Most teachers and students hate Mondays. It's the first day back after the weekend, it's usually hard to wake up in the morning, and nobody wants to go back to the classroom and learn instead of sleeping in and playing video games or watching sports all day. Most teachers and students hate Mondays, but Monday just so happens to be my favorite day of the week.
Mondays are special to me because I get to see my third grade students growing up right in front of my eyes every single week. Monday afternoon the third graders in room 13 meet up with Mrs. Cawood's kindergarten birds for thirty minutes of "buddies" time. Every third grader and kindergartener have been paired up in groups of two or three and have a special bond with their buddy. We do fun activities like math games, reading time, preforming and writing our own poetry, and making fun crafts.
All of these activities sure brighten my day, but it's what I see from my third graders that really makes my Mondays awesome. Every Monday I see my third graders being great role models for the young birds. They are patient when their buddy needs some extra time to figure out what 2 + 3 equals. They are caring when working with their buddy and I often hear bucket-filling words of encouragement. It is so great to see a smile on the faces of my students when they know they are helping to be teachers for their buddies.
Some days teaching the third graders is a challenge. Sometimes we have trouble listening, lining up for specials, remembering to not blurt out, or how to walk in the hallway, but all of this seems to disappear Monday afternoons. Monday afternoons the third graders transform into mini-teachers and role models.
Most people hate Mondays, but Mondays show me a side of my students I don't always get to see.
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