Sometimes I try to remember so that I will be sure to not forget~

Sometimes I try to remember what life was like for that little fourth grade girl shown above and in my remembrance I always hope that it makes me more empathetic for the nine and ten-year olds that I'm in charge of each and every school day.  As a now very grown up 58- year old, I often fear that I've lost touch with what it was like to be a kid.  In today's world, children in the fourth grade and heck even much earlier for that matter, are expected to know things that back in 1964 were reserved for the junior high and high school crowd.  In many ways, they are no longer allowed to be "kids" and that makes me sad to say that. 

 The painfully shy, little brown-haired and blue-eyed girl that I was in those days had the blessing of  growing  up in a small rural community in south central Kansas.  In many ways, my hometown of Haven, Kansas is very much like the south western Colorado community I teach in now, Olathe.  Oh yeah sure, there are ranches instead of farms here and the major crops grown are alfalfa and corn instead of Hard Red Winter wheat, but the feel of the place is so much the same.  I think that's why I find myself growing attached to that spot on the earth much more so than here in Montrose where we make our home.  It's nice to make the journey ten miles up the road each day and know that for the next 8 hours I'll be with a group of young people that I've grown to love.  I remind them all the time of the same story, the story of a lonely and homesick school teacher from Kansas who searched all summer long to find them.  And when I had nearly given up and thrown in the towel to surrender, there they were at just the right moment in time.  Geesch, I think I may have told them that story one time too many.  Yesterday as I reminded them of it, one of my dear young men finished my sentence for me......"And when you were JUST about ready to give up Mrs. Renfro, there we were!" and inside of me, my heart sang.

I could tell you that every day things go smoothly inside of our classroom and that we never have any problems at all, but that would be an untruth.  Many days there are things that arise, feelings that get hurt, struggles with learning and just a general sense of "what the heck do we do now?"  When personalities conflict with one another (and by the way, I'm part of that mix too) I remind them of one thing.  For nearly 8 hours of our waking day, we are together, all of us, in one room.  That room is our home for the day and all of us inside are like a family.  It's as if I am  like the mom (well grandma now I guess LOL) and they are the same as  brothers and sisters.  While we may not always get along with one another the bottom line is that we stick together, just like glue.  We try to settle our differences quickly and move on just like any good family would do.  When we are there we "cover one another's back" and protect each other to the end.  It's an idea I have to remind them of from time to time but they know what I mean and continue to try to live up to that standard of behaviour.  It's not easy being a kid in today's world.  I want them to know that in our room and in our school they can be safe and able to learn.  They are welcomed in every morning with the knowledge that each day is a gift, a "do over" from the day before.  I like that.

You know, I do believe that the spirit of that little fourth grade girl that I used to be, really still lives on inside of me these days.   She remembers the struggles of school, especially arithmetic (somewhere a kid reading this is saying ,"what the heck is arithmetic?").  She remembers the joy of being a great speller who now in her older years has to remember that not every kid is going to be the best of spellers.  That little 9-year old girl that I used to be often gives me a nudge in the side when I get upset over things that my class does from time to time.  The nudge is really like a thump upside the head that reminds me, hey they are just kids and I used to be just like that myself.  Their teacher makes mistakes, sometimes on a  daily basis.  But as I remind them all the time, it's the learning from our errors that ends up being the best kind of education EVER.  I love them all and I guess maybe they love me too, least wise they sure keep coming back every morning :)

Time to head out the door soon and meet the day.  Everywhere across the country today, teachers are teaching and children are learning.  Please pray for all teachers and students that our endeavours in obtaining knowledge  would be successful.  Now more than ever, students are expected to learn even more and trying to crowd all of that into an already short school day is a pretty daunting task.  Have a great Wednesday everyone out there!  

Even on our "not so good" days, these guys are still keepers!  I love them, all of them.

 The last day of school, 2010 with the group of students that I retired with the "first time" around now at Avenue A Elementary in Hutchinson, KS.

A bunch of fourth-graders of the more "mature" side of life~the friends of my childhood, comrades of my youth.  We went through the first part of our lives together.  Friends forever, that's what we are.