Why I love my class.

There are many reasons I love my class this year. I love my classes every year (even year #1 with 18 boys) but this year has been amazing so far. Let me count the ways:

#1- Their reading scores. Yes, that's right. I ended up with a very smart class this year. They are almost all at grade level. And they can work independently.

#2- Jonathan. Jonathan is a portly little Mexican boy who speaks English so quickly that most of the time he could probably speak to me in his native Spanish and I would have just about the same idea of what he's saying to me. One day he was telling me a story at a mile a minute to me and I was doing the classic "Teacher Smile and Nod" and all of the sudden he started barking. Full volume. "Ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff!" I just started laughing because I had NO idea what he was talking about!

#3- Orlando. If you knew about my class last year, you knew about Krishawn. Well, Orlando is Krishawn's kind of brother. Completely different parents but the mom of one and the dad of the other are together. Orlando is the total playa. He rocks the chains and already has a swagga to rival the biggest gangstas in the biz. Maybe he gets it from his dad "country Chris." A local rapper. (Utah has a rap scene??)

#4- Elena, Angelica, Jaquie, Abigail. My band of girls who all look similar, act similar, and have similar names. Really cute girls who are all really quiet and I get them mixed up all the time.

#5- Hunter. Oh a day is never fully started or ended without tears from Hunter. He cries if I wont let him sharpen his pencil. He cries if I wont let him hold the door. He cries if I don't let him pass out papers. He cries if it rains. He cries if its too hot. He cries. All. The. Time. And then he'll come up to me with a big smile and say (in his speech-impedimented voice) "Miss Jackson! I'm happy now!"

#6- Julian. A teensy tinsy little guy who has the biggest face ever. HUGE eyes. HUGE teeth. And the funniest smile I've ever seen. On his birthday he wouldn't answer to anything but "King Julian" all day. Even to me. I had to call him King Julian. He's also says "muchas gracias, maestra" whenever I hand him anything. One day I was doing a puzzle with his reading group and every time he'd put in a piece he'd high-five me. So when he put in the last piece I put my hand up to high five and he totally "Psyched" me! He wasn't even ALIVE when psych! was invented.

So really, my class is great. Its going to be a good year for Miss Jackson.