

honestly, I forgot...

So, its been a little over a year since I last wrote anything and I kind of hate that! I wanted to be so good with writing down all my experiences during my first year of teaching, and well life just caught up with me and it didn't happen. I do hopefully have enough pictures and a few experiences somewhere stored up in my memory of my first year of teaching. Well lets just be honest, I'm pretty sure I will never forget my first year.
Moving on....I'm finally a second year teacher! Yay!

I've thought several times this year so far that I need to write things down, today for example. One of my kids CAN NOT remember to bring his folder back. I remind him all the time, when hes "lost" it, I replace it, I've tried little rewards if he brings it back, but nothing works! Well this afternoon when I was signing folders I saw his in my stack and I about screamed I was so excited! To my surprise, when I opened it (well, first...it was a little rough looking on the outside) there was a dead bug crushed inside and what looked like pieces of a strawberry pop tart mushed all over the inside. I just laughed and thought to myself, at least he brought back his folder!

This year is so different from last in a million different ways. I think mostly, I know what to expect this year. Last year everyday had its own "first" of some sort. This year I'm more laid back and I kind of just know what I'm doing (which is a good feeling!) My class is completely different from last years! Even though we had a lot of ups and downs last year, they will always hold a special place in my heart. When I see them in the hallway they still want to hug on me and tell me about 2nd grade, so that makes me happy! But its a completely different ballgame this year! My kids this year are so well behaved and I feel like they actually want to be at school. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I actually know what I'm doing this year :-)

I need to hurry up and pack up to go home. Its kind of nice this year actually being able to leave at a decent time! Thanks to my teacher friend Joanna...aka Mrs. Orsburn. We recently became neighbors this summer so we carpool to work now. Which has forced me to get here earlier in the mornings but we are able to leave earlier in the afternoons, so its a good trade off.