They Really ARE the Hope of America!

No pictures of my cute students in their cute t-shirts, but we did have our school level performance of Hope of America today and just like always, I cried. When they sing about being free and the sacrifices of the founding fathers and the constitution and being a light...I'm a goner.

I get so melancholy this time of year because I only have about six weeks left with this group! I also find myself wishing I could have taught them more--so much to cover! The mother of a former student told me her daughter just scored a 33 out of 36 on the ACT! I literally got goose bumps which is silly because that little slice of life she spent in my classroom really has nothing to do with her test scores. But I'm still cheering for her and thrilled with her success.

We were reviewing measurement today and so we dragged out the rulers to measure a few things. Prior to that I had drawn a number line (think "ruler") on the board to focus on wholes, halves, then quarters, etc. I wrote a 0 on the left side of my number line and worked from there.

While they were working independently, one student approached with his ruler in hand. He said, "I'm not really seeing a zero." So I showed him the left side of the inches rule and explained they didn't bother to put a 0 on there, but that at every inch mark he would find a 1, a 2, etc. He smiled at me and said, "Clever!" Glad I could help.

I just love them.