It was a dream job. The kind that alternately charms and challenges, but in the end makes you eager to grab your coffee mug and get in the car each morning.

For the last three months of the school year I assisted in a fourth-grade classroom at Wolfle Elementary.

Mainly, my role was to help the kids with their work and accompany them to their specialist classes — music, PE and library. Occasionally, I had sole (and, fortunately for everyone, momentary) charge of the class. Often, I was required to eat cupcakes.

I learned so many things. First of all, I learned that kids are amazing. The kids in my adopted classroom were fun, funny, smart and sometimes mischievous, which — in my opinion — is just how kids should be. Never again will I be able to hear the word “duty” without the echo of a giggle and the words, “It says Lewis and Clark did their doody!”

I learned that good teachers are magical. They know how to walk the fine line between authority and affection with their kids. And there is no one right way to accomplish this. They guide their classes through endless mazes of mandated tests. They make the mundane as enjoyable as possible. They educate, encourage, and stave off mutiny on a daily basis.

I learned that Wolfle Elementary is a very good place to be. Not only does the staff work hard to educate each and every student, but the atmosphere of the school itself is cheerful and welcoming. It’s a tight and supportive community that reflects the goodhumored leadership of Principal Ben Degnin, named a 2012 Regional Distinguished Principal by the Elementary School Principals Association of Washington.

I learned that music and PE are as integral to student learning as textbooks and computers. There was a joy to the early morning PE games: kids who lived to move thrived on pushing themselves to their limits; more sedate students were swept up in the action — with a smile on their faces. The music program was well-rounded, with an introduction to music reading, music history, and hands-on performance. It made me wish there’d been such a program in my own childhood days at Wolfle (yes, I’m an alum).

The kids have an incredible array of personalities and talents. One girl plans to become an astrophysicist. Another made caramels for the last day of school. One boy performs in local shows and musicals; another could all but reach the gym roof on a pogo stick. But all of them, even those without a conspicuous skill or hobby, are awesome.

They deserve to be accepted for who they are and what they can do, and challenged to consider the world of possibilities that lie ahead.

So, to all my friends at Wolfle, have a great summer! Stay sweet (as yearbook signers say). I’ll see you in fall! And I expect a cupcake.

— Contact Wendy Tweten at wendy@wendytweten.com