You are special...

Jen at a Teacher's Life has a special piece of paper hanging in her classroom. It says, "Jen, you are so special. I am so glad you are in my class. Love, PJ"
This was Jen's favorite teacher when she was a kid. She loves PJ. Still, as her face warms with nostalgia you can see how much this one simple act has changed her life. She kept that note all these years, it is an artifact that she keeps in her Writer's Notebook. This note has made a difference, throughout the years. Think how simple. Its sentence structure isn't grand, its words, not even that descriptive. The message however, powerful!
Katie, from Creative Literacy wrote a post about writing notes. Living in the computer age we just don't do this anymore. We even send greeting cards via email, YUCK!

Have you ever gotten a note from your teacher? This week three of my students have gotten notes taped to their desks. Each one of them "found" them on their own. They say simply, "You are so special. I am so glad you are in my class." Today was my favorite. Little M, a student who is working with my K-2 interventionist, has been making small steady gains. We are so proud of her. Today, it was just her turn to get a note, just because she was the next one on my list. But, today, the k-2 lady praised her and told her, "I'm going to tell Mrs. Amick." Little M came up to me later, she wanted to know if I had been told. I praised her for her hard work, hugged her, and her face beamed. I said, "Have you been to your desk yet?"
I stood back and watched...
My struggling reader, read each word, asked a stronger reader about "special" and "classroom." I watched the information be absorbed and accepted. I watched her hug her piece of paper, touch it lightly, and hang it back on her desk. One finger resting lightly on her name...
You are so special means so much and is such a small act.
How are your words affecting your students positively?