Thank a Teacher

Although Teacher Appreciation Day is in May, it really should happen at this time of year because teachers are working so hard to get the school year underway!

I spent one hour in the cafeteria today to help out with Kindergarten lunch, and I was in awe of our Kindergarten Team. Those little people need so much assistance that the ten teachers, along with our cafeteria staff and custodian, never stopped moving to make sure the kids had everything they needed.

Every teacher I know is tired this week, but Kindergarten teachers deserve all the respect and admiration in the world for what they’re doing right now - especially this year, as we all try to recover from the past eighteen months.

If you know a teacher, please thank them! If you know a Kindergarten teacher, please shower them with love and support, because what they do during the first part of the school year is nothing short of superhero work.

Happy Tails to you!

Personal Days

I had a teacher friend message me yesterday and tell me that even though they've always felt guilty for taking any personal time, they requested two days off in order to travel for a long weekend. They said I "convinced" them, which is pretty hilarious to me, because most of the time, I'm trying convince myself of such things (taking leave, saying no, putting yourself and your family ahead of your job...all things I've not been great about in the past).

During my first several years of teaching, the guilt that accompanied any leave request was awful, so I completely understood what my friend meant.

There are a lot of things I wish I could tell my younger self because I constantly stayed at school super late and I said yes to too many commitments. In terms of not doing these unhealthy things, I'm still a work in progress, but one thing I've gotten much better about as I've gotten older is not feeling guilty when I take time off.

Why should I? I've earned that time! Those ten sick days and three personal days were touted as perks when I was interviewing for teaching positions!

So while I still may stay at school way too late some days and admittedly still say yes to too many things, I've already submitted leave requests for ALL of my personal days this year. I did it last week and I'm feeling rather proud of that! I know it's easier for me to do so in my current role than it was when I was a classroom teacher, but I still want to encourage my fellow teachers to use that personal time as you see fit. You don't have to travel or do anything that costs money; maybe a personal day for you is relaxing at home, reading a book, watching a movie, or catching up on sleep.

However you want to spend it, it's your time to spend! And you should NOT feel guilty about it! I can't even describe how much I'm looking forward to those personal days, even though the first one is still months away!

this is likely how Ginny
would spend a personal day

Happy Tails to you!

What a day...

The first day of the school year is done...and it was a long one!

The morning went relatively smoothly and it really was great to see all of the kids again! One of the things I love about Kiss and Ride duty is getting to know kids outside of the classroom; the little chats I get to have with them are so entertaining!

Dismissal was a different story. Very chaotic! The last bus didn't arrive until 5:40! Dismissal starts at 3:45! The first day always comes with its challenges, but yikes! It was also so incredibly hot, and I was outside in the sun for almost an hour at Kiss and Ride...if you know me, you know I despise the heat!

The kids were such troopers, and several teachers stayed super late to hang out with them. I really do have some great colleagues and I was so grateful for the families' patience over those crazy couple of hours! It means a lot that they understand the our school staff was doing the best it could to get everyone home safely!

When I got home, I was so happy to hug Ginny...she really does make everything better! C also continued his tradition of sending me flowers on the first day of school and not only are they beautiful, but they make my office smell amazing! He's the best!

Tomorrow's dismissal has to be better, right?

Happy Tails to you!

Here We Go

Tomorrow is the first day of school for our students and while it would be great for things to magically return to how they were before the pandemic, that’s not realistic because life has not fully returned to “normal” yet.

But almost all of our kids will be in the building with us, five days a week. That’s amazing. It’s been so long since this was our reality!

For me, being able to sit and read with a student in person is one of the greatest privileges of my job. Shared book experiences are so powerful and I missed them terribly when we were virtual. I still worked with students and we read many books, but it just wasn’t the same. If I’m being honest, how could it possibly have been the same?

So goodbye, zoom learning and teaching!

While I definitely loved meeting SO MANY pets during our virtual time together, I can’t wait to open countless car doors tomorrow morning in our Kiss and Ride line and see those beautiful little faces in person!

Happy Tails to you!

Stroller Dog

We spent the day with family celebrating our nephew's second birthday, and after dinner, we took our niece and nephew to the park. Ginny was being pretty uncooperative about walking, so I was about to carry her, but my dad said he'd push her in my nephew's stroller. I think she was rather pleased with this offer:

It was reminiscent of two years ago when I was babysitting my niece...Ginny also refused to walk then, so I put her on top of my niece's stroller and pushed both of them on our walk:

Apparently some things never change! Thanks to my dad for treating Ginny like royalty!

Happy Tails to you!

Bye, Friday Nights!

I've only been back at work for one week. How is this possible? It has felt MUCH longer!

This pic of Ginny is from a few days ago, but she looks how I felt after school today. I was fast asleep on the couch before 5:00! The first of many Fridays where I will make it as far as the family room after school before I collapse in a heap of exhaustion. This is not new and has been going on for my entire teaching career, but the first full week always hits me pretty hard.

After my nap, I stopped by my best friend's house to drop something off, and being able to see her in person and chat for a couple minutes made me so happy. This is the case any time I see her, but is especially true after a long week!

Cheers to a great weekend, fellow teachers! Monday will be here before we know it!

Happy Tails to you!

Once My Kid, Always My Kid

We had our Open House today and some of our students hadn't been in the building in over seventeen months! I loved seeing the range of emotions...excitement, nervousness, suspicion, and annoyance - and those were just the parents. Kidding! The students were so cute, even the ones who were clearly not happy that summer is ending!

My favorite part of the day, though? My former students who are now in middle school and high school, who were there with younger siblings.

No one really prepares you in your education classes for the feelings of love and joy and pride that will cause your heart to explode when you see your former students. It is one of the most awesome feelings of all time! I love how they can surprise me when they share what they've been up to (one of them is now very involved with theater and loves performing, which I would never have predicted!) or when they remind me of something from when they were in my class (one of them told me how they loved the audiobook "Where the Red Fern Grows" and how I walked around with a box of tissues as we listened because we were all crying together toward the end of the book).

I was reminded today why I'm a teacher. Students.

My students have enriched my life in such profound ways. They've made me laugh, they've made me cry, and they've challenged me in ways that made me a better teacher. I worried about them every day they were in my class; were they learning, were they happy, were they getting enough love and support and encouragement, were they getting enough to eat, were they getting enough sleep, did they feel safe...the list of worries was endless. And that worry doesn't go away just because they move on to the next grade.

So when I get to see them and catch up and admire their growth, it is the absolute best.

Some people think that the perk of being a teacher is "paid summers off" (don't get me started on that again...you can read my thoughts about that HERE).

The real perk is seeing your former students thriving.

It doesn't matter how much time has passed...if you've ever been in my class, I'm always, always, always rooting for your success! Once my kid, always my kid.

Very proud to be a teacher today.

Happy Tails to you!