“What happens now? Do we get like a party or something?”
My first grade class has been voting for their favorite books as part of the March Madness challenge. Today was the championship. It was exciting to see their faces and hear their cheers when the book they chose won. Getting excited about reading is a true prize.
The winning book for our class was, “Your Place in the Universe” by Jason Chin. This particular book was loaded with facts and information about space in relation to place and size- starting with you. On our third read of the book today, I was impressed by their stamina as we read together- even more so when they corrected my pronunciation of Kuiper Belt and Andromeda. Being that we were in the middle of a nonfiction unit, I loved to see how it had affected their choice in a winner. Some kids even declared that nonfiction was their favorite!
That’s when J asked: “What happens now? Do we get like a party or something?”
At first I wanted to laugh. Then I stopped and thought for a moment. What does happen now? How can I continue their curiosity? How can I push them even more?
Then my thoughts wandered off a bit. Why is it that there is so often an expectation of some prize or receiving of SOMETHING? I settled for a smile and said, “We get to celebrate reading together and finding what we enjoy in different kinds of books.” At first I expected him to be annoyed or disappointed by my response. Instead he shrugged and said, “I guess that’s pretty cool too.”
As I wrote this slice, I thought about the end of this challenge. Am I expecting something to come out of this? Am I expecting a prize or maybe a party? Well, no. But it’s something to celebrate. I pushed myself to do something that was out of my comfort zone- write and SHARE. I wasn’t intending on this to be a reflection post…. but in order for this to come full circle from my very first post…
Teachers Write 
Nice finish. Sometimes “pretty cool” is plenty. Congratulations!
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What a perfect slice to end with. The picture is perfect and totally precious. Congratulations.
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YES! You did it. And you did it well! Congratulations!!!!!
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I love connecting this challenge to the MBM, as the end does feel very similar. Thanks for sharing YOUR place in the Universe! It was great to read and write along with you!
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I loved that picture at the beginning and I’m charmed to see it reappear. Your posts where you ponder something from you class and how it relates to your own life are so effective. I agree with you, the work is the reward but a party would be nice!!! I have a little group of teachers nearby who do this challenge and we are meeting in a park to celebrate. Do you have anyone that you know is near you? Maybe not. See if you can get some colleagues to take the challenge next year! (Not so easy, however, I have found.) I say, reward yourself somehow. I am in awe of you in your first year teaching, its a pandemic, and adding this. You deserve a meal/toast/new clothes/cupcake… something! Cheers to you for a great job. I have really enjoyed visiting your classroom, your home and your heart this month. Keep ✍️ ❤️
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Oh, one more thing- You are already such a good writer! You have a style that is lively and expressive, and it flows easily. You know lots of ways to keep the reader engaged. So much to build on, I do hope you will come back next year!
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