Yesterday was a humbling day. As colleagues and children exchanged warm greetings, trinkets of appreciation, and care, I thought about the enthusiastic, hard working, and earnest life I am surrounded by every day.
As one writer noted on an NPR piece last year, schools are like little cities--there is always lots of activity, interaction, challenge, and potential. At times that busyness can be overwhelming, but yesterday I was watching with care and realizing that while overwhelming at times, there is so much goodness occurring at every moment--goodness apparent as children skip down the halls, play on the playground, chat cheerfully to one another, and learn with enthusiasm.
With the new year around the corner, I'm thinking about what we'll do and what's important when I return from the holiday vacation.
We'll spend some time re-organizing the room, supplies, and other materials to ready the environment for lots of science, math, and reading study--the mainstay subjects of my classroom.
I'll begin with a number of new unit introductory lessons that review the vocabulary as well as the processes and attitudes that will be promoted and coached as we embark on the study.
We've accomplished a lot in the fall months. Students learned important routines, studied multiple standards, and embarked on a large number of community-building, academic field studies and other special events. I believe we've created a strong learning community. The next step will continue to build students' ability to learn well on their own and with classmates and teachers in ways that matter. Onward.
