Out of the Mouths of Babes

It's over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our verification visit happened yesterday and today, and from what I hear, the verifiers were very pleased with what they saw! I'm so grateful for all the support I have received from parents and other adults at Salem, the school, and the AEA throughout this whole process! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I left my camera at school today, so I can't add any pictures tonight. I did want to give you just a sample of some of the things that made me smile this week.

1. While I was watching/helping some kiddos work on a zoo in the block center, one of my friends collapsed into my lap and said, "Mrs. Hansen, I'm going to sit right next to you, because I never want to leave you." At this point, my heart melted and I nearly started to cry. (I blame the tears on the overwhelming ups and downs I've experienced with the verification process the last couple of days.)
2. My morning friends made some pretty cool pipe cleaner sculptures on Monday, and we hung them from the ceiling to decorate the classroom. When the verifiers walked in this morning, one of my friends walked right up to them, pointed to her sculpture, and said, "Look!" She was so, very proud of her sculpture. The verifiers made a big deal of it, and she walked away with a gigantic smile on her face.
3. We have had a review week during Faith Time this week, so we've been rereading some of bible stories we have read since we came back from Christmas break. We were talking about the story in which Jesus calms the storm, and one of my friends remembered the words Jesus said to make the storm go away: Peace. Be still. When she remembered these words, another kiddo said, "Yup! Those were the magic words!"
4. The children have been exploring a skeleton I borrowed from the high school biology teacher. It has been fun to watch how they've interacted with the skeleton. This afternoon, I was playing a game with a friend in the toys and games area when she noticed that one of my morning friends left a present in the skeleton. Sitting on the skeleton's right hip was a plastic lizard. We laughed and laughed at this! There is nothing more out of place than a plastic lizard on a skeleton's hip.

As I mentioned, I am so grateful this verification process is over, and I cannot wait to focus my attention on teaching once again! If there's anything I learned from this week, it's that the children I get to see everyday are precious and wonderful in many, many ways, and I am truly blessed to have them in my life. I'll give you another update on Friday!