GRATITUDE
"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
-Marcel Proust
Karlyn Van Gelder with two of my very appreciative students.
Amy McNally surrounded by love. Yeah that's right, we are pretty much one big happy rainbow of love (if that's possible).
I'm not trying to make you jealous (okay, maybe I am), but I do have the best volunteers of all time. This is a post dedicated to two volunteers who have not only spread happiness to our classroom, but more importantly who have helped my students grow and made them feel important. This my friends is gratitude. Gratitude for the little things in life; for the people who do those little things each day that add up to something truly wonderful in the end.
What are you grateful for?
"I'm grateful for my cat Peter. He plays with me. I feed him, and I love him."
-Tim
The students all used photos of themselves, and then drew imaginary bodies and gratitude thought bubbles to show what they were truly grateful for in life. Tim also told his dad to "keep clicking on on our blog to get more views". That's kinda hilarious, so If you are reading Dale....KEEP CLICKING ;)
"I'm grateful for my family because my mom and dad take me to fun places and come to my events. My brother (Tyler) for playing with me and always being nice to me. My coaches for letting me play, and my awesome teacher for doing all these incredible things for us."
-Brandon
Besides the fact that Brandon got an "A" for mentioning his teacher (just kidding), this is a great example of being grateful, because this is really about the people (not things!) that one should be grateful for. Nice job Brando.
"I am grateful for having nice grandparents. They always watch me when my parents are on a date or doing something.....BORING."
-Connor
This one rocks because I think what he is trying to say here is that going on dates would be boring. You're right Connor, going on a date with your parents is definitely not as fun as making sock puppets with your teacher after school. I'm also not totally sure what this picture refers to, but I like it.
"I am grateful for my family because they care for me. I am also grateful for my teacher because she helps me learn and grow!"
Sadie, I'm grateful for you and all the wonderful pictures you draw and stories you write. Your picture seems like a really happy place to be, so I am going to check out the real estate available for the building of One Magic Animal Kingdom based on something similar to your drawing.
In closing:
I hope you have taken the time to think about a few people in your life who you are grateful for. I'm totally grateful for Amy and Karlyn who volunteered all year in my classroom. Since my One Magic Classroom budget (which doesn't exist) hasn't been able to pay you a dime for all your kindness, I know you have been repaid by the countless smiles they have given you in return.
I hope you walk with some positive "tude"in your step after reading this grati-"tude" post. I know I will for having the 25 best students a teacher could ask for, and the two best volunteers.
One last thing Amy...
"I am grateful for my mom because she had me."
-Dylan
In case you were wondering what your son wrote, it was about you. Imagine that? Your son is grateful for you as well. So nice job on having Dylan so that he could be in my class, and so that you could volunteer ;)
Wonderful post on gratitude. I'm so grateful to see that there are those out there encouraging others with these ideals. For me, it is my friends and family. Who have encouraged me and help me through happy and difficult times. I am grateful for the few students I reached this year.
ReplyDeleteA few of them took me out to dinner last night and one even said that I was the most memorable teacher she has ever had. I was her advisor and teacher. It is bittersweet because she won't be graduating this friday because she didn't complete her english credit in time, but will over the summer.
Finally, I'm grateful that to have found this blog during the later half of this year. As it has been extremely inspirational, full positive ideas and different ways to reach students young and old. Well done One Magic Classroom. Wish you all the best in your future endeavors you have created something truly wonderful. Have a happy and safe summer with family and friends. I know I will :)
One note the student I spoke of is off to do mathematics at the University of Toronto and another that could not make it to dinner is off to do physics at the University of British Columbia. These two have said that I was their greatest influence, this is what I'm going to choose to take away from this most difficult year of teaching.
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