When A Friend Comes Over

I knew I wanted to blog this week end but was not sure what I wanted to share.  I thought I would write about some of the learning taking place as we shared books, art activities and celebrations about holiday traditions. So much going through my mind and then my friend Jim came over. My husband and I have know Jim since 1966. A friendship that has stayed true all these years. The course of our lives has had many twists and turns, but we have always stayed friends. This post is not really about friendships, but about the listening when a friend shares with you. I love listening to Jim’s stories, but today he wanted to know about Facebook, Twitter and me. We talked about Facebook being a place for me to connect with family and friends locally and throughout the globe. Then we talked about Twitter, who I follow and who follows me. So I first shared with him my political bias and concern about public schools, as I follow @DianeRavitch and @AnthonyCody and their blogs. I talked about the hardships facing schools: students and teachers. (I won’t go into details here. His daughter is a public school teacher and I teach at an independent school.) But he quickly heard the concern and passion in my voice as I expressed my feelings. From there we went to the chats I follow regularly and how I found people to follow. Well I was on a roll as I talked about #kinderchat, #1stchat and #geniushour and touched on others. Then he asked me how I came to blog and I shared with him the “provocation” blog challenge that @happycampergirl shared this summer on #kinderchat  So here I am blogging!  As I spoke I told him about my PLN and how these people have influenced my teaching and inspired me to take risks and “go for it.” I laughed with delight at Jim’s comment about “the excitement in my voice and the sparkle in my eyes” as I explained #geniushour to him and how other classes are also embracing this idea. My enthusiasm was palpable as I told him about #geniushour and how we incorporate it in our learning and connecting to others.  Looking at the bigger picture for kinders is not intuitive, and when they do, I see the impact of my teaching and their learning. Their “inventing” is not always a take home, but the process of incorporating what they learn to their play. (This week some children used the various blocks to build a house made with stilts so that families can stay dry in a flood or rain storm. How is that for connections and thinking about helping others?)  with more excitement then you could imagine, I told him that my Ks have their own class Twitter account and we will be connecting to other kindergarten children across the globe. And I know what Jim  meant as I felt my heart soar as I spoke with such animation and glee about the children; my teaching and my learning. Thanks Jim for giving me this forum to show what I have always felt: for me teaching is not just a job, it has never been just a job. My family aside, it is my passion, my purpose for being. 

This time of year as we share our family holiday traditions with our students, I am always grateful that my students and I have this amazing opportunity to learn about each other. 

Kinders learn about Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Los Posadas and Kwanzaa

Has sharing with friends a passion of yours (and not necessarily theirs) been something that you are comfortable doing?