One Tiny Skittle

I experienced another 'ah ha' moment in the classroom the other day.  I like to play learning games with the students when we're finished with our lessons, and our favorite game is like Wheel of Fortune (without the wheel).  I put a sentence on the board in the form of spaces and go around the room allowing each student to guess a letter.  We go round and round until the sentence is guessed.  If a student guesses a letter correctly, he/she gets one Skittle...one tiny Skittle.  You would think it was money or a vacation the way they react.  As the year progresses, the students get better and better at playing, and come to understand the 'popular' consonants and the importance of knowing if all of the vowels have been guessed, including y, the 'sometimes vowel.'

I should probably back up this story a bit and say that on this particular day, we were playing this game following a spelling test that also had a fun finish, except for one little guy.  The students are excited each week to take their spelling test because when they're finished, they get to turn their papers over and write a sentence on the back. It's not the sentence alone that excites them, but the two Skittles they win if their sentence is written correctly.  There are only three rules that apply to them for their particular sentence.  The spelling word has to be spelled correctly, the sentence must begin with a capital letter, AND, it must have the correct ending mark.  In order to have a higher success rate and to help promote their confidence, the students know that it's okay if other words in the sentence are misspelled.  They know they won't receive any help from me while writing because I can read anything as long as they've sounded it out.  We have a whole little routine we follow that has built through the year that the students seem to love.  They rush their papers to me, take their seats, and the wiggling begins.  They know that we'll sing the 'Everyday I'm shuffling' song as I shuffle their papers.  Their names aren't on the back so I don't know whose sentence is whose while I'm reading them out loud until I turn it over.  But before I begin reading, we all hold up our pinkies and recite the Pinky Promise, promising not to cry since we're all learning...all part of our ritual.

Well, don't you know that every single sentence was correct...until the last one...written by, who I'll refer to as, Little Guy A.  Little Guy A clearly wrote a question, asking me about a game that he likes.  The only problem was that he ended it with a period.  No problem.  Disappointment is difficult, but part of the learning process, and  I don't make a big deal out of it.  I state why a question mark was needed and quickly move on to push past the sniffle I thought I noticed.  And that's when I realized we had enough time for a game.  Alright!  Another opportunity to have some good old fashioned learning fun, and...another chance to win an almighty Skittle.

Wrong!  As it turned out, Little Guy A was having a difficult time recouping from the spelling test, and was now making poor and frantic guesses.  It's not too often that the letters, Q and Z are used.  As the sentence was forming on the board...by the other classmates...Little Guy A's eyes were filling with tears.  He was trying to hold it together...and so was I.  He didn't know that I was silently bracing each time his turn came, hoping that he'd make a wise guess.  But no such luck...J.  Another letter not used too often.

Teaching moment!  Do I say something to him, causing him more embarrassment?  Do I ignore him?  We're learning, right?  How much suffering do I consider normal all in the name of learning before I sway from my rules?  All I really want is for Little Guy A to find some relief without me making a big deal out of him.  He's trying so hard to hold it together.  What do I do?

In my blur of panic and while writing another's correct choice on the board, I never noticed Little Guy B quietly getting up from his seat across the room.  By the time I could have said anything to him, he ever so gently placed his winning Skittle in front of Little Guy A.  No words were spoken, no other movement made, just the gentle placing of one tiny Skittle on a desk.

Once again...the smallest of gestures spoke the loudest.  I stood there, dumbfounded, in awe of Little Boy B.  He took his seat, shyly looking at me, wondering if it was okay of what he did.  I smiled and nodded, letting him know that his action was more than I could have thought of.

Sometimes, enough is enough in the name of learning.  They're only seven, and this time, it took a seven year old to teach ME.  I should have changed my course, whispered an answer, coached him...something...anything but what I was doing.  Sometimes, just wanting to do something isn't enough.  But thankfully for me, a very small and unpretentious little boy had his head in the game and kept his cool.  I haven't been able to stop thinking of Little Boy B and the action he took.  Was he wondering what was taking me so long to notice just how upset another was?  I'm so very grateful for Little Boy B and the opportunity to have learned from someone so small...yet so aware of the feelings of others.  I wonder what will become of Little Boy B?  With such perception at this young age...is this his calling...to stand up for others?  I hope so.  How lucky for us if it is.

I've been teaching for a while, and opportunities such as this arise from time to time.  But did I rise to the occasion?  No.  But did I learn something...did my silver learn?  Absolutely!  I love it that I can learn from little people.  I love it that it's not just one-sided and that they only learn from me.  I'll remember Little Boy B's small gesture and his compassion for someone who was hurting.

What's in Your Mayonnaise Jar?

As you know from previous posts, I teach.  My school is my home away from home, and it's a lovely place.   I consider my grade partners and all of the lower school teachers around me as my extended family, and we get pretty cozy together.  The hallways are a fun place for teachers no matter the time of day, but there is a common denominator that is only prevalent during the morning hours in the school...and that would be, coffee.  This is probably true in most professions in the morning, but I can only speak for teachers, and as I mentioned last week, we're 'loving and mothering' our way through the day, so...it's cozier in a school.

If I'm lucky, my coffee won't disappear too quickly, and it will last through the morning hours.  When I report to the two first grade classrooms to pick up my reading groups, we, meaning my grade partner, students and I, greet each other warmly and socialize for a bit...and our coffee is present.  It's definitely an amiable way to begin class, and the students are relaxed and receptive.

Sometimes, it's more than coffee we share.  On one particular day when I arrived at my second classroom, I wasn't feeling good.  I was hungry and lightheaded and thought I should sit down.  That particular grade partner had just started peeling an orange, one of those little 'cuties.'  I wouldn't normally ask her for a bite of her food (well, maybe I might), but this time I did.  She handed me half of her cutie and we shared the slices while reviewing for the upcoming class, all the while, the first grade children sat and observed while their teachers demonstrated care and kindness to each other.

Later that evening while I was on a walk, I received a text message from that same teacher.  She just wanted to let me know how much she enjoyed sharing her orange slices with me.  She said, "You know, it's the little things in life that are so important."  I laughed out loud and thanked her again before continuing on with my walk, thinking about what she had said.  She was absolutely right.  It was a little thing, but her small gesture had made such an impact on both her students who witnessed it and me, that it really should have been categorized as one of the bigger things in life.

And with that thought, I was reminded of a video I had seen.  I hadn't given the thought of categorizing life too much until I saw the video, but I guess we all kind of do it without realizing.  It makes sense that we reserve the most amount of time for what's really important in our lives, and allow only a small amount of time for what's not so important...and it's imperative to not reverse this process.  The video really brings it home for me, though, perhaps since I'm a multi sensory learner.  I do my best learning when I hear it, read it, and feel it, emotionally.  I've seen different versions of this video, but like this one best because of the music.  It's five minutes long, but well worth your time, and the ending is perfect...brings it all home.

If you have the time, click on, The Mayonnaise Jar.  You won't be disappointed.  I enjoy teaching moments that stay with me, causing me to give it some extra thought.  I think it is easy to see what my silver has learned from this...that I already knew just how important the big things in life are...even if they are very small.