Teacher Appreciation Week, Day One

I don't even know if I'll have anything to write about for days two, three, four, and five, but I thought I should share a couple of cute things from Day One.

First of all, my classroom door is decorated. So cute. I just love the fact that our PTA and Room Mothers and the students all get in on the action.

Second of all, and I mentioned this somewhere last year, Pinterest has really boosted the teacher appreciation cuteness. Today I got a bouquet of candy glue-gunned onto sticks and put into a vase. Darling. The creativity of others is astounding.

My FAVORITE things, however, are the notes. Today I received three.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
You're lucky to have,
A class that loves you.

I love it when children put me in my place and let ME know how lucky I really am! I cherish this dear little soul.

One girl wrote some sweet, sincere, and sweeping statements which she may someday regret: "Thank you for making things much easier for the years to come. Consider this the SWEET before the apple and enjoy it as you devour it (she gave a caramel apple to me and yes, she used the word devour...not sure this reflects well on me). I think I've learned most things I now know from you. You are bright, intelligent, and kind and that's what most people look for in a teacher." So, wow. I have a lot to live up to! I love this little girl so much.

And another boy gave two drawings to me with captions. One is a fire breathing dragon standing on its hind legs and it is simply labeled, "Kyburzilla." Yes, I am laughing as I type. But if you only knew this boy, you would understand his truly loving gesture--this is for sure his love language. The other drawing is of another dragon with a number line underneath measuring 16 feet. There's a separate smaller drawing (close-up/inset) of just the head and the fire being breathed out. The caption says, "23 mph." I asked and yes, that is how fast this dragon runs! The note says, "Dear Mrs. Kyburz, This is a drawing of a Yellowstone Dragon. You are my favorite 5th grade teacher. I like the extra recess." Oh, and this child has MOVES when it comes to dancing the hukilau. It has been an absolute pleasure to have crossed paths with this gentle young man and watch him blossom, not because of anything I've done, but because it was simply his time to emerge in our classroom garden.

Today's take-away: I am one very lucky, bright, intelligent, kind, apple devouring, fire breathing Kyburzilla teaching on my hind legs while looking for Yellowstone dragons during extra recess.