At least I never wore a crazy teacher sweater.

Sometimes I find myself missing teaching. I have all of the class pictures from the years I taught hanging up at home in our office so that I can remember to keep praying for all the kids and teachers that I love. I know that I made the right decision to work part time this year so I could help Ryan with youth ministry more, and I probably won't go back for a while so I can stay home while I have little kids. But maybe one day??? We'll see. Here are the things I miss most about being a teacher:

My Classroom- I have included several pictures from how I set my classroom up my first year. These pictures were taken before any young seven year old ever set foot in the room. Back when everything was just a dream to be taken on. But even in the later years, I loved setting up my classroom. I enjoyed organizing and decorating and creating a welcoming environment.

Hugs - Everyone morning and most afternoons I gave my kids a hug on their way into and out of the classroom. For those non huggers, a high five or more mature handshake was also acceptable. But I miss the hugs the most! Especially from those kids who were SO EXCITED to see me and gave me one of those squeeze the life out of you hugs every day.

The First and Last Days of School - I enjoyed the anticipation leading up to the first day, even though it was hard work. I also liked the sigh of relief that comes when you've finally made it to the last day. I really missed being at school this past August. It was the first time since I was 3 that I hadn't had a First Day. Yes, the middle part between the first and last days is really important, but those 2 days are the best.

Recess - Who doesn't want to spend 30 minutes a day outside, especially when it is beautiful spring weather?

My team - I worked with some awesome teachers. I miss getting to have lunch with them every day, even if lunch only lasted 10 minutes.

Breaks - Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break, Spring Break, Summer Break. That was awesome. I will confess and affirm that teachers NEED those breaks more than most people will ever realize.

Fridays - Fridays at school are different than Fridays in the real world. You get to wear jeans and your school shirt. You are finishing up the week. I liked giving spelling tests. And the best part.... my class always did the Cha Cha Slide to celebrate on Friday mornings! It was a fun 2 minute way to motivate them to work hard for one more day.
Reading Stories - I love kids books and I love to read to kids. Here is a picture of my classroom library early on. I think by the time I left I had about 500 books. I kept some and sold the rest to the new teacher who took my position. I hope he enjoys my collection!

Teaching Reading - It is AWESOME to hear a kid learn to read and become a better and better reader. Reading is such an important skill and I really worked hard for my kids to be good readers. I was so proud of the progress they made during the year.

Teaching Math - I'm a secret nerd. I like to teach addition and subtraction. Also place value. I don't know why. I also like all the fun math games you can play with cards or dice. I hope my own little kids like math, because we will be playing these games at home.

Teaching Science - I never liked science in school or college, but one I started teaching, I LOVED it. Science is probably much cooler than most people realize. I like all the fun ways to teach and learn about the scientific world. One day at my current job I saw a squirrel run and jump INSIDE of a tree and I thought about its little squirrel habitat. Every year my kids researched animals and made a big final project that was really fun.

Hearing Kid Stories - Kids tell really funny stories. They are less censored than adults and will talk your ear off if you let them. If I could go back and change one thing, I wish I had found a way to somehow let kids spend more time just talking to me about their life. You can learn alot this way.
Those are my rose colored reflections. I also remember some things that I didn't love so much, but I would rather not reflect on those. It's sad to think that even if I wanted to teach this next school year, I probably couldn't because of all the teacher cut backs. I have several good friends who have already been let go for next year due to district budgets. So sad. Sad for the teachers who can't do what they love, sad for the kids who will be put into bigger classes and miss out on some important things. Hopefully I can make up for the things I miss when I'm a mom. And maybe education won't stay like this too long.