If you know anyone in education right now, pause and send them an uplifting text. They need it.
I can easily say that these last three months of school have been beyond challenging. As soon as Bryan left on the ship, things went haywire. Due to the Omicron outbreak on base, we were sending teachers and students home to quarantine like crazy. At one point in January, nearly a quarter of our students were out and we couldn't get subs.
That's how I got roped into being a kindergarten teacher for four days. And then a 1st grade teacher for a day, where I covered an entire class and half of another because there just weren't enough substitute teachers. You know it's bad when you start splitting classes just so kids are supervised! (Note the "draining" part of this post's title.) I dreaded going to work because I didn't know day-to-day if I was going to be told to close the library and cover more classes. When I was in the library, I was playing catch up and cramming multiple days of class checkouts into a single day, just trying to make up for lost time. Yes, I know I did this to myself but it was all for the students, so I sucked it up and kept pounding. I was exhausted.
Oh, and then in the midst of the crazy, we also got hit with end-of-the-world sirens blasted from loudspeakers off base that were followed with frantic Japanese announcements at 1:30 in the morning. As I jumped out of bed with my heart pounding through my chest, I read a translated warning for earthquakes in our area.
I swear it felt like my world was ending.
As you can imagine I was fried. And I won't lie- I did have a meltdown in the closet of my library one day in early February. Sometimes you just have to let it out and pray you won't scare kids with mascara running down your face.
BUT things are looking up.
A few weeks back, I had the entire 5th grade down for a health lesson with Nurse Mary. Then the 4th-grade team reached out about a Biography Research Project, so I spent four days teaching our 4th graders how to do research and how to take notes from our kid-friendly databases. Its projects like these that remind me why I do what I do.
Then at the end of the two-week research project, the fourth graders invited their parents and other grade levels to visit our "wax museum" in the library, where visitors could push their buttons, and the "wax figure" would come to life and tell the audience about their famous person! I will say, hosting this event in the library made my heart swell! THIS is why I do what I do.
TWOsday: 2-22-22
Schoolwide we celebrated TWOsday, February 22, 2022 by having students and staff wear tutus, tiaras, ties and tennis shoes to school. We did book drawings and sent 20+ students home with free books, and had a 2-minute long dance party at 2:22pm. I happily spent the day in the library (win!) with five different classes for book checkouts and quiet reading time.
Read Across America Week: Feb 28-March 3
For Read Across America Week, we had a school-wide door decorating contest, a spirit week filled with dress-up days and I had a ball reading to every class during their book checkout times! I highlighted Peter H. Reynolds and all of his fabulous books throughout the week, and each student became their very own word collector and helped fill our library doors with some of our favorite words! I have to say, it was a successful (and exhausting) week! Check out all the classroom doors below:
Reorganizing The Library in my Spare Time
With all those activities happening around Darby Elementary, I am still finding time to organize the library, decorate the walls with student work and make book displays! Sometimes I even recruit little helpers, like Miss Hadley Castillo! But what melts my heart the most, is the sweet pictures I'm sent of kiddos enjoying their reading time in the library and outside the school (at home!)
As I write this, Darby Elementary is officially mask-optional. For now. With Bryan and I planning trips for spring break, I am continuing to wear mine when around my students. I have also noticed some of our students are hesitant to take off their masks, so I will continue to wear mine so those kiddos feel better! I mean, I've been wearing this thing non-stop since March of 2020- what's a few more months?
Some days are better than others, but that comes with any job. On the worst days, I focus on why I'm here: its all for the kids. If I can get them excited about reading, I'm succeeding. So I wake up every morning, enjoy a cup of coffee, and then watch the sunrise as I walk to school and remember: its all for the kids.
--Katie
Also known as Mrs. Johnson, and other times when my name slips their mind. the library lady
What a difference you are making in the lives of your students and community! God is using you in mighty ways! We are so proud of you and your heart for others!
Your library looks great! Sounds like you are killing it. I had no doubt that you would be amazing.