This Is What The "RIGHT" Road Looks Like

You know you're on the right path when you can't wait to get to work (...yeah, it sounds weird to me, too)! This morning I rushed through breakfast, then scurried around gathering various plant clippings, putting them in little plastic bags. I chopped off a piece of fauna from my pond and made a tiny habitat for the snail my husband had fished out for me and then I grabbed my bag, anxious to get my treasures to the children! Upon my arrival, magic ensued!

First, I took the snail habitat around to all of the classes, letting the children use a magnifying glass to see up close all the neat things scooped up with the pond water, i.e. a watery green plant, mosquito larvae, and several tadpoles, as well as the snail rock star! The kids "oooohhh'd" & "ahhhhh'd" while they learned words like larvae, debris, an contamination. They asked me tons of questions, most of which I had THEM answer (...which they rose to magnificently ). Before moving on to my next lesson plan, one student said, "Mrs. Schaefer, I thought you were a Reading Teacher. Isn't this science?" "Well of course it's science, silly," I told her. "Don't we read when we're doing scientific stuff?" Her face lit up! "I love science, but I'm not so good at reading," she confessed. "You've done fabulous with both today," I offered. She looked relieved at making the connection between the two.

I spent the rest of my day with short humans sniffing and munching on mint leaves, arguing about whether or not Thyme smelled like pizza, and cutting off bits of aloe, squishing the snot-like substance from the leaves into tiny fingers who rubbed the sticky substance in gloriously grotesque awe! It was perhaps one of the most fun things I've ever earned a paycheck doing!

It wasn't easy leaving the students today, as I made my trek home knowing it would be the last time I ever got to read and play with them. My deepest hope is that they will remember how much fun they've had just flat out learning like crazy with me and their classroom teachers all year, and that feeling will stick with them the rest of their lives. As for me, I'll continue to remind myself that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, doing exactly what I was called to do!

On a side-note to my students: Yes, I did put the tiny snail, mosquito larvae, and tadpoles back into the pond immediately after I got home! Do no harm! :)