When the going gets tough, teachers find out what their classes are really made of. And to me delight, I found my class can rise to the occasion and take responsibilities I never dreamed they could. Katlyn fell ill last night but could not find a substitute so she came to school anyway. It took several of us but we finally convinced her she needed to be home in bed.
She was to have a 2 1/2 year old visitor today so I took him. I explained to the class he was very young and might be scared and that after he left, Katlyn's class would be with us. As I watched my class go forward with the challenges of the day I saw the gifts of each child being shared with younger ones.
Emma walked with our visitor and washed his hands for fruit break. Chloe took younger ones outside my door to play in the new sand table. Xan set out art supplies on the back table and showed the younger children what was available. Rowan put smocks on painters and "supervised" the paint table. Sofia washed the hands of the younger ones after they painted. Nora took paintings to the drying rack. Titus, Brandon and Grace moved between them playing with them and Logan spoke softly with each one (and our visitor) making sure they felt welcome.
In all of the chaos, they also played, painted, colored and were children. Now I know how very special these children are and couldn't be prouder! They could have resented having less space and fewer toys but instead called it a "sleep over" and kept a party attitude.
I know learning our letters and math concepts are very important and I often stress to parents that social skills are just as important. Today I got to see the lessons of living in community played out by our children. I wish I had a camcorder going to show the next time I encounter a group of adults elbowing for their space in the world. These children have much to teach us.
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