Mary’s Minute
"All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school."
~ Robert Fulghum
Many of you know, I started my career as a kindergarten teacher and spent several years also teaching preschool. In fact, there are a few teachers at PC who were in my kindergarten or preschool classes. In my mind I go back often to my time with young children, recognizing how much we can learn from our youngest students. Robert Fulghum wrote a cute piece about this idea. Some of the things Fulghum suggests we can learn from kindergarten include: “Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.”
There is an innocence that young children have that we all wish we could hold. Young children find joy in the smallest things and have a natural sense of curiosity that leads them to constant learning. Children skip! Think about this — how often do we as adults have so much physical joy that it comes out as skipping? Young children smile, laugh, and hug freely. Young children dance when they hear music, giggle uncontrollably, and notice small changes.
We know that smiling and laughing are important for mental health. We know that to be physically healthy movement can be a game changer. We use the term “childish” as a negative adjective, but in reality being child-like is what we all should hope to be. Whatever we call it, the older I get the more I realize the importance of emulating children in their joy for life and constant curiosity! And... skipping! Don’t forget to skip!
Have a great week!
Mary
Mary, this is so delightful. All the reasons you cite are reasons why I like to slip out on my patio and blow bubbles just after daylight on mornings other than wintry mornings when it's raining. It was a fun discovery I made a couple of years ago and a metaphorical release of negative energy to make way for the new day. (I don't do this every single day, but when weather allows, it has become part of my early morning ritual - blowing bubbles upward is like a whisper of affirmation to the universe - a morning
ReplyDeleteprayer - and a reminder I need to get more bubbles. I'm almost out.
Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this! Thanks so much for your comment and thank you for blowing bubbles! I think I will give Zoe a Christmas gift idea for you! Thanks for reading and for your kind comment.