End of the Road

I will miss seeing views like this on my homeward-bound route each afternoon. My job at this end of town has come to close.

As I reflect on the past year, and what it has meant to work there, I count it a blessing to have been able to work with such great people, and to have been given the scope I had to explore a fresh occupational pathway. I know I did things differently than other people. But I had a very patient co-worker, who coached me through many twists and turns. I treasured the gift of enjoying such variety in my work. It was a 'very good year' (to quote Frank Sinatra).
Some of the highlights for me were:

• Listening in as the Gr. 2 teacher read to the class, before I went off for some one-to-one instruction with an E.S.L. student. [Some authors write children's books for adults who are reading them.]
  
• Having creative license to put up a bulletin board or two.
• Practicing my techno-skills. For instance, I found out how to fashion a template for the Track Meet, and then wrote out the instructions for another staff member, as if I'd always known how to do this.
• Exploring great educational websites. Sometimes I had to 'step away from the computer' because I was having too much fun exploring.
  
• Getting to know students and finding ways to capture their interest in expanding their educational horizons - whether in Language Arts, or in Math.
• Becoming the 'queen' of flashcards; printing out books for the kids to read; thinking of games to play to enhance learning; learning how to graph their progress.
• Marking papers for teachers, and creating 'cloze' exercises to help the kids study; giving feedback on their writing exercises.
• Lia-sing with the teachers and gave them feedback about what I was learning about the kids' learning styles.
• Learning what the 70 phonograms and what they all meant. f. /u/.n. st /u/ ff!
  
• Working alongside other staff members who were empathic, and professional all in the same breath.
  

Now that the time has come for me to move on, I will look back at this year with a thankful heart for all that I learned, both in the classroom and out, and for the opportunity to try my hand at another type of career. Yep. It was 'a very good year'.