First Grade – Eighth Grade | A Nostalgic Teacher’s Ramblings

Today the first graders could not get enough of watching the arborists working in the park.

It was a bit of an event. We extended our park boundaries a bit so we could get a little closer to the magic. Of course, they were dying to watch the chipper in action, so as soon as it was safe to do so we ran to the fence and watched the power at work.

Don’t you just love how these simple happenings can be so exciting! Many of them spent their entire recess watching!

Later in the day one of my former students stopped by school to say hello.

I was in the midst of dismissing the first graders when suddenly his familiar face took me back to last year and I was suddenly nostalgic, missing those middle school days.

I’ve been thinking about them a lot lately, remarking to myself on what a blessing our 8th grade year was. Everything seemed to come so easily. Everyone got along. They knew what I expected and they did the work. Though I thought we knew each other and our connections were as deep as they could be — we went deeper. We connected over electromagnetic motors, the US government, Malala Yousafzai, dress-code protests, Alexander Hamilton, Chance the Rapper, and most of all, an election that left us all reeling.

Though I have certainly found my groove with the first graders, it still feels a little strange to come to school every day and not see those familiar faces.

Luckily, first grade contains just as many blessings as eighth grade, just in very different form.

Today was a day that reminded me of all of them.

How lucky I am to do this work!

(By the way, in the last week I quietly released two more curriculum guides — 7th grade physiology and 8th grade creative writing. No doubt putting these guides together contributed to the nostalgia!)