The best teacher I have ever had is six years old. Her lessons are masterful and seamlessly delivered in the most natural ways. Becca, a kindergartner who is fully included in her neighborhood school, has taught me more in the last six months about teaching than I gleaned from any of my teacher preparation courses. 1. Have high expectations: Admittedly I began the year with the goal that I would teach Becca to read her family members' names by the end of kindergarten. Within weeks of starting school in September, Becca had learned not only her family members' names but those of friends and teachers too! 2. Have fun: Learning must be fun. What's the sense of doing it if you can't have fun? 3. Be flexible: Sometimes you're just not going to teach what you planned the way you planned it. Becca often has better ideas for how to proceed with the materials I present to her. 4. Celebrate the "little" things: After years of referring to herself as me, Becca now says her name! She is learning to zip her coat. Becca can identify colors. She can tell her teacher that she is buying lunch. 5. Smile: Becca enters school with the biggest, brightest smile! Her smiles are contagious and leave her impression on everyone she comes in contact with throughout the school day. 6. Be dramatic (and not just in the dramatic play area!): Teach like you are giving the performance of a lifetime. Enthusiasm and intensified actions are too enticing to ignore. 7. Communicate: Daily communication between teachers, specialists, paraprofessionals, and parents keeps everyone abreast of Becca's daily happenings and allows us to maintain consistent language and goals between school and home which enriches Becca's learning. 8. Try new things: You might say I am technologically challenged. But when I was presented with the opportunity to have an iPad for Becca I jumped at it. Little did I know Becca would excel at maneuvering around the iPad. She expertly uses it to look at pictures, practice skills through games, and to communicate with Proloquo2Go. 9. Make it personal: Becca adores her family, friends, and teachers. Relating new learning to her favorite people gives the learning purpose and meaning. Becca has learned to identify many of the letters of the alphabet because they were connected with a loved one's name. 10. Trust inclusion: Becca is the best teacher I have ever had, but her classmates are the best teachers she has had. Innumerable and immeasurable "teachings" occur throughout each and every day. Becca's peers are her models, her teachers, her students. They model language and teach her how to be an active participant in her class community, while Becca teaches them the most valuable lessons. Have fun... Be flexible... Smile... Try new things" Make it personal" Lessons that will last a lifetime. Thank you, Becca. Jennifer "Row-ee" Rowland