The Thing About Primary

Primary kids - I just keep coming back to them. They are where my career began and I can't seem to get them out of my system. Opening the door to early reading is at the core of my heart of hearts. There is just nothing like it. I love the openness of primary kids. They tell you everything. They are proud, so very proud of everything they do. Describing their strategies is just part of the ongoing conversation. They are so happy being who they are and that smile that follows the decoding of a tricky word is golden. You can take it to the bank and rest assured that they will too. Every success moves to the asset side and the debits are simply ignored. I met with my first tutoring student tonight and it all came flooding back. I love primary reading and writing. I left elementary because I became bored with the content. But, in all humbleness, I would make an amazing primary departmentalized reading and writing teacher . I am a natural. I know exactly where to go next with beginning readers. I don't think that I can say that for my middle school readers and writers. The holes are little pin pricks that I am constantly trying to plug before the dike collapses. They work incredibly hard to cover up the blemishes so that no one can see that there is a problem let alone shed any light on what it might be. So for now, I will continue on with the challenges that broaden my horizons in middle school and add on the little ones that renew my love of teaching. It's a bit like an amazing main dish for dinner that is followed up with a melt in your mouth dessert. It's the combination that satisfies you and keeps you coming back for more.