There is nothing like looking into the smiling and anxious face of a seven year old as I open their treasured gift. Their eyes light up with pride as I hold my new gift and praise it as the most unique and wonderful gift. Pride, warmth, excitement and sheer pleasure are evident on their happy little faces. It warms my heart each and every time.

I'm grateful for every gift that I get. Some gifts are personal, some are home made, some are 'dust collectors', some are fun and some are very useful. I don't teach just so that I can get gifts - the trade off isn't worth it; I teach because I love learning and creating the love of learning in the children. There is nothing better than seeing a child's eyes light up when something about the lesson suddenly clicks in their head. I teach for those moments of excitement when a child starts to read independently and loves the new-found freedom and adventure in books.

So here is a teacher gift that made me laugh and is fun for the kids too. The Rollerball Ok, so it's silly, but the second graders still use crayons and to see their teacher using a 'crayon' is still funny for them. Over the last few years, I've accumulated several different colors of these fun rollerballs: Green, blue and yellow. So, while my kids are coloring, so am I. The job of teacher will never rank in the hierarchy of corporate or financial success, but it's a job that I love and treasure. Back to using my rollerball, as I still have papers to grade.