We teach more than just facts or knowledge. We want children to think of others, to show love and kindness, to live out what we learn from the Bible. This week I saw kids acting in ways that showed they were thinking about others.
At the art table, B worked with the stickers. He was looking for all the stars to use. R came to the table and began to work. He seemed interested in stars, too. B began to find additional star stickers and give them to R. R decided to work with circle stickers instead. B kept looking through the stack of stickers. He found additional circles and put them on the pile for R. Then, when B found smiley faces or other different stickers, he would also find a set for R. I was touched by how dedicated B was to helping his friend have all kinds of stickers to choose from.
When we moved to our group learning time, boys and girls jockeyed for seats. R wanted to sit beside B, but there was no empty chair there. Mrs. Cindy commented that he needed to sit in an empty chair somewhere else unless someone wanted to trade for him. R sat in a chair, unhappy that he couldn't sit by B. As we were getting ready to start, C said, "R, do you want to sit here?" C traded with R - so R could sit by B. The act by C was totally spontaneous and his own idea. I smiled at the exchange, knowing that kids were learning to think beyond themselves and help others. I hope that we can have a classroom that fosters kids working together, building a community that is thoughtful, kind, and loving.
