It's been a very busy stretch of teaching, and I bet I'm not the only teacher who is tired and ready for the week's vacation ahead. There is so much opportunity to nurture each child ahead with positive teaching and learning, but there are obstacles too--obstacles such as illness which leads to absenteeism, discouraging decisions mandates that highlight lack of voice/choice, and time and energy--there's never enough time to do all that you hope to do (a problem that belongs to all aspects of life, not just teaching).
Sometimes when you're weary and you've been pushing hard, you forget to notice the good that's happened--you don't stop to acknowledge the tremendous effort on math projects, teamwork during project work, the times students help one another, the great creativity on Valentine's Day boxes, thoughtful conversations as we read books on race and discuss people's rights to be who they are, and so much more.
Tomorrow marks our final day prior to the vacation. We'll meet to talk about math, work with small math RTI groups, spend time silent reading, science rotations, clean-up, read aloud, and buddy time. After vacation we'll update portfolios, continue our focus on fractions, physical science, and reading and begin some new projects too. Onward.
