Share Like a Family

This morning in our Community Circle, we each shared something that made our week fabulous.  I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as I listened to their comments about making new friends, getting to choose books from the classroom library, and being in this class.  This fall, I have a student teacher working me and when it was her turn to share, as deemed by the passing of the Koosh ball (many thanks to my dear hubby who uncovered this treasure), she commented that after only one week this class is already like a family.  

This idea of family stuck with my students as we put the finishing touches on our class contract.  While brainstorming buzz words to describe the kind of learning environment we want, one student wanted to add, "sharing and trusting" to our list.  This is the kind of thinking that makes teachers go weak in the knees!  I asked the student to explain what was meant by "sharing and trusting."  The explanation was that we should share if someone needed to borrow a pencil and share if someone had a good idea about something.  "Does trust go along with sharing, or is it its own category?" I asked.  The class felt that "sharing and trusting" should stay together because we needed to trust each other if we were going to share our thinking, writing, and ideas.  They worked in triads using the buzz words to write a phrase or statement about our learning environment.   As I moved from group to group, I was struck with how their statements were very serious, intentional, inspiring, and honest.  

So, what made my week fabulous?

"Sharing and Trusting: Where we share like a family, take risks with our learning, and trust each other with new ideas."  20 amazing, thoughtful, curious, innocent 3rd graders who completely humbled their teacher.