From Seeds To Trees

It appears like the addition of new classes to my schedule has unfortunately paused my writing about all of my many teaching adventures each day. It's something I hope to correct. In any case, it's a new day with a new lesson! Daylight Savings may have taken away an hour of time but it certainly didn't take the spring out of the steps of my students.

This afternoon, while doing a cool down, I had the kids make their bodies into seeds and then stretch into trees. One replied, once she had grown, "I'm a cuddle tree and I'm here to cuddle you!" All of the kids yelled, "me too!" and proceeded to wrap their tiny arms around my legs. It was nothing short of pure magic. Upon smiling and soaking up their love, I started to wonder if life's cruelest joke is that we are born to grow up. How complicated the world can seem once we start to "branch out" and abandon the simplicities of our small seeds. We often intertwine ourselves in serious matters knowing we're rooted and unable to move away with the humor and youthful grace of our past. It's so easy to lose the easiness.

Luckily though, I suppose, it's possible to grow up in good company. Fine fellow trees to make your acquaintance and help you to reach for that next thing. And fortunately for me, I'm in a forest with little cuddle trees. Who help remind me that while I had to get older I still have the ability to come down for additional lessons on how to grow.

Hearts Are Made For Breaking

Another morning of cold rain greeted the city of San Francisco as I made my commute back to the Mission. Because of the weather, I found all of the preschool students sitting down to watch a movie since they couldn't play outside. The same child who wept about not being able to go to drama class last week had to be encouraged to join me today and leave the film behind. Can't say I blamed him, the movie was about dinosaurs!

Once we settled into class one little boy shouted out, "Teacher Ashley! I'm growing!" To which I asked, "You are! Do you think I'm growing too?" He firmly replied, "No." I joking then asked if he thought I would grow taller, if my feet would get bigger, and if he believed my heart could become larger. He then, in the most matter of fact tone, said, "You're going to break your heart. And then you're going to cry." "Um, yeah, been there done that, kid, but do we have to bring it up..." is what I should have asked but before I could muster out a word another little boy walked over to be and said gently, "Here is a new one." And he placed his small hand near my chest. As if the gesture couldn't get sweeter, he then said, "And here's some ice cream!" The rest of the class followed him and gave me "hearts" and "ice cream cones". It's an incredible feeling to know that if I allow my heart to be broken, I now have a surplus of extra ones to get me through and a never ending supply of ice cream to ease the pain.