To me...this is teaching

It began with a tornado drill just before 10:00...cause we didn't have enough practice last year when we had to herd the toddlers into the basement (and keep them entertained) 3 different times.

During my break the Warning System went off again...no sirens, just the possibility of tornado sirens this afternoon. Great.

We still went outside. It was warm and windy and brilliant to watch the trees dancing. We ran and pedaled and dug for 45 minutes before the first crack of thunder. Made it back inside moments before the rain pelted down. Decided to keep the door open anyway. Best idea ever.

Toddlers squished together just to be able to find space in the doorway. But no one argued. No one screamed for more room. No one cried because their foot was getting stepped on. We were all mesmerized.

Laughing as the wind tickled our hair. Taking deep breaths and remembering that we are safe at school whenever the noises rumbled above. Listening as the rain splashed on the sidewalk. And then we noticed something.

Little white balls. Dancing on the sidewalk. What are those? Where did they come from? A few even danced their way into our open door. At first we weren't sure about those. But soon we were brave enough to touch the tiny specks in our teacher's hand. Cold! Ice! And then the tiny specks disappeared. Where did it go? What was that? It's called Hail.

More Hail! More Hail! Were the chants. Arms reached as far as they could under the gate trying to catch the dancing hail on the sidewalk. Friends who could reach scooped many up, pulled them inside the room and gave small Hails to their friends. Watched as the small Hails once again disappeared before us. Wondering again, where did it go? Can I make it stay?

We stayed squished in this doorway, working together for 10 minutes. Figuring out how to coexist in this small space where we all wanted to be. Figuring out who can reach the Hail and the responsibility that comes with being the toddler with the longest arms. Wondering out loud, where does the Hail come from? Where does it go when is disappears?

They say toddlers aren't developmentally ready to share. They say toddlers have a 2-3 minute attention span. They say toddlers don't engage in collaborative play where they work together towards a common goal. And while I agree that 4 of out 5 days we don't...this doesn't mean that we can't try.

Because sometimes we are able to be bigger than ourselves. We are able to reach heads taller than ourselves and grasp the big concepts. We are able to work together like 4 year olds. We are able to question and form hypotheses like 2nd graders. We are able to test our theories like high schoolers do in a science lab.

Taking advantage of ordinary moments. Exploring with wonder and amazement. Finding something new. Adding big vocabulary describing what we are doing. Reminding that we are brave. Cheering as we investigate our ideas. Celebrating our discoveries.