Spring Break

There's a special magic in the air that arrives with spring break, which is similar to that of a full moon....maybe it's the pollen in the air that drives the senses wild and causes the mind to careen out of control. I felt it in the house today as the boys tried to demonstrate their "good" listening skills. Children are not robots. They weren't made with "off" buttons, or an "EASY" button for that matter. All I know is that sometimes it's better to join them, than to beat them, of course I would never mean that in the physical sense; however, when the statement was delivered, "when I hear that noise, I feel like banging on the source with my fist to get it to stop," the child replied, "that's OK mom, sometimes I feel like doing that to my brother, so don't feel left out," well, let's just say we all felt that magic of spring break in the air and had a good laugh. A good laugh is what we often need to get through a history lesson in which there is no field trip available that will take its place.

History class was never my favorite. As a grown-up, I can understand the pressures teachers are under to grab a childs attention and present him with information that is so important that you see his eyes staring back intently, hanging on each syllable you utter, which flows like a musical note from your lips. Well, that's how the teacher feels about the lesson, while the student cannot relate to the purpose of learning old things that happened long ago. Text books present the information in a boring, clinical tone; though making the information relevant to him is as challenging as producing a broadway show.

If ever I could use a mentor, it's definitely in the area of history. My educational style is not one that agrees with rote learning, but history is one subject where I have to stretch my imagination to be a "creative" teacher. I welcome any recommendations for a fun history curriculum.