Tuesday, May 19, 2009

It's been a while...

...but I want this thing to stay alive. We're nearing the end of the school year; test scores are due from the state any day now. We'll know how well we did and where we need to brush up next year.

We keep teaching and the children, however grudgingly, keep learning. Everyone is looking forward to next year (after the summer, of course), and we use that to our advantage. When we remind the children that the end of the year is not the end of the line, most of them look back with understanding. They look forward to the next year more than we do. For them it means something new. They want to be ready, even if they aren't yet ready to admit it.

So we teach the fun stuff - remind them that learning is an experience to be savored and enjoyed. As much as we try to do that throughout the year, this is the time that we can really get away with it.