I had the most amazing first grade teacher. Mr. Averett was a brand-new teacher that year, so he made an incredible effort to teach us all. He took my shy little self and introduced me to the magical escape portal that is books. He taught me how to carry the one and how to borrow from the tens. He let me see that school was a good (not terrifying, as kindergarten had seemed to indicate) place and that learning was worth the work.
Now that I am a grown up, I confess: I still have an affection in my soul for school. Mr. Averett's example is one reason I became a teacher, and his skill at getting his little students to love learning ignited a flame that's still bright for me. If someone would just pay for it, in fact, I'd be a student my entire life, getting degree after degree.
It was a lucky year for me, first grade!
I'm certain that every one of you reading this has a similar story you could tell, either about a teacher who inspired you or one who changed your child's life. And perhaps it's time to make a layout about just that! Here are a few examples from the WCS team to get you started.
Celeste starts us off with a layout about her son's kindergarten teacher.
I think kindergarten teachers are amazing people. You have to be full of patience and exuberance to manage a classful of five-year-olds! What unique things have your kids gained from their kindergarten teachers? Do you remember your kindergarten teacher?
Celeste also shares a layout about that moment of meeting a new teacher:
Remember how that felt—all that nervous anticipation? What about the experience of watching your child meet his or her new teacher—how did it make you feel to trust this person with your child?
Karen made a layout about the positive impact a great teacher can have and her hopes for her son's learning:
Part of her journaling reads "I always hoped that you'd get to be lucky enough to find one of those teachers. The one that you will remember forever. The one that instilled joy in your heart." I think that is exactly the type of teacher we are all grateful to have. Have any of your kids had teachers like this? Did you? Try journaling about the specific kind of joy they brought.
In this layout
(isn't that an awesome photo?) Karen writes about her son's preschool teachers, who shouldn't be forgotten. Preschool, after all, might just be the funnest school in the history of school! What positive experiences with preschool teachers have your kids had?
I also made a layout about a preschool teacher, Miss Cathie:
Three out of my four kids went to Miss Cathie's preschool, so she's had an enormous impact on our family. In the layout I included a photo of the quilt I made for her when my youngest graduated from her school, which I hoped was a good way of saying "thanks for giving my kids a great start on their education." Try documenting some of the teacher appreciation gifts you give.
Christa took an entirely different approach by scrapping about her appreciation for an entire school:
which really brings up a whole previously-unexplored topic! (At least for me.) How do you feel about your child's school? What do you love, what could be different, what is unique—what's the lunchroom like? You could scrap the same questions about any of the schools you attended, too.
Erin takes us to the last bell of the day with this layout:
Can I tell you how much I love and adore this concept? In the layout, Erin writes about different elementary school teachers, detailing some specific memories from each grade. (She couldn't find her second-grade photo so she left a blank space for when it turns up.) Once I dig out all of my grade school photos I am totally going to make a layout like this one!
The scope for layouts about appreciating all things scholarly is enormous. Ask yourself how you might show your appreciation for a teacher or two in your scrapbooks. Consider it a homework assignment, due as soon as possible. I'm certain you'll get an A!
