15 furlough days, less Instructional Aid time, larger class sizes, less team-planning times, smaller school budget and loud construction going on all year. What could there possibly be for me to be thankful for? Well, with a little more thoughtfulness to the subjects….. a lot!

I’m so thankful I work at a school where I know the lunch ladies and janitor by name, and they always have a friendly smile. I’m thankful for the fabulous PTA, who makes homemade food for teachers when we have late-night conferences. I’m thankful for my teaching partner’s patience and creativity, and her willingness to try my new ideas. I’m thankful for my many, many parent volunteers, and their persistence with tedious tasks. I’m thankful that I work at a small elementary school, in a wonderful, caring district.

But, most of all, I’m thankful for the 23 smiles I see every single day I go to work.  I’m thankful that they are always ready to learn a new song or poem. I’m thankful that they love digging for worms for our class salamanders. I’m thankful that they love the outdoors as much as I do…and that they love learning outside. I’m thankful that they enjoy challenges in math. I’m thankful that I’m able to read about their lives in their detailed, phonetically-spelled stories. I’m so thankful that they let me read Charlotte’s Web, complete with all the voices for the different characters.

It is so easy to see what’s wrong with the state, the district, and school, the budget, the economy and the city. Anyone can complain about aspects of their job and things outside of their control. It’s not always easy to be thoughtful and truly concentrate on things to be thankful for in a job. Although, once I start thinking of things I love about my job, the thankfulness starts flowing.  Thank you, first graders, for making my day challenging, interesting, hilarious, energetic, creative and optimistic.