Kinder, that's what Kristen's teacher, Mrs. Ryan, liked to call it, and somehow I think it sounds better too. So, yesterday was Kristen's last day (and when you really think about it, mine as well). There was a short performance scheduled with songs and poems the students had learned throughout the year. The kids were excited and animated in their performance. (I'll post pictures once I can download them from my camera).
Since Kristen is a tall girl, she was in the back row. I couldn't see all of the actions she was doing with the song, but she was certainly into it. As a closing to the performance, we watched a slide show of the Kinder year in review. Kristen's teacher sat on the gym floor with her students and cried through it.
We headed back to the class where, still with tears, Mrs. Ryan explained how much she loved teaching and how much she loved our children throughout the year. She really was an excellent teacher. In one of the conferences I attended she said that I needed to write a book on how to raise children so that she could have it when she started having her own children. Very thoughtful teacher.
Kristen was having a hard time holding it together. Her brown eyes were filled with sadness and she tried to smile with quivering lips. She said to me a number of times, "She was the best teacher a little girl could ever have," and "I give her half my heart."
