What is ‘Work’ in the Classroom?

As adults, we must be very careful when using the following statement with children: “Have you finished all your work?”

You see, work to me and you is usually a daily task that we do to put bread on the table and milk in the fridge, but to a child in their earliest stages of learning, the word ‘work’ runs much wider than that

And If we lose sight of what the word ‘work’ means for our students, then we risk our children missing out on the fundamental skills of life that each and every situation offers.

Here are things that our children see as work:

Helping a friend
Choosing a task
Solving a problem
Having a debate
Making a decision
Talking
Writing
Thinking
Predicting the future
Making a plan
Packing their bag
Putting away their materials
Making a new friend
Cleaning the classroom
Being prepared
Trying something new
Consulting a teacher
Planting some seeds
Drawing a picture
Reading a book
Studying a model
Looking through a microscope
Discovering a new skill
Learning a hidden fact
Feeling happy
Being honest
Standing up for a friend
Being loyal
Listening to a story
Asking for help
Smiling at a friend
Making someone else happy

These are all work to our children, these are all achievements and extremely important.

Thoughts?

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