These are my thoughts on Giving Them Back

To the Parents

Today I give you back your child. Nine short months ago, you confidently gave her to me and now I am giving her back. She is taller, braver, smarter, and brighter than the day she walked into our classroom last fall. I am amazed at how much she’s grown.

She would have grown without me, but it has been my pleasure to watch her discover her own personality and understand more about who she is and what she’s capable of. I have watched in wonder as she has learned to be more confident, more determined and more engaged in the world around her.

I give her back reluctantly, for she has spent nine months, countless hours, with me in our classroom and she has found a special place in my heart. I will miss her sweet smiles, her infectious giggles and the radiant light that shines from her eyes. But she was never mine to keep.

She has taught me much more than I have taught her. I have watched her laugh and study and play and learn. She has shown me what it means to be compassionate, trusting, and hopeful. There is so much more she could teach me, but today, I give you back your child

Remember that I will always be interested in your child and her future, wherever she goes, whatever she does, whoever she becomes. Her joys and her sorrows, accomplishments and setbacks, I will always be happy to share. I hope she will come back to visit. I hope she will come back to tell me what she is doing and how she is doing. I know she will do great things.

Today I give you back your child. Just know that as you take her back, you take a piece of my heart with her. You have trusted me with your most prized possession. Thank you. It has been my privilege to be her teacher. For nine months, I have called her my own. Today I give her back to you. Please take care of her, she is precious to me.