I don't even have time for half of them.
With it being November we are all about gratitude this month, right?
I try to have a grateful attitude all the time.
One thing that I am SO thankful for this year is my job.
I have always been a teacher.
From the time I was very little I have acted or wanted to act as a teacher.
I have a very vivid and distinct memory from my childhood of me playing a teacher.
I had my sister and our neighbor friend sitting in our living room and I was giving them assignments. They were two and three years younger than me, so what I was trying to "teach" them was over their head, but my five year old mind thought it was a good idea!
I absolutely LOVEDDDD my first grade teacher. To this day she is one of my favorite teachers of all time. She is the one who inspired me not only to become a teacher....but to specifically go into Early Childhood Education.
She was my first grade teacher, my mentor as a did an internship in her class during high school, and later I taught her classes art when I was the art teacher at that school.
She has influenced me during many different stages of my life.
At the end of 1st grade I was sad, because I wanted her to still be my teacher. I remember one day during recess she asked me if I wanted to take home some old (blank) worksheets and teacher things that she didn't need anymore. She knew I was sad and I think she was trying to help ease the pain of the school year ending. I was so excited and took the things she gave me.
Oooo, worksheets.....so cool!
She told me to put them in my backpack, because she didn't want the other kids to be sad that they didn't get any, ha ha ha ha. Looking back at this as an adult/teacher myself is comical.
So what did my 6-year-old self do? I showed my friends what she had given me after they got in from recess.
The adult/teacher in me is dying thinking of this, ha ha ha ha.
I can remember the instant regret I felt and how awful it was when my teacher caught me showing my friends. She had been so nice to me and I was just flaunting it to the other students.
I learned something that day though. I learned how it feels to be a child who is the recipient of a forgiving and patient teacher.
My teacher forgave me. She knew I was 6 years old and just acting my age. She was patient with me.
I think what draws me to teaching is the hope that children will feel patience and acceptance from me.
I hope that they feel those things from their parents (sometimes that's not the case), but often times it stops there. Children usually don't have extra resources to feel that safe acceptance and love from other adults.
Becoming a mom has been the best thing in my life. My kids are hands down my entire life. I love them and I love watching them grow. They are hilarious and so sweet.
It's a sacrifice making that decision to stay home with kids though.
Honestly, there are days when Jeff leaves and I'm like........take me with yoooooooou! You get to talk to adults! You get to sit. Like literally, you get to sit and not be disturbed for more than five minutes. Scratch that....you get to sit and not be disturbed for more than ONE minute!
In so many ways finding VIPKID has saved my sanity.
Because while I want to be home and be that full-time at-home mom.......the repeat of every day can get to ya.
Being able to connect with kids who aren't MY kids has filled my teacher soul.
I love being a teacher.
And I love a whole bunch of kids in China!
There are some who need that extra patience and acceptance like I was talking about it.
I have an ever faithful student who takes a class from me every day of the week. I've blogged about him before, ha ha ha ha.
We celebrated (more like I celebrated.....he just sat there in his shy bubble and probably smiled off camera) 100 classes together! Holy crap! Ha ha ha ha ha ha. 100 classes with this 10 year old boy, who I am just now learning likes to draw. So shy.
He has come so far.
SOOOO far.
In the beginning his mom had zero patience with him. There was a lot of screaming and what not that went down. I don't know Chinese, so who knows what was happening.
But 10.....30.....50 classes into it things started changing.
His mom wrote to me on the parent feedback several times and told me that she was learning to be more patient with her son because of ME!
Uh what???
Me? Like me all the way in America me?
Every kid deserves patience and understanding.
Often we just don't know the cause of their behavior and that makes things hard on everyone.
This kid just wanted to be understood and he was feeling that from me. Half way around the world me. That's how he felt.
Something else that has warmed my heart has been the fact that I have become friends with many of these cute kids that I teach.
I have a handful for girls, around like 9 or 10 years old that love to just talk and talk and talk.
They tell me about their friends. They tell me about their hobbies. They tell me about the things that they enjoy. Favorite foods, favorite shows, favorite toys.
I am grateful that they feel like I can be their friend.
This is some feedback from three different students of mine. It seriously warms my heart. They are so sweet to me. And isn't Chinese beautiful???
Teaching will always be in my heart. It brings me so much happiness and fulfillment!
I am grateful every day for my job and my cute students.
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