when the kinder have a bunch of boxes
and decide to play
indoor hide and seek
the teachers know
they will need a lot of help to find them all.
—
“some of the most wonderful people are the ones who don’t fit into boxes.”
-tori amos
Apr13
Category Archives: school
Feb4
guts.
bandaids are the hot item in my classroom
after a number of kinder came up to me asking for one
pleading their case
(many with very old ‘wounds’)
we gathered together
as they each shared
their personal tale of woe:
i got scraped, the paper cut me, it’s red like blood,
you can’t see it, but it’s ouch-y, something poked me,
my sister, something in my pocket did it, nail polish came off of one nail,
bandaid from home is falling off….
we finally got to our last person, who stated:
“this happened to me on the next day after tomorrow.”
—
“life takes guts.”
-lucille ball
Nov4
gifted.
after 3 days of conferences with parents
sharing stories of each child’s gifts
i’m all talked out
but really loved the conversations.
—
“we are all gifted, that is our inheritance.”
-ethel waters
—
photo credit: bbc earth
Sep9
beginning.
the little ones came to school
most for the first time ever
filling our room with emotion and energy
a few minutes into our day
one had me write
an urgent note to her mom
that read:
“bring the car!”
we’re all tired and mostly all happy
tomorrow we begin again.
—
“be willing to be a beginner every single morning.”
-meister eckhart
Aug29
carry it.
like a turtle with its shell
carrying it wherever they go
a sure sign
it’s move-in weekend at the uni.
—
“the sweetest part of leaving home is knowing,
beyond the shadow of a doubt,
that you’ll always carry it with you.”
-homestratosphere
Aug7
at the school show.
one of my favorite things
is to go to school shows
i love every kind of kid up there
bored
nervous
awkward
moving
bouncing
spinning
hiding in back
overly enthusiastic
staring straight ahead
giggling
belting it out
faking the lyrics
wearing mismatched shoes
in a fancy outfit
whispering to a stage neighbor
giving it their all
waving to family
looking proud
non-stop smiling
have their own rhythm different from the rest
whether
dancing
singing
acting
playing anything that makes a musical sound
performance art
athletic feats
comedy
any kind of talent show
poetry reading
costumed or not.
i am all in.
—
“sometimes I was in school plays,
but only when the kid they’d originally picked got sick and they asked me to substitute.”
-peter falk
—
“i remember acting in a school play about the melting pot when I was very little.
there was a great big pot onstage.
on the other side of the pot was a little girl who had dark hair,
and she and i were representing the italians.
and i thought: is that what an italian looked like?”
-al pacino
—
“i did a school play when I was 10 where I played a cold germ infecting a whole classroom of kids.
the play was called ‘Piffle It’s Only a Sniffle.’
i’d never had so much fun. It was a thrill.”
-kim cattrall
Jun8
a wish for my students on their last day.
“there is nothing wrong with loving the crap out of everything.
negative people find their walls.
so never apologize for your enthusiasm.
never.ever.ever.
-ryan adams
may you all live like this forever. and ever. and ever.
love, your teacher
(who lives like this too)
Mar16
something special.
not my class or horse, but a tiny bit similar if you squint your eyes.
the quote below perfectly sums up my vocation.
—
“if you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. that’s a heck of a day.
you do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”
-jim valvano
—
weareteachers.com (1950s vintage)
Mar9
the end in mind.
on the first of three days
of parent-teacher conferences
at the end of just our second family meeting
one of us
(names are unimportant)
closed the conference
with a friendly goodbye –
“have a great weekend!”
only to
glance up
noticing
it was actually
tuesday at 10:02am.
almost there….
—
“begin with the end in mind.”
-stephen covey
Feb28
teaching the young on a monday.
—
i’m ready for you, kinder!
—
art credit: gary larson, the far side
I didn't have my glasses on.... 