The Mid-Year Program and a Glimpse of the Future

Last week we presented our mid-year choral program.  Sprinkled in between the songs were stories about the students that had happened at school so far this year.  

In the entry way we had two tables full of great science stuff which you’ve already seen a lot of on the posts here.  On another table we had several of the interesting books we’ve read for history.  We also hung up some of the students’ art projects and a few snowflakes we’d made in the entryway.  

My favorite part of the evening wasn’t the singing, although I do love singing and the songs that we sang.  It wasn’t seeing all my friends and some family, whom I do love and was glad they were there.   My favorite part of the evening was seeing my students give me a glimpse of the future.  Here is how it happened.

After visiting with several of the parents and friends, we were over in the fellowship hall for cookies and hot chocolate.   I visited so much I never got one cookie or a cup of hot chocolate, but there were two plates full of cookies on my desk at the end of the evening. (Thanks Rose!)  I always want to know what my students are up to and I didn’t see too many of them around.  I knew they were not outside as I’d just been out there.  So I got curious and decided to walk over to the classroom.  

As I neared the door I noticed it was very quiet, except for one young lady’s voice.  Then I walked in and saw every desk filled.  Students were sitting quietly in rows, and the “teacher” at the front of the room (a fifth grader) was teaching how to diagram a sentence.  She was doing quite a good job.  She asked the students to fill in the blanks, and even took out a gerund so that they could do it correctly.  (Gerunds aren’t common protocol for elementary students.)  

It is fun to see students who could be running around eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate, or getting cold on the swings outside instead sitting in their seats practicing sentence diagramming.  

So, that was my glimpse of the future.  I hope that in the future there will be no teacher shortage around here.