Magical Moments
Working with young children day in and day out is hard. There is no way around it! You are dealing with as many as 20 different little personalities and trying to find a way to meet all the needs of these little guys in a positive way. There are disputes to settle, messes to clean up (often times these deal with some sort of bodily fluid) and "lessons" to plan and execute. If there is a day when everything goes smoothly and you actually have energy left at the end of the day, be extra careful! This could be an indication that something really big is going to happen! Just kidding! There are actually days like that and hopefully you have many of those while teaching or raising young children.
Even when things are going wrong and it's one of "those" days, weeks, months, or years, for that matter, there are still those "magical moments" that remind you, "oh, yea, that's why I'm here."
It was one of "those" years for me. This was the group who created a bus in the dramatic play area and when asked where they were going they replied with the name of a state penitentiary and informed me it was "visiting day". They did not get along well with each other and most days were very "lackluster". Other than rough play, fighting, and knocking over blocks, they didn't seem to be interested in much of anything including my well planned, and obviously interesting topics of study that I presented. I was doing my best to keep them interested and excited about learning, but most days it seemed like I was spending all my time just "putting out fires."
It was near Christmas and I was looking forward to reading The Polar Express, written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg. If you have children, grandchildren, or you work with young children, I'm sure you are familiar with the story of a little boy who takes a magical Christmas Eve trip on a very special train. After arriving at the North Pole, he is chosen to receive the first gift of Christmas and he chooses a bell from Santa's sleigh. He puts it in the pocket of his bathrobe but unfortunately discovers later that it has fallen through a hole and is lost. He returns home brokenhearted. The next morning his sister finds a small box under the tree with his name on it. When he opens it, there is the bell! While he and his sister can hear the tinkling sound it makes, their parents cannot. The point being, you have to believe!
While I read the story, the children were behaving in the usual way. Poking their neighbor, arguing about who knows what, and finally just lying down to express their dismay. I have to admit, I was sad that they were not enthralled by the story but I was determined to finish it with a flair. I had placed a small bell in a box, just like in the story, and had it hidden behind me. As I finished the story, I produced the box and that's when the "magic" happened.
Children began sitting up and taking note of the brightly wrapped box. "Hmm, where did this come from?" I so cleverly asked. To chants of "open it, open it" I did just that. When the bell came out, there was an audible, collective gasp and even my "toughest" guys had the biggest smiles on their faces and their little eyes were lit up with a brightness that I hadn't seen for the first four months of school that year. I have to admit, my eyes got a little "teary". We finished our story time with hot cocoa complete with marshmallows!
Check back later!
P.S. I now have a "gadget" that will allow you to receive email notifications regarding new posts. I would love for you to sign up!
Even when things are going wrong and it's one of "those" days, weeks, months, or years, for that matter, there are still those "magical moments" that remind you, "oh, yea, that's why I'm here."
It was one of "those" years for me. This was the group who created a bus in the dramatic play area and when asked where they were going they replied with the name of a state penitentiary and informed me it was "visiting day". They did not get along well with each other and most days were very "lackluster". Other than rough play, fighting, and knocking over blocks, they didn't seem to be interested in much of anything including my well planned, and obviously interesting topics of study that I presented. I was doing my best to keep them interested and excited about learning, but most days it seemed like I was spending all my time just "putting out fires."
It was near Christmas and I was looking forward to reading The Polar Express, written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg. If you have children, grandchildren, or you work with young children, I'm sure you are familiar with the story of a little boy who takes a magical Christmas Eve trip on a very special train. After arriving at the North Pole, he is chosen to receive the first gift of Christmas and he chooses a bell from Santa's sleigh. He puts it in the pocket of his bathrobe but unfortunately discovers later that it has fallen through a hole and is lost. He returns home brokenhearted. The next morning his sister finds a small box under the tree with his name on it. When he opens it, there is the bell! While he and his sister can hear the tinkling sound it makes, their parents cannot. The point being, you have to believe!
While I read the story, the children were behaving in the usual way. Poking their neighbor, arguing about who knows what, and finally just lying down to express their dismay. I have to admit, I was sad that they were not enthralled by the story but I was determined to finish it with a flair. I had placed a small bell in a box, just like in the story, and had it hidden behind me. As I finished the story, I produced the box and that's when the "magic" happened.
Children began sitting up and taking note of the brightly wrapped box. "Hmm, where did this come from?" I so cleverly asked. To chants of "open it, open it" I did just that. When the bell came out, there was an audible, collective gasp and even my "toughest" guys had the biggest smiles on their faces and their little eyes were lit up with a brightness that I hadn't seen for the first four months of school that year. I have to admit, my eyes got a little "teary". We finished our story time with hot cocoa complete with marshmallows!
"And above all , watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." Roald DahlThat's it for now.
Check back later!
P.S. I now have a "gadget" that will allow you to receive email notifications regarding new posts. I would love for you to sign up!
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