“teach the children, it’s painting in fresco.”
— ralph waldo emerson
—
How do you paint in fresco?
Frescos are paintings that are created by adding paint to wet plaster. When an artist paints a mural on a wall, they start by applying a layer of plaster to the wall and then add the paint. The paint sinks into the plaster as it dries and it becomes part of the wall.
beginning our parent teacher conferences
ready to share stories, laugh, chat with families,
at some point
voices grew crackly,
coffee and lots of water became important
leaving at the end, very quietly walking to our cars.
happy families and most of our voices left behind.
when i went to have my fingerprints redone
as part of a routine teacher employment screening
that happens every few years
i wasn’t really prepared
for the fingerprint tech
with her no-nonsense voice
barking out my name from a backroom
where i was waiting with a random group of people,
“BETH!”
walking in
she began talking at me
through her plastic protection shield
telling me to relax
big, scary nails
shaking out my hands
i tried to connect with a bit of small talk
telling me not to tell her anything
not printed on my paperwork
or i’d have to start the process all over again
beginning with making a new appointment
telling me not to ask her to repeat anything
just do what i was told
“are you hearing what i’m telling you?”
“kind of..”
from that point on
she spoke at me using an even louder voice
former military/law enforcement/bad prison experience?
was i going to have to drop and do 100 push-ups?
i feel like she has a story..
almost felt like it was a hazing
or a police sting operation
did they know about my parking ticket from way back in grad school
that may have gone unpaid
when i was hoping for amnesty?
—
“values are like fingerprints. nobody’s are the same, but you leave ’em all over everything you do.”
-elvis presley
school’s out.
—
“today is the first and last day of forever.”
-stephanie meyer
how exciting for the class (and for me)
to receive a beautiful poster and message
from our penpal friends
led by a blogging friend/teacher i admire, jennie fitzkee
all the way from the aqua room in massachusetts
connections can be made in so many wonderful ways.
jennie with the letter we sent back to our friends in massachusetts
https://jenniefitzkee.com/2023/05/03/thank-you-letters/
—
“with a little paper and ink –
and some help from the postal service –
friendship can span many years and many miles.”
-caroline rose kraft
my classroom is chock full of
multi-age kinder (3s-young 5s)
who stay with us for two years.
one of the very best things
is watching the older kinder
who were the younger kinder
just one year before
as they quite naturally and organically grow
to become the leaders/teachers/helpers/mentors
to the new group of younger kinder
who were at home
just one year before.
what a joy it was to watch someone older
spend a very long time
finding all the special markers she needed
to create an easy to see linear rainbow
for someone younger
who wanted to create
her very own rainbow picture
in her very own style
using all the special colors.
judging by their faces
when she finished her very own rainbow
they were both equally proud of the results.
—
“nine tenths of education is encouragement.”
-anatole france
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
“when you really pay attention, everything is your teacher.”
-ezra bayda
—
sugarbush park, ann arbor, mi, usa – summer 2022
“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)
heading out on a rainy day
to explore, discover things, and learn
in the much larger classroom of the universe.
—
“the universe is a great university.”
-sai baba
I didn't have my glasses on.... 