Ups and Downs

Monday was probably my least favorite day of school yet. As I went through my normal repetition routine of repeat, repeat, repeat, act, act, act, draw, draw, draw, I couldn't help but look at my students and just curse them in my head. All day I was so frustrated and angry with the fact that I was stuck teaching first grade. I would look at them and in my head think, "Who the heck thought me teaching first grade was a good idea? Why the heck am I stuck with such little ones? I don't care that they're cute, I want to talk to them, read with them, do reading strategies, and "fun" stuff. I think people were wrong when they decided to put me in first grade, I can't take their smallness and I don't want to teach them what the letter A is"

Today I also went through my normal repetition routine of repeat, repeat, repeat, act, act, act, draw, draw, draw. However, today I just couldn't help but marvel at that fact that Chucri wears a fanny pack all day long where he stores his pencil and crayons. And Adriana, on only her second day of journaling, started writing "words." My kids are supposed to copy a journal prompt (ie: I like ______ or today's was: My Family) and then they about that topic. I was told not to have them write words with their pictures until much later in the year, but I figured, if that's what I want why not give them the option now. Adriana labeled her family: Mader, Fader, Boder. Pretty awesome if you ask me!

Same "day," same routines, same frustrations/challenges, different perspectives.

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens. "

~ Kahlil Gibran