This week I read a blog that talked about why we love what we do. It made me think about my career in Kindergarten and I guess this is why I love being a Kindergarten teacher:
I love that my job allows me to ALWAYS look for the best in every child and nurture that spark into a glowing smile or a full blown fire to do their very best. I love that after 33 years in Kindergarten, I still get excited when August comes around and I get to hone my skills once more to be the best teacher I can be, because these kids always deserve my best, too. I love that no matter how many candles I have on my cake, I'm still somewhere in the land between 18 and 99 to my students (somehow ageless).
I love that I can read a story out loud and make the characters come alive for my students by the inflection I use in my voice. I love being able to dance and sing and be silly and know that the children are learning through all those moments. I love the smiles I get to see when the light bulbs start to light up in their brains and they make a connection for the first time. I love reading their journals and figuring out what they were trying to spell before they read it to me. I love talking with their parents and assuring them that its common to see letters and numbers facing backwards in Kindergarten (and sometimes realizing that the parents were once my students, too).
I still love the smell of 'magic markers' and the feel of a real chalk board. But mostly I love the children, each and every one of them. And when they come back to visit, I love those hugs that I've missed since they left my room.
How many other people do you know that can say that?
