A Different Kind of Thanksgiving Story

Sorry I haven't written in two weeks!  Life has been pretty busy this last week!

It was so nice to get a break from school and spend time with friends and family for Thanksgiving.  My family is such a blessing. 

As stressful and hard as this fall has been, I am so thankful for my students.  It is SO awesome to see their progress!  It's only November and I can't believe how far they've come.  It definitely inspires me to keep teaching and invest in their little lives.

The first day of school Ally (not her real name) marched into my classroom.  She plopped down glaring at me and did everything she could to get in trouble.  If she was supposed to be quiet, she would talk to her neighbor.  If she was supposed to put her desk down, she would put hers up.  She pushed people, tattled to the extreme and made it very hard to teach.  Ally was a foster kid for quite some time and has lived a rough six years.  She was such an angry little girl and obviously hated school.  Instead of trying to learn, she refused and would get so upset.  It upset her that the other kids had learned things that she didn't know.  Reading was the hardest for her.  At the beginning of the year, the letters meant nothing to her.  She would just get frustrated and put her head down each time I tried to help her sound out the words.

I considered her my "project."  I remember being so puzzled as to why she would want to get in trouble!  Why did that bring her satisfaction?  Over the next few weeks of school she amazingly began to soften.  That angry frown only showed up once a day, and then not even every day!  She began to learn the letters and sounds.  Socially she began to soften as well.  She let down her wall and I even saw a hint of a smile at recess or when she did something well in class.  All the weeks have run together in my mind and I too often loose track of one students individual progress as I'm trying to teach all of my students. 

It was last week that I went around the room during their five minute silent reading time listening to a few students read.  Ally didn't seem nervous when I walked up to her desk.  She didn't give me the angry frown like she'd given so many times before.  She began to try.  She tried her best to sound out the words.  She smiled real big as she self-corrected herself to read the word.  She did it!  She was so proud!  I was so proud!

As she left for Thanksgiving break, she tugged on my arm.  When she had my full attention, she hugged me and said, "I love first grade!  See you on Monday!" and she walked out.  I have a feeling Thanskgiving was hard at her house.  I know though, that she is looking forward to Monday.  Room 6 at Erving Elementary is a place where she is excited to come.  I will be looking forward to seeing her on Monday as well :)