spring

Think About it Thursday...

What does Spring look like?

"It looks like it's so warm and sunny and we can wear no jackets and sweatshirts." JL

"But you know what we DO wear in Spring?  Raincoats!" Ms L

Why does it rain so much in the Spring?

"For the FLOWERS!!!" CG

"Morning time in the Spring the birdies sing and fly." JA

"They get up in the morning to find food for the babies." MT

   

   

Today we headed out on a new adventure to a place we have not been yet.  

"Are we going to play?" I heard many friends ask.

We always play!

"Will there be a playground?"

It is nature's playground!

As we turned the corner into the Shady Creek Nature Sanctuary we heard gasps of excitement.

"This is the bestest day of my LIFE!" AD

"OMG!  We're going out into the WILD!!!!!"

All around me were exclamations of joy and happiness.  And then, through the peals of laughter I heard...

"But we can't go in the water because the crocodiles will chomp us and the nibbling fish!" GC

Once reassured that our job as teachers is to always keep everyone safe, and that we would NEVER do anything that was dangerous, our search for signs of Spring commenced in full.

"Here's a yellow one!" MS

"It smells like a sunflower!" ESE

"That one is all alone.  He must be lonely." PS

I love the way you are thinking about how our world around us might feel.

Caring for nature is important to the children and teachers of Ambrose!

Not only did we discover sights of Spring, but also SOUNDS of Spring!

Again, reassured that the crocodiles were not imminent, we headed into the creek where once again it was proclaimed..

"The BEST day of my LIFE!" AD

We 

explored

discovered

smiled

laughed

We were

brave

interested

thoughtful

careful

So how do we know Spring is here?

We found it in the sun on our faces, the breeze against our skin, the laughter in our hearts, and the joy that filled our hearts.

We wish you well...

How do you know you are part of a community?

What does a loving community feel like?

What does it look like to extend love and kindness to someone?

After this morning, I am confident our Birch friends know these things, and more.

If you've been around preschoolers at all you know their ability to keep surprises quiet for very long is not their superpower.  But showering people with feelings of love definitely IS!

These friends simply could NOT wait to unveil their masterpiece of well-wishing kindness.

And that's the thing about kindness

It ripples

spreads

overflows

It is meant for another, but it can't help but fill up the giver, too.

As their "gigantic card" was unrolled every single friend immediately crawled right onto it and began talking about what they had created.

"It's for your husband."

"And for you, too"

And they are right.  Though the intent was to lift his spirits and make him smile, this act of kindness and love was something this teacher could almost tangibly feel jumping off of the page through the drawings and words, make me smile and "feel better" too.

Because it was so evident that each picture was so important and carried meaning and stories, we created space and time for each friend to share what they made for us.

There were rainbows and hearts.

Kittens covered in hearts

There were stories of machines that helped people's bodies heal, and scenes of fantasy filled with hearts and rainbows!

There were images of things that our friends love and hold dear to.  And what better way to show love than to share something that you yourself love!

Each story was followed by a hug that filled your teacher up with joy.

"Ms Lisa I missed you so so much." HW

It was a sweet morning that makes me so grateful to be your teacher.

 

Caring for our community

 What is community?

It can be so many things, in Birch room we call our classroom community our "Family." 

Family goes beyond the people we see each day, community can be the ones who we love outside our classroom family. 

This week, Ms. Lisa has been staying home to take care of her husband. He is doing well, probably because she is so wonderful at taking care of others, but we miss her! 

When someone who you love is not where you expect them to be, you begin to ask questions. With her permission, I shared with the students that he had to go to a very special doctor to help his heart get stronger. Well, that opened a can of worms. 

After wishing them both well, someone asked "how can we take care of Ms. Lisa?" With so many great ideas, including making her cookies and babysitting her kids, it was hard to decide the best way to show Ms. Lisa and Mr. Kelley our love. 

There few things preschoolers do better than ask questions, solve problems, and draw amazing pictures. We played to our strengths. We asked a lot of questions, and problem solved the best way to help with healing was to make one VERY large get well card. 

Once we decided and wrote out our special message, "We hope you feel better soon," we each took time to draw a special picture or write a message. This card was covered with so much love!

There was so much time, though and effort put into each piece of this project. No one has met Mr. Kelley, but the love we have for Ms. Lisa was enough to show love and kindness to the ones she cares for. 

A large portion of our year has focused on kindness and the things that live in and fill our hearts. It was fitting that today, each person in our class was able to contribute a Kindness Gem to our Kindness Branch for their love, caring thoughts, and kindness today. 

Wishing you all well this week!💗