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
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
‘i love cinnamon and baking with my mom.’ – h
—
class bakery day
the children worked
very hard
over the last few weeks
learning
about bread
about baking
how sharing bread is a way to welcome others
every culture makes and eats and shares bread
listened to books about bread and baking
practiced ‘baking’ with play-dough
baked real lemon bread at school
baked breads at home
bought breads at the store
made signs and decorated tables
learned about buying and selling using pennies
gave other classes pennies
that they had to ‘earn’ by working in their rooms
invited other classes, faculty, staff, and families
to come to our room for a big bakery event
said they would give pennies or free bread
to anyone who had no money or food
families supported their efforts
making this day so special
everyone went home
very full, very tired, very happy.
the bakery in full swing
“anyone who gives you a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven is a friend for life.”
-daniel handler
where did your snack go?
it’s all gone.
where did it all go?
just a big smile
and very full pockets.
clever really.
never hurts to be prepared for anything.
—
“you have to create little pockets of joy in your life to take care of yourself.”
-jonathan van ness
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
playing with light and color
creating a new vision.
—
“light, that first phenomenon of the world,
reveals to us the spirit and living soul of this world through color.”
~ johannes itten, bauhaus colorist
one kinder who has created his own atlas
teaches another
about the world he’s discovered
by reading books.
and the Dinos are standing by too
just taking it all in.
—
“the wide world is all about you:
you can fence yourselves in,
but you cannot forever fence it out.”
-j. r. r. tolkien
