“well, I know now. know a little more how much a simple thing like a snowfall can mean to a person”
― s
― s
Jan20
Category Archives: children
Jan6
tribute.
during the wake
we all gathered inside
close together
to talk, eat, laugh, cry, listen to music, tell stories, remember
celebrate a life
the children from 4-10
all played together
went outside
chalk in hand
wrote a beautiful welcome to all who would come
and loving tributes to the one who had left.
“tears are words that need to be written.”
-paul coelho
Jan4
words on a page.
ten years ago
this surprise postcard
appeared in my mailbox
from a former student
now far away
addressed to peaches
my affectionate nickname
sent to me
when she was seven not yet eight
her only message
a beautiful poem
summed up
life
in three lines
love is love
life is life
there is nothing else to it.
i knew way back when
she was just four not yet five
learning
how to hold a pencil to write
she was a beat poet and roller derby queen of adventure.
—
“one should write because one loves the shape of stories and sentences
and the creation of different words on a page.”
-annie proulx
Dec9
move-in ready!
this looks like my kind of place!
—
i have such fond memories of childhood forts-
blanket forts
pillow forts
under the table forts
box forts
tree forts
garage forts
lower bunkbed forts
underground cave forts
behind the couch forts
secret forts
forts with passwords
anything/anywhere/anytime
we could find to makeover into a fort,
we did.
—
are you ‘pro-fort?’
is yes, what kind of forts did you enjoy?
—
“forte is french for fort.”
*buddy wakefield,
*american poet, three-time world champion spoken word artist, and the most toured performance poet in history
—
image credit: facebook, ty to b. miller
Dec1
pathway.
the kinder discovered a pathway on a hill
covered in beautiful, kind, and encouraging stones
created by the older children
left behind for them to find
“what sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.
these are but trifles, to be sure;
but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”
-joseph addision
Oct29
warning label.
this is the kind of note that we sometimes see at arrival
pinned to a child’s school bag
giving us a heads up about how things are going so far.
i think adults should also be able to wear these as needed
in our lanyards or clipped to our clothing or bags
a simple statement of fact
a quiet warning
when we arrive somewhere
no questions need be asked
just a smile and a nod will do.
—
“i really should come with a warning label.”
-tom upton, american author
Oct25
dream big.
watching the big kids and wishing you were on the other side of the fence.
—
“dream big, little one.”
-a.u.
Oct20
all over the globe.
“the children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe;
and i’m beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this
may be incapable of morality.”
-james baldwin
—
art credit: kana handel, ‘war is not the answer’
Oct18
taking flight.
when playing outside
the kinder found a dead bird
they called out to everyone to come over to see it
they said goodbye to the bird and told her that they were sad that she had died
we put a circle of pretty leaves around her to keep her safe on her journey.
—
“teach them to be kind to animals and they will grow up to be kind to people too.”
-rumi
Oct6
questions and ideas.
while on our recent visit to the farm
one of the 3-year old kinder
asked the farmers why the windmill wasn’t spinning
after a short discussion about the wind and movement
he put it all together and was happy to know the answer.
when we sat next to each other on the bus for our return to school
he turned to me with a big smile and said,
“you know, i just love, love, love learning.”
and it almost brought me to tears.
—
“the capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.”
-brian herbert
—
image credit: kobi yamada, apg sales and distribution,
I didn't have my glasses on.... 