I'm emerging

This has been a killer week. STAAR tests are hard core and make students and teachers all feel deflated and weary. But, as I am coming out of the testing funk, I am excited about being able to teach fun stuff again. I got that little tickle in my belly today when I went hunting for enough glue to make the thing we were creating today. I didn't even put a TEK with the lesson. It was just for fun. And, joy of joys, it will shift into tomorrow because we didn't finish today.

Emerging from the testing funk can be accomplished in a couple of ways. My choice is to shower the kids in markers, glue, slightly faded construction paper that has been sitting on the counter since September (the last time we got crafty btw), and a thought to wonder about and see what they come up with. Letting kids be kids instead of data points is what makes the difference for me. For the rest of this week I will not worry about reading levels, grades, TEKS, or lesson plans. My students will read real books that interest them, write about topics that they wonder about, and learn something new that they didn't know was coming when they walked through the door.

Ahhhh, can you hear it? It's the sound of life and learning and teachers coming back to life.