Hard to believe it’s June. But, make no mistake, it’s definitely June. And though today marks the first official day of June, it has been “June” for a few weeks now. Oh, my fellow educators know what I am talking about. They know that “June” is more a feeling than a month in the education realm. It’s that “the-end-is-near” buzz that begins each year, building with each passing day until the bubble bursts and they are  finally free at last. It’s nothing new. I, too, remember the “swell” in June, the growing anticipation of freedom, swelling until I felt I would bust if it didn’t end soon. And so, unable to change what’s always been and will be, I have had to come up with ways to keep students engaged during the final few weeks of the year, and to that end, I have turned to projects and presentations.

Next week the kids will begin presenting their Change-the-World projects, but today they will share their creative creations, their original cartoons. Designed with fun in mind first, I asked the kids to work individually or in teams to create original cartoons to present to the class. Of course, there is more going on than just fun; what with story elements, characterization, dialogue, illustration, collaboration, imagination, ideation, and presentation the kids are working and learning, even if they are not aware of it, even if it only feels like fun. Excited to see what the kids have come up with today. I will try to share some tomorrow.

Happy June, all. Almost there. Kinda glad it’s cloudy today. I find that the-end-is-near bubbles don’t expand as much when the sun is absent.