It's official!

Nine years ago, I was hired for my first "real" job. I had my bachelors in early childhood education and my masters in special education and I was ready to conquer! Today, I turned in my letter of resignation. It sent me whirling back to review these last 9 years. I worked as a special education teacher in an elementary school. I worked with students with mild disabilities all the way to severe disabilities. I'm not going to lie, I didn't love every moment. There were lots of moments that were hard. Lots of "learning moments". I remember my first year trying to teach a student that only wanted to stay under my desk. Super intelligent, but didn't fit the public school mold. So, what did we do? We learned under my desk. I remember my first student that pulled my hair. The first student that bit me, the first student that threw a chair. After a summer regrouping and lots of training, I came back with a vengeance and we worked together. He learned to function in our world. He learned to go to a regular education claaroom(successfully!). His mom was able to get a job, the first since he was born. I grew, he grew, I can truly say he holds a special place in my heart! I remember a set of twins. Man, they hung from the rafters! So much misdirected energy. We learned to spell sight words jumping from letter to letter. We practiced phonological awareness skills while running. We worked on speech sounds while wiggling. They moved, I cried, they still enter my prayers regularly. More recently, I remember a 4 year old saying his first words. I remember his mom crying at hearing her own name. I remember telling that same boy a few years later to let others answer the questions, it wasn't his turn to talk. He caused so much laughter and joy in our classroom. I remember a meeting a few years back with a frustrated mom, at the end of her rope, quickly giving up hope and I'm sad to say, I didn't help much. I was new and it was definitely a time of growth. I'm happy to say now, that dear mother and I have joined together in the fight. We communicate regularly, we laugh, we cry, we fight against the silence her son is caught in. I cry that I won't spend next school year with him. I may miss his first words and that rips my heart to shreds. So many students, I can't name them all, this blog isn't long enough to mention all my loves. There have been too many. That being said, I am entering my next challenge ready to conquer! I am excited to use my teaching skills at my home daycare. I'm excited to experience the earliest intervention. I'm excited to spend the day with my two youngest girls, excited to have snack waiting when my oldest comes home. Excited to learn this new business. Apprehensive to learn, anxious knowing that often times learning comes from mistakes and trials. Comforted in knowing that my God provided this opportunity and He isn't finished holding my hand through this transition and new beginning. I'm excited and ready to walk through the opening and operation of my home daycare with you. Welcome to Little Learners daycare.