Birthdays at School=Great!!

I have had a complete change of thought about where I want to celebrate my birthday.
If you would have asked me Tuesday, I would have said the beach, the mountains, anywhere but getting up early and not relaxing.
However, once I have celebrated my birthday (Wednesday) at my school, I would never trade celebrating my birthday anywhere else!!

Having a birthday on a Wednesday during the school year was a blessing for me. The students made me feel so loved and special, I did not want to leave school. Some students brought me gifts and flowers, but it wasn't about the gifts that I loved. I constantly got hugs and told to have a great day. My mentor teacher brought cupcakes for the class to celebrate my birthday, and they had planned a birthday card signing and singing Happy Birthday to me when I wasn't expecting it. They were so so thrilled to see me smile and be surprised when all this was going on. I commented when they gave me my card saying, "If you were secretly signing this card while I was teaching, were you even listening to my lesson!?" in a joking manner, and they thought that was hilarious!! They answered, "No, No, Miss Denly!! I promise!!" :)  This experience has showed me that no small word goes unnoticed, to a teacher or a student.

I always love getting up in the morning and coming to school, however, this morning (Thursday) was much easier for me because I was still overwhelmed with love and kindness from my students. I'm still getting "Happy Birthday Yesterday Miss Denly" :)

This whole student teaching experience has showed me that I am where I need to be. I have never doubted my feelings about my decision to become a teacher, but this experience has proven to me everyday that I have made the best decision for myself. It is always a good feeling to know that you have made the right choice or decision and to have a moment that makes your feelings complete. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about these students and how hard it is going to be to leave them in a few weeks. I have already told my mentor teacher she is going to have to leave for a while so I can substitute for her class because I'll miss them too much!!