Keep calm and make magic

Ruth Ayres invites people to share a celebration every Saturday. Thinking back to a week you can pick anything - small or big - to celebrate. Thank you for the invitation, Ruth!


Words have power. (Stating the obvious)
This is the reason many people choose one little word to guide them trough the year. I skipped choosing a word this year. Instead I played with some ideas for a slogan, just for fun.
"Keep calm and make magic" was one of the possible slogans.
I left the ideas in the blog post. Didn't make any special notes nor engraved onto items.
Somehow the words took roots and when needed tickled my mind.

Keeping calm does not mean never getting irritated. Written with an invisible ink a secret book of "How to drive your teacher nuts" circulates for centuries among school children. Not really. Kids are  kids. Not all of them have learned yet how to handle their emotions, worries, conflicts, and needs, often expressing their troubles by making bad choices. Life would be so much easier if the kids did what asked, followed rules, got along and stopped complaining. Well, they don't. In the past I often let their misbehavior crawl under my skin, making my emotions bubble. I still get irritated. The difference is that I have learned most of the time to notice when it starts happening and I breathe in and breathe out and remind that it is not about me. This year I had some very strong personalities in my classroom who have allowed me to practice calmness at least weekly if not even daily. Fortunately for a balance I have some kids who often take a moment to meditate quietly on their own.

"Make magic" sounds pretentious to me. Besides "All magic comes with a price" sounds scary enough to prevent using spells and potions. Magic takes many forms. I'd like to believe that teachers make magic naturally. They use words and create situations that help children grow, learn, and change.
I wasn't able to make magic with MAP scores. Many of the kids still have a lot of catching up to do.

We have had other wonderful reasons to celebrate.
       I have two kids in my class who compete for the stubbornness crown. They both are sensitive to what others say, at the same time can sting painfully, and have set the endurance records in pouting. At the beginning of the year they had tantrum fits, hid themselves, refused to come to the classroom, neither expressed what had cause all of the above. One day this week they had an argument and one stormed out of the classroom. I was ready that solving this would take the rest of the day. I got them sitting on the same bench, and at first accusations and denials surfaced, but we kept talking and finished all of the incident in less than five minutes, with apologies and laughter.
       The bodies of third graders are filled with endless energy. Kids are constantly moving and often leave a chaos behind. Boys would love to climb over tables, throw cushions, and jump over chairs if not supervised. No matter how many times you clean the classroom some papers, books, markers, recorders, wrappers, lego figures and lunchboxes find their way back to places where they don't belong. Yesterday our school bell was not functioning and I was five minutes late to my classroom. I entered the classroom and was sure a fairy had waved a wand and sang a little song with tiny birds. The classroom was shining clean and all students were sitting quietly in a circle in the meeting area.
       No matter what the MAP scores say, learning has happened. We have a unit of inquiry about sustainability. The questions they have asked, the connections they have made, the discussions we have had show that they are learners not merely students who wait to be taught. My favorite moment was when one student after a discussion about possible sources of information decided that a fifth grader who had done a presentation about the harms of plastic on environment for her PYP Exhibition could be considered an expert. You should know that this fifth grader has limited English, learning challenges, and it was a huge achievement for her to present in front of an audience. The fifth grade teacher and I wanted to dance and cheer when we saw the two girls sitting on a hallway couch, the younger one asking questions and the older one animatedly explaining, showing videos and other resources on her I-Pad, the younger one taking notes.

At school we make magic without smoke and fireworks. This magic is slow and combines effort of many people.You need patience. You can't give up. Sometimes you have to push aside clouds of doubt and disappointment to notice the outcomes. Fortunately there are opportunities to make magic with minimal tools. For example we got some sets of Lego this week and the room was instantly filled with excitement.

I celebrate my string of little words that have been with me this year. These words have been powerful and I hope that during the rest of they become even stronger.

Keep calm and make magic!