Snow Day

Today at Nolanville Elementary School we got at least five inches of snow. In my 23 years of life I have never seen snow like this in Texas and it was so fun to share with my kids. I am lucky to have four huge windows in my classroom and seeing the snow fall and build all morning was absolutely breathtaking.
It was also an early release day so we got nothing done. There are so many days like that, days where you get nothing done. I have to wonder what that means, getting nothing done. I guess what I mean by that is there were no grades taken and no serious academic activity happening, but that is not all there is to learning. Looking at this angle then I guess we got many things done.

Venice Italy

I thought every day I could write a blog about an individual student in my class. I thought this would be a way to clearly remember the unique lives in that room. I will not use their real name as not to breech any laws.
Venice is truly unique. First off, she has hair that passes her waist, a precious, dimply smile and the most intuitive hugs. She seems so comfortable and confident at school. She works hard and diligent. She is very social as well. Overall she is rather balanced. She truly strives to make good choices and I see that so naturally in her. I hope that life and disappointments don't suck that out of her.
There is one thing that really stands out among the other students about Venice, her hugs. All of my kids hug me and they are often reaffirming and they feel good, but there is something so pure about her hugs. It always seems that at the right moment, she so quietly will get out of her seat, walk over to me, wrap her arms around me so gently, nuzzle her head on my waist, and then quietly walk away. Most children this age don't have the ability to do that without disrupting the entire lesson or moment, but she can. Her timing is always just right, and it seems as though it is also very intuitive. When I feel these little arms wrap around my waist I always feel like she is saying, "You can do it Miss Davis! I know today seems particularly stressful, and I know we can be frustrating, but we all love you. We are trying. We appreciate you." It is often my "Godsend."

66 days to go...

Originally, I had planned to blog often, and that didn't happen. This year has flown by as so much of life does. Part of me feels regret for not having documented all of the ups and downs and lessons learned, but maybe I will look back and appreciate only the memories that I can recall. It definitely made me respect those who can document their life daily.
Well, I am more than half way done with my year; 110 days have swiftly passed. I have developed so many wonderful relationships it is hard to even express the beauty of that. I have learned so many lessons about others and myself, I feel truly blessed. I think that one of the main things I have learned this year is that I am a relational person. I look forward to my job every day because I get to influence others. My attitude, appearance, words, body language, emotions, all truly effect the lives of others. Depending on my mood I can greatly effect the lives of 19 children. It's a daily choice to live a higher purpose. I love being held to that accountability, it gives a whole new perspective to what I call a "job."
I feel cheesy saying this, but when I am in my classroom from the hours of 7:25-3:25 my day rarely feels like a "job." It feels so much more like a responsibility. A responsibility to love these kids for those 8 hours. It's hard, but rewarding. I never thought I would love anything more. Sometimes it's hard to decide if the paper work, the grading, the planning, the meetings, and phone calls make it worth it. The pressure to show results is so great, that is often overwhelming so you have to document, document, document and it is an exhausting task. I wish I could think of those tedious tasks as a loving gesture to each child, but that part feels like a "job."