For the past ten weeks I have returned to elementary school. I was apparently going there to teach when in reality I was learning a whole lot more than expected. I spent five weeks in first grade, and five weeks in fifth. The words "Are you smarter than a fifth grader" often came to mind when they would ask, "where is the prepositional phrase in this sentence?" or "How do I find the surface area of this trapezoid?" or "how do you spell alligator?" My motto became, "well if I can't beat them JOIN em'" Here a few of examples of what I've learned:
1. The reason why I can't spell is because I never learned the rules. Yes there are actual rules to this forsaken language. There is the I before E rule except after C. If it wasn't confusing enough they have like fifty different sounds for each letter, and on top of it all the sounds the letters make depends completely on which letters it is surrounded by. Don't become overwhelmed there is a lot to remember.
2. Fifth grade is full of cool, but pointless facts. For example the largest bird in the world was the Moa it stood 13 feet off the ground. Also Mount St. Helen's packed a punch of what 500 atomic bombs could do. In the beginning of the Civil War people would take their picnic baskets out and watch the battles just for fun.
3. To really truly survive elementary school you need to understand that life is not complete unless your pencil is FLASHY. By this I mean it must have feathers, sparkles, fur, or some sort of animal at the eraser. Some may ask why, but I ask why not? This is applicable to life, make the ordinary unordinary!4. Having a crush is super important! You all remember how it was! It is the whole reason that red rover was INVENTED!
5. And last but definitely not least, there is nothing, NOTHING that a good smiling contest can't fix when someone is having a bad day!
Today was my last day and it was so incredibly difficult to say goodbye to these kids I have dedicated my heart to, all day everyday for the past few months. Children are the sweetest gift that we have. My favorite part of teaching is watching their eyes when they finally understand something. I have learned they have no walls and unconditionally love, and in return just want to be loved. They give everything they have. Today I walked out with a handful of gifts, I had every thing from, silly erasers, to lip gloss to dozens of drawings, to pretend paper kitty cat holders (don't ask) ha ha. Life is never boring when they are around. 
