Teacher Appreciation Week

I feel so lucky to have a profession that's also my passion.  I have been given the gift of teaching excited students every day.  I get to share my love of reading with them, and I get to see them grow, learn, and mature.  I get to talk about their books with my students, seeing their eager faces every time I suggest a new book.  I get to watch them share books with each other and listen to them ask, "What part are you on now?"  One student this week told me, "I have good news and bad news.  The good news is that I've made my mom into a reader this year.  The bad news is that now she's taking all my books."  I had another girl say, "I can't wait until summer because now I'm a big reader and last year I wasn't.  So now, I'll be reading all summer!"  Music to my ears....

As if that's not enough, this week was Teacher Appreciation Week!  Look what I walked into on Monday morning...

The theme was "Teachers are Stars."  So we walked down the red carpet to enter the school building!

 

Hollywood stars with every teacher's name lined the hallways.

 

I've always wanted one of these! ;-)

 

 

All the bulletin boards had banners like these:

 

That was only the beginning!  At one of the schools in which I teach, I am a guest reader in one of the classrooms.  The classroom teacher graciously let me choose read alouds for her class, and I read aloud before I pull my small group.  We read The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, and Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder (see my blog post about her Skype visit http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780375873256).  On Wednesday, as I was walking down the hallway to get my small group, I heard whispering and one of the student's heads popped out around the corner of the doorway.  I couldn't believe what I saw when I came in - they had planned a surprise thank you party for me - complete with food, flowers, banners, cards, and posters.  Wow!  Each one of them had written a note about how much they loved the books (thank YOU, authors, for making me a star by reading your books).  One of the kids drew a picture of me with Ivan, Rebecca, and Auggie beside me. I'll never forget that party!

 

Our district is blessed with incredibly generous and supportive parents, so we also enjoyed multiple luncheons given by the P.T.O.  I have to say one perk this week for having a traveling job was that I got to eat a lot at all three schools! ;-) 

 

Today, one of my favorite gifts was actually a gift for my dog, Ben!  Think he likes it?!

 

 

 

So, I'm feeling very appreciated and very blessed as this school week comes to a close.  I can't believe we only have three more weeks!  This year has flown.

 

I also want to express my appreciation for all the teachers I've had in my life (including my amazing mother and father) and all the teachers my daughters have enjoyed!  I also know that many teachers across the country are teaching in schools where they don't have the kind of support and involvement that our district is blessed with, and I know their job is incredibly hard; I appreciate their dedication and grit very much, and our future is better because of them!  Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

 

 

Lastly, I appreciate my students and their love of books!  Here are Spin Cams ( I appreciate David Etkin for introducing me to Spin Cam) from today:

 

 

http://spincam.net/s/yzlk

 

http://spincam.net/s/2436