Nearly every adult has pleasant memories of least one teacher while growing up and attending school. This can also be true in the opposite form, as in having a teacher that seemed to delight in making school hours as miserable as possible! Most teachers would much rather be remembered fondly. Becoming a teacher that is able to mix fun with learning is a sometimes daunting feat, but it can be accomplished.
Encouraging students to keep working and have some fun at the same time takes patience and a good imagination. One way to do this is to find a way to incorporate the majority of the students interest’s with their school work. This can be done by having discussions that start out by mentioning for instance, a popular new toy (or age appropriate subject), and then leading it into a lesson in math or social studies. Recalling the lesson will be easier if the student can place the memory with a happy and familiar topic.
Having a good sense of humor can also be the best formula for keeping children engaged and interested while teaching them what they need to learn. Story boards of all kinds make great teaching tools that keep the children entertained and involved. Allowing them to set the stage for a story that grows as each child adds to it, can be turned into an English lesson easily enough, by having the children point out the nouns, verbs, etc., in the story.
A good teacher is usually best remembered by the skills that she or he has shown in communicating with their students. Being able to stay calm in the midst of pressure and having the ability to lighten the mood, may affect the entire class in a positive way. A mixture of discipline and fun can go a long way in enabling the children to mix a good time with learning.