Kind of like having your first child...

After talking about my first week and a half to my friend Melissa, who just had her first baby this summer, she said the way I described my experiences at becoming a teacher sounds just like her experience at becoming a mother. I found this kind of funny. Let me explain. My degree is in Speech Pathology but I was hired to be a full day teacher for preschoolers. All of my prior experiences were being with clients 2 hours max but now I am responsible for my "clients" for an entire day. So, when someone asks me..."How did they do today?"...it's hard to describe with a simple "good" or "bad". You see, in 6 and a 1/2 hours kids aren't only good or bad or somewhere in the middle. They really just flow along the spectrum from good to bad the entire day. It might start out rough and then get better and then get worse and then get better again. There is always laughter at some point, tears at some point, hugging at some point, and yelling at some point. So, when you ask me how my day was....it's hard to answer that. I could say "good" because all in all, we made it through the day and good things happened. Or I could say "crazy" because there's always a couple points in the day when I am at my wit's end and have total sensory overload and just close my eyes and take deep breaths until my kids start asking "Mi Bawwy...you sweeping?" I also described to Melissa how my expectations are really changing. I imagined all these kids being so motivated to learn from me and that they would magically sit down when I asked them to and walk in a line from place to place. But this week, I decided my one goal would be to teach them to stand in a line and if I'm really good, get them to walk in a line. If I can achieve that in a week, I will feel fully successful. Anyway, I am learning so much from my kids each day and I feel so blessed to be where I am. After last week, I didn't know if I could handle another, but already I am seeing the kids change and learn so much! The routines I've created for them are starting to work and the rules and structure I've put in place for them are really starting to make a difference. I barely had to raise my voice today or put anyone in time out! I consider this a major success. Now, I know I can't get too excited about this...there are still 2 days left in the week and I know I very may well have a crazy day tomorrow, but I am ok with that. I am just taking each day as a learning experience for myself and giving myself grace for the things I haven't accomplished yet. A girl's gotta have a learning curve right?