because i love lists, no. 6

or, why "creative art, rhythm and rhyme" is my favorite class. ever.

1. well, ob-viouslyyyy, because it is all about cool things like art, and music, and poetry. and how to encourage these (and, more specifically, creativity in general) in young individuals. how can it get any better than creativity and children combined?
2. it's a great group. when students walk into class already asking deep questions (like, "is being sheltered from 'reality' the only thing that separates children from adults?"), and when the teacher takes care to make everyone welcome in even these before-class (read: informal) discussions, you can't help adding your two cents. being a particular part of the whole. (it's a good size, too. 12. not too big, not too small.)
3. we create and experiment and play. we go outside and splatter paint. we mix up mind-boggling, physics-defying concoctions of water and cornstarch...and proceed to squish it around in our fingers like 6-year-olds do with playdough. we brainstorm group activities for learning (or reinforcing) each others names. and sometimes...(don't tell) we take naps. or, at least, talk about it.
4. there's a good mix of seriousness (see #2) and laughter. everybody teases everybody else. students interrupt with comments all the time. discussion smoothly disintegrates into smalltalk. (and we all sit in a u-shape. so everyone hears everything.)
5. to put it simply...this class is just plain fun. 

too bad it only meets once a week.