My sweet kids

I'm sure I've mentioned before just how much I love my kids, but just in case I haven't, well I do! I love them when they're good, and I love them when they're naughty. Fortunately they are much more often good than naughty! :)

Today, some of my kids just blew me away. During the year they have earned Kindness Cash by doing kind things, either to me or to their classmates. For example, a kid who is on-time every day, and pulls no "Go For Green" cards for a whole month is being kind to me! As a result they are awarded Kindness Cash. There are other rewards for not pulling cards as well, but this is a bonus. Kindness Cash is a school-wide program encouraging both kids and teachers to catch kids being kind.

Today the Kindness Store, where they can exchange their cash for various goodies, opened for the last time (well, there will actually be a catchup opening tomorrow for those kids missed out today when recess wasn't long enough). Four of my kiddos decided that, instead of getting something for themselves, they would put their "cash" together and buy gifts for the teacher! They came back after recess and presented me with two sets of flashcards (dinosaurs and world flags), a teaching clock, and a puzzle book. What precious, amazing kids we have at EWIS.

Now yesterday I debated whether I should keep up my tradition of giving every student in my class a book for the summer. The reason I debated was the shop I used to get my good quality second hand books from is no longer operating. :( After this morning's surprise from those sweet kids, I'm so glad I bit the bullet yesterday afternoon and went book shopping for them (and found suitable books for just $1 each). Every student in my class will get a book, and a small bag of sweets. Yep, they'll get lollies! But not until the end of the day, and only a few. Today I found Natural Confectionery Company jelly snakes and dinosaurs, and topped it up with a few milko type lollies. Each kid will get the sum total of 2 dinosaurs, 1 snake, and 4 other candies. I hardly think that will give them a huge sugar overload. They will also receive a letter from me and an individualised class photo.

I will miss these kids, but look forward to seeing them, like my previous classes, grow and mature as they progress through the school. I thank God for the opportunity to love and serve these precious children as they learn at East-West International School.