its the little things

i just cant wait for valentines day.  i feel like a kid again!  i was filling out all of my valentines, and thought about how fun it will be to go around to all of the kids bags and drop them off.  i cant wait to see all of my kids smiles and hear their laughter while they open theirs, and play all of the games that i have planned.  i love being the one in charge of the schedule, but i am mostly excited to be a part of all the fun activity throughout the day! :)  it feels so fun being on the other side of the school day...its almost like being behind the scenes.  i wonder if my kiddos get as excited as i do for days like this?!  i just hope i remember to prepare myself for the sugar rush! 


on a side note, i finally read the book, you are special, to my class (i have been wanting to for quite a while now) and we wrote entries in our reading notebooks about how we can connect to the book, or what it reminded us of.  it was amazing to see their insight and how they could relate to the book so well.  they could think of times they felt a lot like punchinello with hurt feelings, how they may have felt like another wemmick by giving gray dots to others, or even how they felt like lucia by not caring about what others think.  they all understood the message about how we should not to judge others by what they look like, say, or do.  i dont know if they connected it 100% to the true meaning of the book, but i loved hearing the responses they came up with, and being a part of the discussions with the book.  sometimes i wonder if they really are more intelligent than me!  im thrilled to be able to dig so deep into these meaningful books with my students.  if you have not read you are special by max lucado, i strongly encourage you to do so!  every time i read it, i am covered in goosebumps and tear up! its sends such a strong message.  i hope my kids know just how special they are.  i need to remember to tell them so every day.  sometimes i get too caught up in what im teaching, how they are so squirmy, or the fact that i dont know how to get things across to them always.  i need to take the time to sit back and let them know the things that truly matter.