Top 10 Reasons I Became A Teacher

 Hi friends! I'm super excited to be linking up with my friend, Terry, for her Top 10 Tuesday! I met sweet Terry in Vegas and we immediately hit it off! We share a love for gambling way too much! :) We are both a part of The Primary Chalkboard, and I am so very thankful for the Chalkie friends I have made.

I wanted to take this time to share my top 10 reasons for becoming a teacher! To be honest, some of these were probably different when I made the decision as I entered college. But these are definitely the reasons that keep me going back, year after year.

Before I made any final decision about my college major, I knew for sure I wanted to be in a helping profession. I truly thought about being a counselor, and still do on a regular basis. I knew I couldn't be a nurse, because well...I can't handle needles, blood, or any of that nonsense. That left social work and teaching and I just felt like teaching was the right fit for me. I'm so thankful I get to help my sweeties each and every day. We have such a unique opportunity to be a bright spot for them...to support them when they struggle and to show them the amazing things that can happen when they try their hardest. 

Truly, I can still tell you the name of all my Elementary teachers and most of my middle and high school teachers. Not only that, but I have two aunts that are teachers and they were amazing examples to me. Two teachers REALLY made an impact. Mrs. Pace in 2nd grade, and Mrs. Oeffner was my G/T teacher from 2-5th. Mrs. Pace was my champion for years, and she had the warmest spirit about her. Mrs. Oeffner sparked creativity in me, challenged me, and helped me find my role as a leader. I still remember the day she told us she was switching positions. I'll never forget either of them, or the other amazing teachers I had. I hope I make them proud! My Aunt Patti and Aunt Heidi are still teachers. Patti is a PE teacher, and helped me get a jump start with my teaching career. She let me come observe when I didn't know what to look for. She let me sub even when I had NO idea what I was doing. I don't think I ever followed her plans correctly, hahah. But she has this incredible way with kids. I've never seen a classroom run as smoothly as hers. I hope I can see her teach PE one day...I swear she has magic dust...

That's no secret...I just really love picture books. It's part of why I love teaching primary. I know the big kids can still be read to, but they probably don't want to read a Mo Willems book every single day. I LOVE reading to them, and I LOVE hearing them read even more. My very favorite thing is looking up during Readers Workshop and seeing my sweeties reading our favorite books with expression, fluency, and beaming with confidence! 

Okay...I realize that seems like my husband doesn't. Hahahah! He definitely says he loves me. But there is nothing like sweet babies telling me they love me. 1st graders love their teachers...it's got to be one of the best parts of the job. They tell me I'm beautiful...they like my nail polish...I smell good. And there's nothing better than that, ha!! 

Seriously...there is nothing better than a card from a 7 year old. Or a snack they packed up from home. Or something random they found at home and "borrowed" to give me. 

Again..not that complicated. I'm a pretty simple girl. I love hugs so much. I believe kiddos need hugs. I believe grown ups need hugs. And I'm so thankful I get hugs every single day!! 

I feel like this has been 1,000,000,000 times more true since I have met amazing teacher bloggers. But I love that my co-workers are naturally loving, caring, and selfless people. Teachers just are GOOD PEOPLE like Paul says. I love that I can trust my coworkers have my, and our students, best interest at heart. Of course, we don't always see things the exact same way, but I truly believe that teachers love children and want the best for them. I can't see being a teacher if you didn't want to better the world. 

I've never been great at art, or music, or sports, hahaha! But I do consider myself pretty creative. Teaching lets me be creative every day! I love looking at a standard and thinking about the best way to teach it. Or thinking about a student and coming up with some ideas to support them. Now that I have found TPT and blogging, this is even more true! 

I love that I can't be lazy at work, haha. If I had a desk job, I can almost guarantee you I would sit in my office chair all day! I know this because that's what I do in the summer, haha! So I love that my job keeps me active! It's healthy to move around...and I'm thankful for that! :) 

I just can't think of another job that we get 2 months off in the summer, and several weeks during the fall and winter. Of course, we work a LOT during the school year. But you just can't beat summer. 

I can't wait to hear what YOUR 10 reasons are. Be sure to link up with Terri's Teaching Tidbits!