Each bead in Sarah Bennin‘s shadow box stands for one first grader she has taught in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, since 2006. There are 444 of them, sorted by the first letter of each student’s name, alphabetized, and checked off against old class photos.
Bennin, now in her 21st year of teaching, got the idea from a similar project she spotted on Facebook over the summer. The school district’s database only went back so far, so she tracked down missing names by reaching out to former students, families and old colleagues from Plymouth, where she also taught. A fellow teacher, Carrie Schaefer, dug up a 2008-2009 yearbook with a photo of one of Bennin’s early classes.
After about a month of compiling lists, Bennin and her daughter finished the box. She spent 14 years teaching 4K before moving to first grade, and she loves the age.
“I like the sponginess,” she said. “They’re still excited to see you. The aha! moments are fantastic.”
Going back through the photos also brought news she wasn’t expecting. Four of her former students had died.
“That was hard for me to wrap my head around because I don’t feel like I’ve been doing this that long to lose that many kids,” Bennin said.
She plans to have her new first graders start adding their own beads next school year. She isn’t sure how many more years she’ll teach, but she opens every one with the same line: “Every day is a great day.”
