Ending Another Great Year!

{And now back to your regular scheduled blog posting}

Oh...my... what a week!  We had SO much fun to wrap up the year.  Field trips, field day, sno-cones, all school picnics, bubbles, chalk, tie dye, awards.   It was such a fun and busy week!

We took a "field trip" by walking to our local park.  Late last week we tie dyed shirts.  Have you ever tie dyed shirts with first graders? My hands were blue all week and I felt the need to explain to everyone I met in public that I wasn't a dirty person... just a first grade teacher.  I think the kids  actually faired better than me because I actually remembered to make sure they had gloves on.  

The shirts turned out better than my hands...

We played some old-fashioned games...3-leg race, egg in the spoon...

They were laughing so hysterically at one point that it was refreshing... these kids who had been taught, tested, tested, tested and ....umm tested... actually being kids.  Out in the fresh air and not a care in world.  They were working together, playing together and having fun.   It wasn't about who was the smartest or who knew what a common, proper, or possessive noun was... but just kids being kids and enjoying being with each other.  

These kids worked their tails off this year...they sorted, they recorded, they assessed and they reassessed.  They graphed their progress.  They succeeded and they failed.  Most tried again and they mastered it.  Some tried again and they didn't.  Their little hands taking those tests, filling in bubbles and writing until their hands hurt.   They will go on to second grade where they will succeed and fail, just like adults do.  Not too long from now they will be those adults.

One thing I hope is that they leave my class knowing they are "good" at something.  All of them are good at something.  Artist, diplomat, friend, peacemaker, comedian...sometimes what they are good at is not assessed on paper. They may or may not read a passage in under 1 minute but they are still a GOOD reader.   They may or may not complete a timed math facts test in a minute, but they are still smart.  They don't have to always be the best, the fastest or the smartest to be successful.

I have had kids who don't pass the tests.  Their graph doesn't look like steps.  They don't go up or if they do they have some really shallow "stairs".  But, they might be the ones who don't follow "the path".  They may follow their own "unstandardized" path to success.  Whatever their path, I wish them luck and I will be cheering them on from the sideline every step of the way.

     Endless Possibilites,
Stephany