Teaching the Standards to Six-Year-Olds

Teaching first grade means teaching children who are capable of incredible things.
It also means remembering, constantly, that they are still six years old.

How do I teach first graders the difference between fiction and nonfiction when many of them still fully believe in Santa and flying reindeer?

How do I ask twenty-three six-year-olds to sit still when their bodies seem designed to move every thirty seconds?

How do I run a calm classroom when someone falls out of their chair several times a day?

How do I teach writing to students who believe writing more than one sentence is a violation of their basic human rights?

How do I teach bathroom expectations to kids who treat the restroom like a secret clubhouse the second the door closes… while I stand outside hoping everyone emerges safely and fully clothed?

How do I teach goods and services when several students are absolutely certain that, technically, you can purchase a doctor?

First graders believe a lot of things.

They believe the tooth fairy visits their house.
They believe every problem was definitely someone else’s fault.
They believe recess is never long enough.
They believe the best pencil in the room is always the one someone else has.
They believe they already know everything… and they are very willing to explain it.

And somehow, inside all of that curiosity and chaos, they learn.

They learn to read.
They learn to write more than one sentence.
They learn to sit, listen, share space, and try again when something is hard.

This is the quiet miracle of first grade.
Children growing right in front of you.

Six-year-olds are capable of so much.

They are also, very clearly, still six years old.

So I’ve learned to be patient.
To believe in them.
To trust the process.

And to smile along the way, appreciating the curiosity, wonder, and innocence that make this short season of childhood something pretty special.