Like Roses and Violets

I wanted to pause for a moment in what feels like a world of disequilibrium right now and reflect.  In recent weeks, we have felt a loss in our community.  The children have been sharing their own stories of losing loved ones.  In addition, there have been conversations and questions about the happenings in Ukraine.  The children have been pulling out the world map and trying to figure out the reasons for this tension.....from using chess pieces to represent the respected armies to seeing how far away we are from the war.

When the world feels heavy, words sometimes fail me.  ​Fred Rogers once said, “All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors—in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver."  These words resonated with me when thinking about the children.  Each day, I witness these fluid roles the children take on as being either a giver or a receiver in any given moment.  How judgment is not cast and acceptance prevails and allows us to be connected as a classroom community.  Listening to the children last week, my heart feels hopeful with what is to come in this messy world.  Lights of hope, such as this poem written by E.K. last week, reminds me to find the joys in the present that connects us to each other.  We will focus on life and not tearing down.  

Like a fast growing flower, we have fun.  We (are) different likes roses and violets, we will grow too. We need food and water too!  People don't need soil, but when we think about it, we are cool and we all have a place in life. So instead of tearing people down, we will build people up!
That means we should not be selfish.  We will focus on life and not focus on tearing down.  We need to focus on the present and should not be so caught in doing something or focusing on being good enough.  We need to be ourselves.

Like she said, we all have a place in this life.  And I am grateful to be on this journey with the children this year.  They are agents for change, from saving slugs that surface on rainy days to noticing the injustices of the world.