Students...Believe In You

As teachers, I think we work to encourage our students to become (and believe they are) readers, writers, mathematicians, athletes, artists, scientists, and so on.  But this is not a small task.  Students come to us with their own preconceived thoughts about themselves and what they can or cannot do.  (Especially as they gather more school experiences).  So we chip away at those negative beliefs and build them up.

But the year can also catch up to us.  We get into our normal routine.  We tick away at the standards that we need to hit.  Snow days occur.  Sick days get used.  And we get behind.  The nerves set in.
 
That is the exact moment when I need to step back and remember my goals.  I want these young kids to leave me with experiences.  I want them to have a thirst for learning.  I want them to believe in themselves.

This year we took a week to celebrate the readers, the writers, the mathematicians, and the scientists that our students have become (or continued to be) this year.

Each day of the week we zoomed into one aspect of learning:  Monday: reader,  Tuesday: scientist, and so on.  We had planned activities in our classrooms, asked our students to dress the part, and left them with experiences to remember.

One of these memories came from Scientific Mayhem, a local small business that comes into the classroom and provides hands on science learning. We asked them to focus on force and motion...that is just what they did! Each of our first and second grade classrooms received this opportunity through a grant that we were able to use!  And to say it was amazing is an understatement.

Our week ended with a Career Day.  We gathered up as many different careers that we could and invited them into our school.  These included: postal workers, mechanic, firemen, a podcaster, marketing expert, beautician, biodegradable engineer, a pilot, barn manager, graphic designer, photographer, yoga instructor, and so many more!

Each student was asked to provide their top three careers of interest.  Then individual "career paths" were created for the students.  I made personal bracelets for each kid so that they knew exactly where to go.

The buzz in the air was electric.  My hope is that at least one student came away from this week knowing that a whole team of people are rooting for them, believing in them, and that they can dream big.

Now....to keep the fire burning!