I remember the first day like it was yesterday....I dropped my daughter at school, she was wearing a pink and blue blouse with jeans and silver shoes. On her back she was carrying her Disney's Brave backpack and it was the first day of Kindergarten. Sure enough being the mother that I am, I cried on the way home and even cried during my seminar class. I couldn't wait for the afternoon to come so I could go pick her up and tell her how much I missed her and loved her. Tomorrow however she will be graduating Kindergarten. A whole year has gone by, where my "baby," has learned much about what school is and also much more about academics. Mya is so excited about graduating Kindergarten; she wants me to bring her a balloon and for her dad, her and I to go eat at Friendly's. She obviously has big plans for when school is done including, going to six flags, the beach, reading and sleeping until late when she is on vacation. We have made her teacher a card and brought her a little flower arrangement. After making the card, Mya cried. She said she was crying because she was going to miss her teacher who was a really nice teacher because she made lots of fun projects with her and ran around the classroom with her students running behind her. I was also heartbroken for her and also because this was the same teacher that helped my daughter feel welcomed and at home the first few weeks of school. To the best of my mother abilities, I assured her that in the future she would get a new teacher who would probably be as fun and caring as the one she has now.
As a mother I feel so thankful for the first teacher my daughter had. Her tears of heartbreak make me realize that she is greatly appreciated by my daughter and it is due to the impact she has made in Mya's life. I imagine many other kids will feel like my daughter tomorrow because they will also miss their kindergarten teacher. I was so anxious the first week of school, not knowing what to expect or how my daughter would feel out in the real world. Now ten months later I feel so relieved that she has been able to collect so many positive memories. I can only hope that in the future her teachers will make this much of an impact on her life because as a future teacher and having been in classrooms, I understand and embrace that teachers are not only teachers but caregivers; our work isn't just made up of correcting work and implementing lessons but also acknowledging that we care on a daily basis for multiple human beings. We make an impact on their lives because they spend a big chunk of their day with us. I always try to keep in my hearth the thought that school is a second home and therefore I want to be a positive force within that home.
In a few hours my daughter will put on her dress and look like a princess. She will get her Kindergarten diploma and snap pictures with my husband, her teacher and myself. Most important, one day far, far, far away, I will tell her about her kindergarten teacher and all the great things she said about her when one day she sees her picture.
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