Happy Heart Day!

Three years ago when I was teaching first, a little girl did not bring me anything for Valentine's Day.  It was not a big deal.  After school, an older sibling of hers asked me if I knew that she had bought my valentine but the reason I did not have one was because she ate it.  In that moment, it kind of summarized my year.  That year was SO hard for so many reasons.  I think it was the first year that I truly felt the shift in education.  Those children needed more love than it felt I knew how to give.  It ranks up there with my first year in difficulty.  Most years, the children give you back more love than you ever give but there were not a lot of hugs or loving moments exchanged.  I just kept plugging with the belief that I might not ever see the fruits of my labor which is easier said than done.  There were so many tears and feelings of inadequacy that year.  I think about those kids so much when I plan and prep.  They changed me, completely for the better.  Every group should do that but this group has made me go back and back again to the importance of relationships in this career.  It makes my day when they smile and say hi in the hallway.

Last week because of a schedule change, part of kindergarten recess overlapped with fourth grade's.  I saw the little girl who ate my chocolates and with Valentine's approaching, I had to ask her if she remembered that.  She ducked her head when I asked her and said "yes, that is so embarrassing".  I told her how much it makes me laugh and think of her so she should not be embarrased.  I was just happy I got to share that moment with her.  

Fast forward to yesterday, party day at school.  It was also class picture day which meant all the teachers were in the gym to have staff pictures before our Frday assembly.  As I am walking out to go pick up my kids who were eating breakfast, the same student catches me and says, "I have something for you."  She brought me a box of heart chocolates.  It made my day and it had nothing to do with the chocolates.  Let's be honest, it is those moments that I am living for.  There are not always enough of them or enough that we get to see first hand how even those hard years shape their lives.

This week, we celebrated friendship and love.  

We are working on kindness and respect all the time!  We had a challenge each day, some of days they were easier than others!

Living on the edge for me is deciding to do an activity or lesson at the last minute. It was an adventure hunting for Hershey's Hugs the night before party day.  My class loved this!  They were fascinated by the differences between a Hug and a Kiss.

We water colored on Friday.  We talked about positive and negative space.  They also loved this!

The finished product!

Growing up my paternal grandfather would always buy my grandma her flowers and chocolates the day after Valentine's.  I never really understood it.  My grandma told me it was because when they were raising children, they had no money.  He was doing the most he could with what they had.  For the longest time, I thought it was a sweet story.  Now though, I really think he was wise and knew that it was not so much the gift that was given but the heart it was given with.  Wouldn't life be so much better if we lived every day and moment like we do on February 14th?