AP Corner

Finding Joy

Someone asked me about my earliest memory this past week. It’s a fuzzy memory, but I remember being in preschool with one of my older sisters. I recall the bright colors of the room, and a small slide we used, and a feeling of happiness. When I repeated this memory, the person I was talking to inferred (correctly) that school has always been a place of joy for me.

It made me wonder about everyone—both staff and students. Where do we find joy in school? Is it in planning creative ways to engage our students (like bringing elves from the North Pole to “catch out kiddos being good”) or in bringing families into the school for events like Gingerbread House decorating? Or perhaps it’s in planning fun activities for the 100th day of school (like counting 100 Fruit Loops or making houses out of 100 objects). Or maybe it’s the “A-ha” moment when a student gets something they’ve been struggling—like when they grasp the relationship between fractions and decimals or understand the concept of 1 whole or when they discuss whether 3 x 2/2 is equal to 6 x 1/2). Or maybe it’s seeing your data grow from the beginning of the year until now.

Whatever it is, it’s important, especially during stressful times of year (like testing season) to always remember to find time in your day to bring your own joy into your classroom. Take a few moments to find your joy and think of a way to bring it to life in your classroom. 

Here’s to a joy-filled week!