Thursday, May 31, 2012

2011-12: Micah

Most little boys have one elementary school teacher that is young and cute and nice. Micah had that teacher, Miss H, this year. Not only was she blond, young, and darling, she was also great at challenging and directing a smart boy who often needs a little extra direction to keep him busy.
 Pictures from Science Day--an experiment mimicking rainstorms and clouds.  Thank you, Pinterest.
One day I walked into the classroom and found Micah sitting back by himself while everyone else was working on math. Miss H quickly told me he was completing a different assignment, since he had already mastered what the class was doing. That impressed me. There are so few teachers left who can teach outside the "teach-to-the-test" mentality, and for her to be teaching that way at 28 gives me hope for the future of our gifted kids in public education.

Micah still struggles with penmanship and taking time to write down all the amazing ideas conjured by his active imagination. Knowing his older siblings, I expect this to be a problem until he can type and his fingers can keep pace with his mind.


 Micah's piano skills exploded this year. Any time he walked past the piano, he had to play at least one song. He has the best piano teacher ever--one who understands him and challenges him. I'm so sad to see Mr. Marcum move to Missouri this summer, but hopefully we can continue lessons through the miracle of Skype.

I will always remember second grade as the year Micah read all seven Harry Potter books and through that adventure cemented his love of reading for the rest of his life. That kid knows every spell and every character on every page in that series.

Micah is the bee in the center with the plaid shorts.  Shots from "the play." You know, the one where he  . . . pinched someone.  A few people have asked me what happened with the principal, and the answer is  . . . nothing.  I saw her quite a few times after "the pinch,"  and she ignored me.  Whatever.

I love this kid, and I can't wait to see what third grade has in store.

4 comments:

  1. What a wonderful teacher! My oldest son had his beautiful young teacher in 6th grade. I think all of those hormonal 12 year olds about killed her, but she did a great job. It's rare to find teachers who will take the extra time to challenge the few that need more. We need more teachers who teach because they love it, and who can think outside the box. Lucky Micah!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Young and creative teachers...I love those kind! Sounds like Micah had a fantastic year. He looks so cute in his shirt and tie with his piano teacher! Brady's only negative mark on his grade card in 4 yrs has been his handwriting. I'm anxious to see his report next week...the last couple of months it's been looking better to me. Sometimes I think those fine motor skills just take longer for others to develop. Plus like you said, someday he will just be plugging away at the keys anyway!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jenny,

    Where is your piano teacher moving to in Missouri? We are in need of a good one for a couple of boys who sound eerily similar to Micah.

    Thanks,
    Erin

    ReplyDelete
  4. His eyes just sparkle with life and energy. Of course, that's not an uncommon look in your family!

    =)

    ReplyDelete