Today was my ministry. I go to an afterschool tutoring session with 3^rd-5^th graders. This semester is mostly 5^th graders, which has happened to be a lot of fun! Nearly all of them got their homework done fairy quickly, and then I started a mass game of Pictionary today. The game was so much fun! I loved being able to hang out and have fun with the kids, instead of doing homework. A lot of the kids I help I try to make a game out of their worksheets.

To apply the day to teaching, I have some goals for my future classroom:

• Keep worksheets to a minimum. I have experienced this in my Phonics class this semester; when we have to teach lessons, most of my fellow students just give the class a worksheet. How TEDIOUS! I understand that worksheets are an integral part of the American school system. I just don't understand why they are the foundation, walls, and roof of the school system. In an effort to un-root this, I shall strive as a teacher to include in every lesson a hands on activity, even if it is small. Children need interactive learning! If I get bored with worksheets, think of how much the boredom sets in for them. I was raised with hands on curriculum. I cannot remember reading a book and answering questions in school until I hit high school. Learning is an active process that involves active learners, so the lessons should also follow suit and be active.
  
• Interject the day with periods of five minutes of no schoolwork explorative activities. Children learn best through both work and play, through using their imagination, finding answers out for themselves, or exploring the world around them. Play can be included in the learning process, and children are refreshed when they are allowed the freedom to express themselves through play. Five minutes of "non-schooling" can be as educational as an hour of filling out papers.
  

Writing these down in a blog will help me be accountable when I am actually in the classroom. I know that some of these ideas are premature, perhaps even horrendously impossible. However, articulated here, they represent some of my thoughts and dreams on my future classroom.