Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. And those kiddos that drove me bonkers, well they made the most social, emotional, and academic growth that second year and really were worth the 'trouble'. I dare say, my first loop back to 5th grade was when I became a teacher who could relax a little. I got two years to make an impact! I had the opportunity during that second year to tweak things that didn't go so well, to meet the needs of my struggling learners even more, and to let loose and have a little more fun now and again because SO MUCH TIME is SAVED by looping. Spending two years with the same group of students really intensified all the reasons I became a teacher in the first place. Yes, even the ones that drive you bonkers-if they choose to stay with you-and most of my students always chose to stay with me for another year.

You see, when you loop with kiddos, you get to spend two years with them. I was fortunate enough to get to loop twice and I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance, as looping created the most amazing experiences of my teaching career over anything else that I could name on that list.

You see, 2 of the 4 years that I taught 4th graders, I really taught them because I had an ulterior motive-my grade level was looping back and forth from 4th to 5th. (Yes, my love of fractions persists!) But, the truth is, even when I was a 4th grade teacher, I would call myself a 5th grade teacher in a 4th grade teacher's body. Now, that's really just a little bit more than 1/2. During my 11 years of teaching, 6 years were spent in 5th grade.

Graduation songs for kindergarten