I have a twelve year old son, Kees, who has been struggling in math this year. They have been working with fractions and although he gets most of the problem right he often forgets to simplify the answer. He has gotten a D or an F on every test so far this year. Last week they took test A for the current unit and he got a 69%. Two days later they had a chance to improve their grade by taking test B for the same unit. The morning of the second test we were talking at breakfast and he was telling me about the test. He explained how he always forgets to reduce his answers and ends up getting a bad grade. I took his hand and wrote reduce on the back of it. He found this to be very funny. I worried a little because I thought the teacher might see this as cheating, but it was fine and he ended up getting an 89% on the second test. Today we were talking about the test and he told me that he never even looked at his hand. It wasn't the actual word written on his hand that helped him remember to reduce it was the fun we had writing it. Kids remember and learn things better when they are enjoying themselves. If we can take some of the pressure off of learning kids will learn more and retain it longer. Last year I ask a couple of kids in my reading group what they liked about school. They both said they didn't really like anything about it. I asked them when they last liked school and why. They told me kindergarten because they got to play games. I was surprised, these were sixth grade students and they hadn't liked school sense kindergarten. They told me that if we played more games they would like it more, try harder and learn more. When I am a teacher I want my students to have fun and enjoy school. I think kids who are relaxed and happy learn better. Thanks Kees for reminding me about the importance of having fun while learning.