Light Bulb Moments

I often feel like teaching is much like attempting to herd cats...difficult, counterproductive, and frustrating. Sometimes I feel like I am talking to office furniture, or exceptionally dull carrots. But sometimes, all of a sudden, they just get it and everything clicks into place. My kids have started calling this "the light bulb moment" and I love that they have a name for it. Last week we were talking about the Enlightenment, which involves some very difficult concepts, and when they started getting it, you could almost see light bulbs going on all over the room. Yea for higher level thinking skills!! I struggle with making sure that I include enough of those in my classroom. It is frankly easier to do just the basics, and since there are a lot of kids that don't understand even those, it is an easy trap to fall into. But the kids know the difference, even when they can't put their finger on the actual term, and the sense of accomplishment when they grasp something higher level is easy to see and makes both of us feel good.