Well, well, well. This may be my longest hiatus yet! And for the most part, I can chalk it up to one thing: the all-school musical. With grades 4 through 11, with 59 students in the cast and crew, we put on Mulan Jr. There where trials and tribulations at every turn, but right before spring break, the kids put on an amazing show - I am so proud to call them mine :)
I may reflect on that soon, but not today. Today is about the days that remind me why I teach. Because today I had one of those days.
Last night while out to dinner with a couple of friends, I had to leave early because I felt horribly ill. I slept for twelve hours straight and still had to drag myself out of bed in the morning, a headache still nagging at me. I must say, I was not looking forward to my back-to-back-to-back kindergarten classes! I hadn't had my kindergarteners in almost three weeks, between spring break and Mulan rehearsals, so I wasn't sure where they'd be at. Fortunately, the first two lessons were fine - and the last one was spectacular.
The last class has sticker charts for single-subject classes, which their homeroom teachers keep. Each time they earn a sticker, they can have extra free choice time at the end of the week. I told the students that my goal for today was for everyone to earn a sticker. I promised to give a "sticker reminder" if we started to get a little too silly or unfocused.
Well. They took that idea and ran with it. When a student saw a friend who was starting to lose control, he or she would say, "sticker reminder!" The first time this happened, my student MK stopped what he was doing, sat down properly, and said to his friend, "Thank you for the reminder." I was floored! I stopped the class to call attention to the exchange, highlighting how kind and helpful the friend was, and how MK reacted in a way that was very respectful and thoughtful. Patterns such as that continued for the rest of the period. We got through everything I had planned as well as an extension of the lesson, setting them up for great success as we jump into rehearsals for the kindergarten play tomorrow.
Today showed me that the idea of ensemble, teamwork, and collective responsibility that I have been trying to teach all year has really taken root with these kids. They worked together effectively and respectfully, assuming a positive intent in others and taking their advice to heart. And they're only six years old!
Oh, and they all earned a cute cupcake sticker today. Their teachers cried :')
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Currently reading: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Current high: a magical spring break with two of my best friends
Current low: still not feeling 100%
