Mom at School

So today was a very big Mommy Rite of Passage for me......volunteering in the classroom.  Oh my gosh, what a wonderful time!  It's also Teacher Appreciation Week and how fitting that I was in a classroom, witnessing first hand what teachers do every day.

I have to go back a few years first.

There are many teachers that I have encountered along the way who gave me an awesome memory, sparked a thought, helped me in some way or inspired me to achieve.  There are a few that come to mind...

My Mom- My very first teacher.  She taught me that home is safe, that hugs are more important than money and that school is THE most important thing to do in childhood.  Seriously folks, my parents had very strong opinions about school and they were not afraid to share them.  I'm not a road scholar by any means, but it was my Mom that taught me "you can do whatever you want."  ...and with those words, she gave me wings.

Mrs. DeSollar- She was my nursery school teacher (we call it Pre-K today).  I have a very vivid memory of a crystal clear box that had 26 little drawers in it.  Each draw had a letter on it.  Inside the box was some sort of little trinket that start with that letter.  The "B" box had this tiny little bee, and I loved it.

Mrs. Drijie- 4th grade. My memories of her are those of kindness, and compassion and sweetness.  She had the best smile, she never raised her voice and she taught us all how to write "fancy"  (cursive...which hell I think they teach in kindergarten now!).  She also had "The Reading Cave" which was a little private area that you were able to go into and it had curtains around it.  Most kids were excited to go in there to read a book and not be disturbed.  However, I kept peeking out of the curtains...that alone thing was not for me!

Mrs. Fearneyhough- 7th grade.  She taught English or Writing or some such.  I don't remember exactly.  But I did like her class because she never took any sass.  7th grade boys are full of sass and she could always smack that down in an instant.  It was fun to watch!  She also taught me how to spell tomorrow.  There was a boy who lived in our town, his name was Tom Orr (seriously...that kid lived in our town!)   "All you have to do is add o-w behind Tom's name."  I've never spelled it wrong since.

Mrs. Osmer- High School Consumer Ed.  She was a teacher that made you THINK!  You had to think about what it would be like to have a baby (and we carried around eggs ever so gently to care for them).  You had to think about what you would do if you were stranded on the side of the road (and we learned how to change a tire).  You had to think how you were going to handle money (and we learned how to balance a checkbook).  I could go on and on....but I'm telling you, that woman sparked LOTS of thinking in my brain.  She taught me that it's important you understand the world you live in.

Mr. Dwyer- 8th Grade science.  Craziest teacher I've ever had.   When you were in trouble you might have to sing the Beatles song Michelle My Belle.  Or, you might have to wiggle on the floor like a worm.  It was crazy....but I did love science.  I'm not sure if that was true when I walked in or if that's something he fired me up with!

Mrs. Webb & Mrs. Braner-  High School Lit/ Drama Club & Chorus.  Holy smokes, these ladies had every minute of my afterschool activities.  Practice after practice after practice of stage blocking, singing, memorizing lines.  The line I always dreaded, "No scripts next week!"  Ack!   They instilled in me a love of music and theater and they taught me all kinds of self confidence.  My high school days were filled with music and theater and I am better for it.

Mrs. Tracy-  Chemistry.  Yup, that's right, you heard me.  Chemistry.  That class was tough, and she was a tough teacher and I wanted nothing more than to show her I could do it.  The Periodic Table became my new best friend and I loved every minute of that class.  My first year of nursing school I also had a Chemistry class......and aced it.  Why?  I had a good teacher teach me fundamentals, get me fired up and excited about learning all the parts and off I flew.

Mr. Gholson- Biology and Zoology.  What can I say.  Fruit flies.  We were able to cross breed fruit flies!  Oh it all was just so dang cool.  Every experiment he had us do and write about was always so amazing to me.  It's usually not cool for a girl to love science but he kept making me want to do more and more!

You have them too.  Teachers that are plugged into your memory for a variety of reasons.  Our teachers do so much for our children, and I am not sure they always get the credit they deserve.

Okay, back to today....

After lunch we dropped Nea off at school.  We arrived at the same time the bus did, so she walked right in with her friends.  There is one little boy who just seems to love her to death and he grabbed for her hand.   She waved him off to get to the teacher to get the bear she was holding and carry it into school.  When she got the bear, she found her friend and they walked in hand in hand.  It was so sweet.  And I was so proud of her.

I went back to school for my assigned craft and snack time.  The OT gal stopped me before I went into the classroom.  She explained she was very happy with Nea's progress, and very happy to see her doing transitions so well.  Yay!  Transitioning from task to task is on her IEP goals so it's good to know she's making progress.

When I walked into that classroom the speech therapist was singing and dancing with the students.  10 little people holding hands and dancing in a circle.  Nea was so engrossed in what she was doing, she did not see me come in.  However, all of the other students saw me immediately!

"Nea's Mom is here!"   And then all 10 of those little people (minus 1...she was too busy dancing) came over to say hello.  They each said their name, one of them showed me the inside of his mouth and the other patted my leg in approval.  I seriously felt like a celebrity.  Nea finally saw me and said, "Oh, hi Mama"

The kids were so cute, and so excited.  We made dirt pudding cups for a snack and painted flower pots for Mother's Day (shh...don't tell Mom!) The gummy worms were a major hit and even the kiddos who do not do well with texture couldn't resist a touch or two of the worm.

It was fun to watch the kids do normal kid stuff.  But nothing amazed me more than the teacher.  Clearly a Pre-K teacher of special needs kids is going to have something about her that you just can't put your finger on.  She loves those kids like her own, she knows every single hang-up they might have and she floats around the room like a fairy.  Seriously, there is a TON of activity in that classroom.  And she moves from wiping one hand, to helping another kid hold a crayon, to encouraging others to keep hands to themselves and cheer for one that finally picked up the brush to paint.  As she moved from one activity to another, she noted Nea and another boy playing well together "Oh, good, I'm going to leave them alone with that for a minute and come back to them."  Fluidity, no doubt.  You would have to have hulk-like fluidity skills.  She also has a camera around her neck, always at the ready.  Snapping photos and posting them for parents so we can see our kids be amazing in a classroom setting!   She made it look effortless.

I was exhausted.

All the while....she's teaching.  She's talking about colors, she's counting cookies during snack time.  She's encouraging play and talking and asking for help.  She's giving these kids direction and support all in the same breath.

I have many friends in my life who are teachers, and I am certainly the one who is blessed by those friendships.  They teach me every day.

This is my thank you to teachers that have touched my life in any way.  And this is my thank you to teachers who touch my child's life now....and years from now.

Thank you.

Exploring school grounds.....spider? waterspout?

Making  alphabet soup

cutting up tomatoes for soup

taking care of caterpillars so they can be butterflies!

Editors Note:  And, there is not enough Clorox wipes in this world for a Pre-K class room.  There are also not enough hand-wipes either.  The teacher and her aide are constantly wiping something down or cleaning something up....including faces and hands.  Even if you do not have a Pre-K kid, go get some and give them to the Pre-K classroom in your district!