Love Notes

As a first grade teacher, I tend to get a lot of what I call “love notes.” It is one of the beautiful things about teaching children so small. They profess their love for you and tell you what a wonderful teacher and person you are on a regular basis with their oh so sweet pictures of rainbows and flowers (and sometimes space ships and karate men). I get these notes from a few kids several times a week. Most of the time they are hung on my cabinet door, and then one day after school I get the urge to clean and sadly those little love notes make their way to Miss Krueger’s trash can (You can’t use the trash can in your own classroom you see because sometimes the janitor doesn’t empty the trash, and it would be devastating for little eyes to find these love notes discarded).

Now all first graders are curious and so, every year about October it is inevitable that one little inquisitive mind will look up at you with bright eyes and with an expectant voice they will ask, “Mrs. Schmitt, what did you with the note/letter/picture that I gave you?” And so, after several years of teaching I have perfected the answer; “Well friend, I have a special place where I keep those notes/letters/pictures at my house, so I can look back on them and think of all of you.”

Until about 2 weeks ago, this was an absolute lie. But then I received the following two “love notes” and I just couldn’t seem to put them in the trash. And so, knowing that I will be having my own little girl soon has prompted me to really start that special place to keep those love notes. For now they are in a tub in the garage labeled “baby” but soon they will make their way into our sweet girl’s baby book and I will look back and think of all of my little friends from this year who are so excited about Mrs. Schmitt’s baby.