good clean fun

Which is what all of you deserve after all the bathroom talk in my last post. That was a bit much, wasn't it? All that sweet wondering about blurry boundaries with our children, while simultaneously I was doing some seriously aggressive boundary blurring with you, dear reader. Dragging you into a story that took place on the toilet...!

 

I'm sorry about that. And now...getting back to the good clean fun. Yes, we had some of that today! Frances was in heaven at Clark Elioak Farm, which is where the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes from Annapolis Elementary School took their first field trip of the year. She was elated that the small group I was assigned to chaperone included her beloved friend Quadir and good pal Ali. I was thrilled to finally log some time with all the children and adults I hear so much about. Her brother loved playing with all the big kids. And the day was just beautiful.

Gabriel told me that he wasn't scared of the emu. The goats, on the other hand, had him hiding his face in my sweater.

Frances and Gabriel initiated Ring Around the Rosie, and as they sang, more and more kids came rushing over to join in. It was too much! More kids were waiting to get into the circle when I took this photo, but then we had to break it up in order to visit the donkeys.

Jamari, to my left: Is that a chicken?? That is weird. That's really a chicken...? Man. I like chickens!

Serious hayriding.

While we were in the field picking pumpkins, I showed little Giovanni how pumpkins grow. Even as we were wandering the "pumpkin patch," I realized that most of the kids still had no idea where these stunning vegetables come from, since they were pre-cut and convincingly placed around the vines, most of which were long dead and brown. He was genuinely interested, so we hunted blossoms, pumpkins that were still attached to vines, and even investigated the innards of a smashed pumpkin.

A handful of kids came over to join us. They were so curious, so ready to learn! It was such a pleasure to watch them reverently pass around seeds and touch the yellow pollen on the inside of a blossom. Breathtaking is not too strong a word for the spectacle of such natural learners, immediately engaged and deeply curious about the world and how it works.

Later I realized I didn't see any teachers or assistants initiate anything like this with the kids. They were too busy counting heads. But I also suspect they are not in the habit of working with children's natural curiosity and interest - how could they when there are so many worksheets to complete, so many scheduled activities to squeeze in? Tests loom! It was disappointing to confront the fact that a day spent at a "farm" involved very little ecological exploration with the children.

You've already heard me talk about the lack of imagination I perceive when it comes to learning at Frances' school. It's a bummer, for sure. But you guys. Listen. Today, I saw how happy Frances is. Her best pals are a little boy who lives in the projects and had never been to school before the first day of kindergarten, and a little boy whose parents are immigrants from Brazil and Egypt (who met here, at the local community college). How would she ever know she loved those two, if not for Annapolis Elementary School?

I'm still working out what it is about "diversity" that makes it all worthwhile. That word is shorthand for so much and is sometimes used in ways I'm not comfortable with. Am I saying diversity trumps learning? Goodness me, I don't think so. I do think that Frances' daily encounter with children who are very different from her is proving to be excellent for her developmentally - for the whole Frances she is becoming. If we consider education holistically, I might say that diversity can aid learning. A lot. Frances is slowly but surely learning to be herself, and those little boys are giving her immeasurable help along the way.