It’s time for spring.
Celebrate This Week [No. 236]
It is time for spring. You may feel this in your corner of the world, too. Just this week we had snow, rain, high winds, sunshine and 70. In the Midwest, the weather is often unexpected.
Sometimes I get tired, waiting for spring.
It’s time for spring in our classrooms. I love spring in school — everyone begins to bloom. We’re rocking routines and achievement is ready to burst. We’ve laid the ground work of community and shared experiences are bonding us together as a class. These last few weeks of school have the potential to be the most beautiful and alive of them all.
Except when unexpected behaviors sprout like weeds in the middle of a new flower garden. Tempers and back talk, forgotten assignments and materials, refusals and eye rolls…
Sometimes I get tired, waiting for spring.
The thing to keep in mind, especially when I am tired, is much of what I love about spring happens because of movement that is unseen. The flowers bloom because of processes happening below the dirt. The grass turns green because of movement under the earth. The trees bud because they sense favorable growing conditions.
Behavior is an indicator of an unmet need. It might seem like everything we’re doing doesn’t make one iota of a difference…and it’s spring (!) — things are supposed to bloom. The special thing about spring is it happens when the world is ready to open. It doesn’t happen because of a calendar or a demand, but because the conditions have finally converged to make it worth the risk to bloom.
Today I celebrate that spring is coming. No matter how hard it is, hold on to your resolve to keep loving, keep giving another pencil, keep holding high expectations, keep smiling. Don’t stop smiling. It is joy that breathes life into dormant hearts.
This post is part of a weekly offering to celebrate in the middle of the muddle. I hope you join the celebration!
Let's Be Email Pals!
Teaching writers doesn't have to drown us.
Enter your information to receive my free eBook, plus weekly tips and encouragement for teaching writers.
I’m jealous of your spring weather this week. Here in Iowa we are waiting for another winter storm. There are blizzard warnings west of us, freezing drizzle will come first. I generally handle winter fairly well, but not when it hangs on until mid-April!
What a beautiful family photo! I am in love with this spring analogy. So much is happening below the surface that we cannot see, nor understand. I will carry this reminder with me.
Happy Spring, Ruth! Wishing you sunshine and light and warmth!
I know spring must be ‘around the corner’. We’ve had those ups & downs this week, too. I agree about your words “unmet needs”, with children and with adults, the challenge is to discover what they are, isn’t it? Happy Spring, when it’s really here!
Ruth, I feel like you had a magnifying glass on my week. I had several sprouts and it snowed here. I am excited to be apart of this week’s celebration.
What a beautiful analogy. So much wisdom and truth in this. Those unexpected moments, like the weather.
As I write this, in Wisconsin we are getting pounded by a massive storm. I am impatient for Spring as well. I love your insights, especially that spring is often when movement is unseen. I need to remember this more often.
Love the sunshine on the faces of your children, Ruth. It is a reflection of your love. Wishing you an abundance of spring blossoms.
“It is joy that breathes life into dormant hearts.” Ruth this is so lovely a thought. If your children take a spring photo, I would love to have it paired to your quote and placed on my spring gallery. Thanks for bring joy to a cold spring day.
That last paragraph is one to get us through another round of testing these coming weeks. Keep smiling. Yes.
Ah Spring! We had two days of it before the return to February…still, I feel that it’s on the way!
Like Diane, I love your last paragraph. I need to send it to all my teacher friends!
I’m ready for more spring weather! This time of year seems so busy and goes so fast. I’m so glad for celebrating and slowing down especially this time of year!
http://www.storyexploratory.com/2018/04/join-celebrating-what-sucks-about.html