Losing the Lore

I have been with the same group of kids for two years now and at the end of this school year, mid-March, they make the transition from Prathom to Mathayom - essentially what I would call elementary to junior high school.  It is going to be hard to say goodbye regardless, however this odd transition in life for them will make it slightly different than if I were simply saying goodbye as their teacher from a different learning year.  During the two years I've seen them grow in all sorts of different motivating ways that make a teacher proud but I've also watched them lose a bit of 'being a kid.'  I remember the day they asked if we could stop watching as many animated movies during our "Club Hour" and now we watch almost none together.  They are assigned massive amounts of homework and when I ask them what they've been doing all weekend they say, "homework Teacher, what do you mean?"  They've begun to form small clicks in their friend groups; not nearly to the extent that will happen next year but I know that's all too soon.  I make it sound all dismal but some of their little morphs are great.  Their humor is so mature to the point of their teacher blushing a few times.

Porsche: "Hey Teacher have you ever been to pen island?"
Me: "What?  No, where is that?"
Porsche:  "How 'bout penis land?"
Touché young padawan.
(I am well aware that joke was painfully obvious in written form)

As a kid you stop believing in fairies, dragons, and heroes that save the day.  As an adult I find myself relating in analogous ways losing faith in things you had thought you would have found by now.   There's no white picket fence and the princess I was going to save from that dragon and I are walking a tough road.  Getting married to your one and only was a fairy tale as it turns out and the term "head over heels" is just about as stupid as it sounds.  That would hurt dammit.

Last week we were watching the new Pete's Dragon, however, and my twenty three little boogers were really digging it.  I put down my tests I was marking and decided to give the ending my full attention.  Their Ooos and Aaahs were just too difficult to ignore for much longer.  The scene where there are hundreds of dragons all flying together over the canyon made my whole class gasp, Ooo one more time, then clap and cheer.  They haven't lost the lore, I pray they never will, and I'm trying my best to do the same right now.

**Notables**
1)  I haven't written in too long and have so much more to tell, but I have been trying write this for a while now.   Happy New Year to all of you.  Love you much and I miss you even more.

2)  Today for "Activity Hour" I gave my kids 3 bottles of ink, a cup of water, and canvas type paper.  I attempted to teach ink painting.  I got a wide variety of responses but one little girl named Nokyung (peacock in Thai) gave me this.

I love it.