A Note

Here's a portion of a newsletter I sent home with the children in March. 

In celebration of spring & newness of life, here it is:

"On Tuesday, I was alerted on the playground to shrieks of delight as the children gathered in a circle to spy on something in the grass. Thinking it was a bug, and praying it wasn’t an injured child, I hurried over to the location of the anticipated surprise. The children were squealing and laughing and excitedly pulling my arms to bring me closer to the watched object. Through their exuberant shouts, I could barely make out their individual words, but as I got closer I could hear them chatting about the tulip bulbs we had planted in the fall. Thinking they must be mistaken, I dropped to the grass to uncover it with my own eyes. There it was – a tiny green stem beginning to sprout from a bulb under the earth. The whole class was now gathered around the tree, staring at this piece of nature in awe and delighting in the beauty of growth. Could it be that spring is really coming after all?!

There are so many important lessons to teach children as they grow, but then there are things you simply cannot teach. The independent discovery of the miracle in nature brought fascination and curiosity to the students in a way nothing else can. When we planted the bulbs in October, I told them they would grow into flowers in the spring – but telling and discovering bring two different outcomes. To see excitement and laughter organically rise in children over something so simple as a tulip bulb is the sheer blessing of working with Kindergarteners. Giving the children a lens to see God’s beauty is something I hope to inspire and model for the children, but I am reminded that it is also the guidance of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of each child’s heart. He is cultivating a new perception in which to find Him in the everyday; to approach life with childlike wonder is a gift I desire to live out more freely. The more children uncover the mysteries on earth, the more they see God. And that is a lesson even the greatest teacher on earth cannot teach, and brings me to my knees to worship the one true Creator God."

:: Kindergarten Newsletter 3.15.2013