The Wonder of Light

It is with a somewhat amused expression on my face that I write this post. Although I have been fortunate to work with children for the better part of the last ten years, I seem to somehow forget how often they surprise me.

We are currently in the middle of several long-term, large-scale projects and inquiries in our classroom. The value is immeasurable: the exploration, the reflection, the encounters in which the children are engaging. Really, it is difficult to articulate so much goodness. I am so proud of the work we are doing. And because of the exciting work happening in the classroom, I sometimes (often) forget to focus on all of the equally amazing things that are happening in the spaces in between - the spontaneous wonderings, the unplanned moments of inquiry, the observations and explorations that drive the moments of our days. Today, I was fortunate to have a reminder of how much the children have to offer, of how much I have to gain, when I spare thoughts for those moments outside of the bigger pictures, those spontaneous moments of goodness that give me pause. These are the moments that remind me to be grateful for the opportunity I have to learn alongside children every day.

"I catched the light in my hands, look."

"It keeps moving away."

"If I make my hands a circle, I can keep the light in there."

My gratitude for this moment is overwhelming. It reminds me to be thoughtful, to be respectful of those seemingly small moments. It reminds me to appreciate the spaces in between. It reminds me to take a moment to appreciate the wonder of light and the small hands that catch it.

Reflective Practice is a Full Time Job

I am by no means an expert on the art of reflective practice, but I recognize it as something that has enormous value in a classroom environment such as mine. And while I know that there is always room for me to grow and improve, I am making strides to be as reflective a teacher as I can be, both for myself and for my students.

During this past summer, I was fortunate to find myself with a lot of extra time for reflecting, brainstorming, and journaling about my experiences as a preschool teacher. Now that the school year is in full swing, however, I am finding it increasingly difficult to give reflection - particularly reflection through journaling - the time and effort I know it deserves.

I wholeheartedly believe the idea that you make time for what you value. But I am also wholeheartedly aware of the fact that I am human. And sometimes I am tired. And sometimes I've had the kind of day that makes me grumpy toward my practice. And sometimes I would just rather read a novel or hang out with my kid. And sometimes, something has to give.

While I am not giving up on the practice of journaling as a reflection tool, I have also had to make some concessions - sometimes other things take precedence. That being said, I am making every effort to renew the zeal I had for journaling in the first place. In doing so, I am acknowledging that reflective practice is no easy task - it requires commitment. And sometimes to honor that commitment, I have to power through - through the weight of rocky parental relationships, through the emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion of working with young children, through the daily grind of paperwork, policies, and procedures - to be really reflective. I owe it to my students - and to myself - to be a teacher who reflects on the elements and interactions that combine to make up our daily lives in the sacred space of our classroom.