The Reading Race

On Thursday morning I almost cried for the first time this summer. It wasn't because I was overwhelmed, my lesson plans stunk, or because I felt like a failure (all popular reasons for crying at Institute), it was because I was told that another teacher might take some of the students from my class. My whole collaborative teaching team said no way was anybody going to take the kids we had worked with for two weeks. At that moment, I knew I was doing this whole thing for the right reason - the children. I can't say how much these kids already mean to me and how important their life and education truly is.
Later in my shared reading lesson, I decided to create a reading race to accompany the non-fiction selection we were reading on the Ironman. It was great, fantastic, and fun. The kids loved it so much that they didn't want to go to lunch when it was time. These kids truly are amazing. I love to see Gilberto's smile and Jeffrey's pleading eyes. Each one is so special in his own way.