on the last day
in the last hour
of a wild ride
in a year of ups and downs
we all made it through
the kinder emerged stronger than ever
taking a final gentle walk
into the sunshowers of summer.
—
“now shall i walk or shall i ride? ‘ride,’ pleasure said; ‘walk’ joy replied.”
-w.h.davies
i will never forget
it was a friday
show and tell time
sitting on the floor
they took turns going around our circle
each child sharing their special thing
other children kindly looking at it
showing appreciation for what the others shared
then we came to n
who clearly had forgotten to bring something
yet said “i have something too”
he proudly walked around the circle
both hands together
gently cradling a single crumb
that he had picked up off our floor
showing each child
talking about his crumb
as the others
were all so kind
smiling at his crumb
complimenting him on his crumb
accepting the crumb as his special thing
without judging his crumb
my favorite show and tell special thing of all time.
—
“the wise learn from the experience of others, and the creative know how to make a crumb of experience go a long way.”
-eric hoffer
the kinder came
they masked
they played
they conquered.
—
“this is the short and long of it.”
– william shakespeare
—
first day of school – september 2020
today is the first day back at school
i imagine the kinder calmly gliding into nature with me
all possibilities are on the table
could be more like the picture below
most likely will fall somewhere in between.
“today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have.”
-william arthur ward
—
photo credits: vintage pinterest, gamma-keystone london
each of our faculty members
were allowed to go into their room alone for 30 minutes
during that time we could take
whatever we imagined we might need
to teach school — for the rest of the year.
walking into my building, it was silent
i saw the ‘welcome back to the sun’ and ‘happy spring’ artwork
my class had created for the hall
expecting to be back soon after our spring break
walking into my classroom
it was sad
left as it was back in mid-march
memories, things undone, things i wish i could still do with my class
cards, and art, and notes, and pictures, and colors, and books
30 minutes to decide what to take
i filled my bags with toys and books and art and puppets
anything i thought might make my kinder feel a sense of comfort
as i teach them from afar and show them familiar things
it was hard to close the door on the year
knowing i will stay connected to each of them
but also knowing
something will be lost
in not spending my school days
sharing a room with them.
—
“time flies over us,
but leaves its shadow behind. “
-nathaniel hawthorne
and
as
the
first
few
flakes
fell
from
the
sky
joy ruled the day in kinder-land.
—
“the snow fell as softly as a poet’s tears.”
flying high at our class circus.
—
“as one, they leap, laughing,
and that is where we leave them –
mouths open, arms spread wide,
fingers splayed to take in the whole world,
bodies flying high in defiance of gravity,
as if they will never fall.”
– libba bray
kinder enjoy life outside of the boxes.
—
“smile at your critics for they have yet to see the universe that exists outside the box”
-paul bradley smith
what’s left behind by the kinder after week one.
—
“if you focus on what you left behind,
you’ll never be able to see what lies ahead.”
-remi gaillard
kinder gently tucks his little ones in when playing dad.
—
“a gentle heart is tied with an easy thread.”
-george herbert
I didn't have my glasses on.... 