Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A morning with the little ones

This morning, the front hall at St. David's was very busy when I arrived.  At least four students were waiting for their chance to explain their actions (or lack thereof).  All of this is 'normal' in this setting where the children face all kinds of challenges.  Thank goodness they are so resilient.

My morning routine took me into the JK class today to meet with some of my little friends.  In fact, when I walked into the class, they were overjoyed to see me, and actually knew my name (aren't they smart?).  They are quickly getting used to my visits, and perhaps are anticipating them as much as I am.

Even as we shared English muffins and oranges this morning, I heard whispers about going with this group of youngsters to the gymnasium.  On the way, the children willingly posed for a few photos.


Notice the sign that is above their heads.  One would have thought that I placed it there to identify my new-found friends.  As it happens, the sign was already there, and I just happened to notice it there. I wonder whether they put it there in anctipation of such a photo op.

After this brief pause, the next stop was the gymnasium, where they quickly demonstrated their knowlege of the routine.


From this circle, they could proceed to any number of activities:

  • running in circles around at least half of the gym space
  • playing hopscotch on the coloured circles (you can perhaps catch a glimpse of the circles in the distance, behind the circle of children, and
  • taking their turn at bowling, a task which isn't as easy as it might first appear, especially for these little ones (the bowling ball is bigger than some of them).
In all, it was a morning filled with the simplicity of children.  What a wonderful gift for the adult: an opportunity to remember that no matter how old we may be, we're all children at heart.

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