TGIF!

I love Fridays.

Fridays mornings are teacher treat days. Different teachers take turns bringing in food for the entire staff. We all meet up in the lounge before we start the day and eat a bunch of goodies.

Fridays are fun teaching days. We wrap up and review what we have learned during the week. Fridays are almost always test days. (spelling, dictation, vocabulary, story tests, AR and sometimes, math tests) I know that sounds like a lot but it really isn't that bad. My students really love tests too. (go figure!) To add to our Friday fun, we also have music class on this day. On Friday afternoons, we end the week off on a fun note. We either spend the last 30 minutes of the day playing academic games or we watch a movie based on something related to our curriculum. Today, we saw a Reading Rainbow episode based on a story on Chinatown since we just finished reading about Chinatown in our textbook.

My favorite part about Fridays though is lunchtime. After I drop off my second graders I run back to my class and quickly eat my lunch. Then I eagerly await the arrival of my former students, now big and bad third graders, to come and help me collate and staple homework packets for my students for the following week. I really miss these former students of mine. They were so much fun, they have such a great sense of humor and really loved learning. They were probably the best group of kids I have taught thus far.

Anyway, today as we were working I asked my weekly question: "So, what are you learning about this week in third grade?" They then told me about the academics of the week. Then I went on to ask "Is third grade a lot harder than second grade?" One of the boys told me "not really, everything is easy for me." (He isn't lying either - he is SO gifted!) Then he remembered a particularly challenging moment of the week and said "Except yesterday. Yesterday we learned something new and it really made me think too hard. I got a headache Ms. V. I had to think too hard." I smiled at him and said "That is great! We haven't done our job if we don't make you think hard while you are at school."

He went right back at me with "Well, then all of you teachers aren't doing your jobs very well because yesterday was the only day I ever had to think in all of my time in school!"

Kids say the darndest things!