Dear Mother of My Future Student : Some Things I Want You to Know….

Dear Mother of my future student,

Summer is drawing to an end and a new school year is upon us.  The smell of freshly waxed floors and sharpened pencils fills the air as I sit here in my classroom anticipating your little one, plus 20 something more. I’m writing this letter to you now because there are some things I want you to know.

I want you to know that just like you are most likely anxious about your child’s new teacher and grade, I am anxious, too.  I have been counting down the days until the pitter-patter of little feet in brand new shoes fills my room with their nervous little smiles.   I am anxious about learning what my students like to do, what they are good at, and what they struggle with.  I often spend my last week (or more) of summer vacation in my classroom making sure everything is perfect for their arrival.  I am eager to see if they like my room arrangement and I love seeing their innocent faces light up when they see something in my room that looks fun.  Although it isn’t my first year of teaching by far, know that as your heart races and flutters placing your child’s hand in mine that first day, my heart is fluttering, too!

I want you to know that I’ve been dreaming about the upcoming school year all summer long.  Yes, when May rolls around I do look forward to enjoying my summer, (almost as much as the students do) but my mind drifts to bulletin board ideas, classroom management techniques, and engaging lessons more often than not.  A simple back to school commercial will leave my mind spiraling with a new theme for my class or even wondering if composition notebooks are on sale.  I have perused Pinterest during many late nights, my summer vacation, and even drinking my morning coffee looking for the newest and innovative way to teach subtraction and finding just the right trick to keeping my students on task.  And I’m excited to implement them with your precious child!

I want you to know that your darling child is in good hands and I care about them the moment I see their name on my new class role.  Every year, I am given the gift of a new class, a new set of beautiful faces to fall head over heels with.  I quickly learn to love their personalities and quirks.  A weekend trip to Target often finds me strolling the aisles thinking about how Macy would love that baby doll and when coming upon a basketball it leaves me wondering if Jacob did well at his Saturday morning game.  As my students come and go each year, my heart still skips a beat when I hear a former student call my name in the grocery store running to give me an “I’ve missed you” hug.  There is no better feeling than expressing your love and appreciation to your students and receiving their love back.  I think of my students 24 hours a day 7 days a week and lay awake at night thinking about the best way to teach their minds and also their hearts.  Your most treasured possession will be cherished in my classroom.

I want you to know that I DEEPLY want us to be a team.  I want “our” child to have the best year possible, to love learning and have fun doing it.  There is nothing more important than a good, open relationship between a parent and a teacher.  This team that we build can determine how successful our child will be and their love for school.  I look forward to seeing you at open house and class parties. I love hearing your child’s excitement about how much you loved their latest masterpiece from art class, and I can never get enough of hearing “My mom helped me with my homework!”  Though our child needs me for 7 hours during the school day to teach them, they also need you at home questioning them about their day.  That’s our teamwork in perfect harmony!  Please know that I want you to contact me as soon as you have a concern and know that I’ll do the same.  Our sweet child needs 100% of both of us 100% of the time.  I came across this quote many years ago and it is never far from my mind, “Every child in your class is someone’s whole world.”  I know that you love our student, but understand that I love them, too.

So, as you collect those last minute school supplies wondering why on Earth your child’s teacher needs 100 pencils from each student, know that your child is being anxiously awaited in a classroom nearby by a teacher who loves teaching children.

Love,

Your child’s future teacher