Confessions

I love keeping fun little items on my desk.  I have a giant eraser, a special pad of pretty note paper, and an emoji “Daily Mood” calendar.  At least I did until a couple of weeks ago.

I was dismayed to notice that my Daily Mood calendar wasn’t in its usual spot.  I did a quick search around my desk, then a more extensive search when it didn’t appear.  I was sure that it had fallen behind something and was wedged somewhere.  After a while, I asked the kids if they had seen it.  They were immediately alarmed, because they really enjoy the emojis on display that reflect my current mood.  In fact, once in awhile I would glance over to my desk to see that while I wasn’t looking, some little elf had changed the page to “aggravated” or “cantakerous”.  That always made me laugh.

When no clues were turned up, I had a serious talk with the class.  I hated to think that one of them had taken it, but I had no other explanation.  I even worried that one of the older kids that comes in to borrow books from me had possibly decided to take it along.  It was disturbing.  And it was sad to think that not only was the Mood Calendar gone, but that someone had stolen it and decided to keep it.  I thought this was the unfortunate end of the story.  I cut my losses and bought a new one, which was put in a less convenient spot on the window ledge.

Yesterday, I was stunned when one of my little girls walked in and handed me my missing Mood Calendar.  She smiled sweetly and told me she found it in the hallway in the Lost and Found.  My stomach clenched when I heard that, because I knew she was the one who had taken it home.  I quietly thanked her and decided not to say anything else for the time being.  The rest of the class was elated and made a big fuss over its return.  I wondered what the best way would be to get the truth to come out.

As it turned out, I didn’t have to worry for long.  At her parent-teacher conference last night, the little girl confessed.  She was somewhat painted into a corner when her mother told me she had been struggling at home because her daughter had been very sneaky–and I gave her a knowing look.  When she asked if anything had happened at school, I asked my student if she wanted to tell it herself or have me talk about it.  She knew she was caught, so she told the whole story herself.

Life lessons are hard.  We all learn them at various points in our lives, and hopefully the result is a positive change and a great deal to think about.  Time will tell what this experience means to this little girl.  Her parents and I had a good conversation about it, and I know they will have more conversations at home over time.  For now, the problem is solved and we will move on.  But my heart is broken a little bit over the fact that this happened in our room.  My hope is that lessons were learned and that we can get back to a happy balance of trust and kindness for our class.