confessions of a 4th grade sub.

today, i had my first opportunity to sub for elementary kids and i absolutely loved it. it was one of those days where at the end of it i thought, "maybe teaching 4th graders for the rest of my life really would be the best thing for me to do." the class i had was wonderful and respectful and just really a great group of kids. by the end of the day, i had 7 "secret" notes delivered to my desk (i say secret b/c some tried to not let me know they were putting them there, while others let me know for sure but failed to sign their name). anyways, it's hard to really do anything else but melt emotionally when you get letters from kids saying "i really like you as a substitute. thank you for being my friend," with a picture of yourself and them standing side by side smiling. am i just a sucker or do kids just have this magical, kiss-up/suck-up power with adults? it's like, what do you do when they've done all the work you assign, completed all the lessons you've taught, and still quietly come up to your desk and ask, "is there anything i can do to help you or anything that needs to be done [big smile inserted here]?"

a couple of the girls wanted hugs on the way out and i felt a little odd hugging these little girls with their parents standing right there wondering, "why the heck is my daughter hugging this strange man?" i simply smiled, and told them to hve a good weekend. i wonder what the kids will tell their parents when they ask why they were hugging the substitute teacher?

all in all, i just wanted to say what a joy it was for me. maybe teaching college-aged kids won't work out and i'll change directions in my future teaching aspirations? who knows. all i know is, these kids in this class have me wrapped around their little fingers...and i don't care one bit.