Make time to dance

The craziness and fun continued this week in fifth grade!  But, to be honest, I found myself stressed out much of the week, trying to fit in everything that I needed to teach.  Just in my class alone this week, my kids had a social studies and language arts quiz.  It wasn't until Thursday night that I came to the realization that If I'm stressed out trying to TEACH my students, I know that my kids MUST be overwhelmed to learn it.

Kids are required to do so much more in school than ever before.  The days of Halloween parties or "just for fun" movies days are well over.  When I get caught up in the act of trying to fit in yet another assignment or assessment of some sort, I have to stop and remind myself that my students are just 10 years old! 

Over the past year, I've followed a boy (who goes by "Kid President") on YouTube.  Kid President is a 10 year old boy who works with his brother-in-law to create videos that inspire people all over the world to laugh, dance, and most importantly, be AWESOME!  (If you watch any one of his videos, you'll understand what I mean.)  This boy is a true inspiration, not only to my students, but to me as a teacher and person.  To make things even better, he has the world's most contagious laugh.  It's simply impossible not to laugh right along with him.

I was surprised to learn that Kid President has Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a brittle bone disease which has caused him to have over 70 breaks since birth.  But what's most inspiring about this little boy is that he doesn't let this disease get him down.  In fact, you would never know that he was (and is) fighting to overcome so many obstacles at just 10 years old.  I didn't even realize that he had this disease until just recently when I watched The True Story of Kid President.  In all, this boy's short videos bring smiles to my students' faces and encourage them to be better people.  Each Friday, I've decided that I will make time to laugh with my students and Kid President by taking just five minutes out of my day to show this boy's videos.

My kids now come into the classroom on Friday mornings (or afternoons, for my PM class) eager to watch yet another episode, and I swear my Fridays are better because of it.  

I encourage you to MAKE time to dance each and every day.