The Kindergarten class burst into the building, in their usual, squiggly, squirmy line. Cheeks rosy, jackets bought with room-to-grow hanging on their wiggly little frames, some with hoods or collars accidentally tucked in at the neck. (No one had their coat on upside-down, or inside-out this time, thankfully…) After a fall nature hike on the Outdoor Learning Center trails, they were clutching clumps of yellow, brown and red leaves in their little fists, thrusting them out towards me, like proud suitors with bouquets of roses.
“Look! Look, Mrs. S! Look at my leaves! Aren’t my leaves
pretty? Look at these, they’re yellow! Mine are red, Mrs. S.! We went for a
walk, and got these!”
The excitement was palpable, as I smiled and exclaimed over
the beautiful fall bounty.
I chuckled to myself, as the substitute teacher herded the
happy children into the classroom to put their leaves in their backpacks. Parents will be finding dry, brown leaves
crammed in the bottom of book bags a week from now, when they have become crumbly,
forgotten treasures.
In these days of rigorous instruction, Common Core Standards, and near-constant assessments, it’s nice to take a break for a nature walk now and then, and relish being five years old in the fall.
