This is the Final Countdown...

     I did it...almost. Tomorrow, I close the chapter I titled "my first year teaching full time". For all those teachers out there you know what that feels like...a big ol' sigh of relief. There were days I did not think I could go another day, there were mondays not enough coffee in the pot could make getting out of bed worth it, there were tears of joy and tears of frustration, and there were even days I came home covered in paint. However, as I look back on what a year it has been the adjective that come to mind is wonderful. I could not have pictured a better year, a better staff, and a better group of kids for my first year teaching.
     As I sit here thinking about how quickly this year has came and gone and that the fact tomorrow will be the very last day I will be greeted by 18 running children as I enter the school grounds, my heart is heavy. I think back to the first day I met these kiddos and the nerves that filled me are indescribable. What if they do not like me, what if they don't know english and/or visa versa, what if, what if, what if... So now that I look back on all those what ifs the answer to every one of those questions is yes. Yes, I am sure at some point in the year they did not like me, and yes at some point they did not know what I was saying, and yes everyday there are times when I am still figuring out this whole language barrier thing. But what I am most certainly sure about is the 18, 5 year olds the entered Prepa B as are no longer the same 18, 5 year olds. They are now my 18 beautiful word reading, basic english speaking, a foot taller, 6 year olds. Today, I sat down at my desk I just listened and observed my classroom for about 5 minutes. I could not help but to smile and think about how far these children have came. When they entered my classroom maybe 1 or 2 of them knew what the words, sit down meant, let alone understand anything else I was saying. Today, I can say that we can go almost a whole day with out the need of translating every minor detail (I mean come on, this is huge progress people) and all of them have a basic vocabulary of english. They may not be able to fully speak full sentences in english yet, but they can understand a lot more. They also know how to sound words out and read basic sentences. Never in my life have I been more grateful for whatever teacher taught me to read and write. Man that is such a basic life skill so many of us take for granite! It was definitely a task I did not think I would ever master in my class...but today I can proudly say that my kids can sound out words and read sentences! So if you are reading this, say a thank you to your pre-school or kindergarten teacher, they deserve it!
     So tomorrow when I enter the school and see those smiling faces who will without a doubt greet me  regardless of what happened the day before, I will smile one big smile back at them with open arms! I am still at a loss of words of how to describe the past year but I do know one thing and that is the children have touched my heart and I will miss them very much! But good thing tomorrow is not my final goodbye and that graduation is in 15 days, I am not ready for those goodbyes yet. Until then....on to First Grade my 18 little ones!


A quick year in review: