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Published On: May 18, 2007 09:16 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: May 18, 2007 09:16 AM
Conservation of Energy
Another simple truth...
It was the first week of March and we had one of
the most beautiful days of the year thus far. The sun was shining (no rain) and
the weather was pleasant. Not too cool or too warm. I was just
right!
I am a gardening parent at my daughter's school. This means that I come in whenever I have the day off (usually every other week) and I spend some time with the kids in the garden. Today was the perfect day for gardening and the kid's were so happy to be outside! In fact I would say they were joyous. In fact, they were so joyous the other teachers (unfortunately for my group) had to tell them to settle down and not be so loud. (Boy, it seems so sad to have to tell kids to not be loud when they are so happy and joyous. It almost seems like a crime to me!)
Today was going to be a day where we were going to have a lot to do in the garden. Our little seedlings that we had planted in February were now ready to be planted and I wanted to get them into the ground as soon as we could. The weather was warm and amicable. And the earlier I planted the better and larger the plants would grow. We had hundred's of seedlings to plant and I expected to be there all day. I started to show the kids how to plant and after the 30 minutes that were allotted to me with the kids I found that we still had about 75 plants that needed planting. No matter I thought--I was prepared. I would stay there all day until I got it done! I knelt down in the sun with my baseball cap on and started to plant. It was a long and tiresome process. My legs were weak from constantly squatting. My back was aching from the constant up and down movements. I looked and saw that I had at least 50 more plants to plant. And I didn't think that I could make it any longer!
There was then a bell and a swarm of students came out for lunch. They descended on me and asked if they could help. Help? I was incredulous.... They wanted to help plant during their lunchtime? A time when they could have been playing instead? "Sure!", I said. In a few minutes I had about 10 kids on my hands. Each one on a different task. Some kids dug holes, some kids planted seedlings, some kids watered the plants... By then end of the lunch period all of the plants had been planted. The frenetic energy of those kids had accomplished in 30 minutes what would have taken me all day to do. I decided that I had to channel that energy the right way next time. What a resource!
The next time I showed up I was determined to focus the kids energy in a way that got my goals accomplished with minimum effort on my part.
It was April 23rd. Earth Day had been the day before. I was hoping to teach the kids about Earth Day and the environment by having them plant a tree. I had bought a Chinese Pistache and had gotten the principal's approval to plant it. The kids arrived and I had 4 small shovels and 6 watering cans. I gave the kids the choice to dig or water. The kids all wanted to dig. "You mean I can dig a hole?" they asked incredulously. "On school grounds..?" "Yes, you can!", I replied. The kids really got into the digging I thought that the boys would be the main ones to dig, but the girl's got into it as well. They dug a hole so big and deep that I actually had to ask them to stop!
I then lifted the tree and put it in the hole. I was amazed! I didn't have to pick up a shovel even once! And I personally hate digging with a shovel!
I've decided from now on out that channeling the energy around you is better than fighting that same energy or going at it alone. I now just need to present things in a way that let's the kid's feel empowered and capable of doing things. They might not do it all completely right the first time, but it's certainly easier than doing it all by yourself!
I am a gardening parent at my daughter's school. This means that I come in whenever I have the day off (usually every other week) and I spend some time with the kids in the garden. Today was the perfect day for gardening and the kid's were so happy to be outside! In fact I would say they were joyous. In fact, they were so joyous the other teachers (unfortunately for my group) had to tell them to settle down and not be so loud. (Boy, it seems so sad to have to tell kids to not be loud when they are so happy and joyous. It almost seems like a crime to me!)
Today was going to be a day where we were going to have a lot to do in the garden. Our little seedlings that we had planted in February were now ready to be planted and I wanted to get them into the ground as soon as we could. The weather was warm and amicable. And the earlier I planted the better and larger the plants would grow. We had hundred's of seedlings to plant and I expected to be there all day. I started to show the kids how to plant and after the 30 minutes that were allotted to me with the kids I found that we still had about 75 plants that needed planting. No matter I thought--I was prepared. I would stay there all day until I got it done! I knelt down in the sun with my baseball cap on and started to plant. It was a long and tiresome process. My legs were weak from constantly squatting. My back was aching from the constant up and down movements. I looked and saw that I had at least 50 more plants to plant. And I didn't think that I could make it any longer!
There was then a bell and a swarm of students came out for lunch. They descended on me and asked if they could help. Help? I was incredulous.... They wanted to help plant during their lunchtime? A time when they could have been playing instead? "Sure!", I said. In a few minutes I had about 10 kids on my hands. Each one on a different task. Some kids dug holes, some kids planted seedlings, some kids watered the plants... By then end of the lunch period all of the plants had been planted. The frenetic energy of those kids had accomplished in 30 minutes what would have taken me all day to do. I decided that I had to channel that energy the right way next time. What a resource!
The next time I showed up I was determined to focus the kids energy in a way that got my goals accomplished with minimum effort on my part.
It was April 23rd. Earth Day had been the day before. I was hoping to teach the kids about Earth Day and the environment by having them plant a tree. I had bought a Chinese Pistache and had gotten the principal's approval to plant it. The kids arrived and I had 4 small shovels and 6 watering cans. I gave the kids the choice to dig or water. The kids all wanted to dig. "You mean I can dig a hole?" they asked incredulously. "On school grounds..?" "Yes, you can!", I replied. The kids really got into the digging I thought that the boys would be the main ones to dig, but the girl's got into it as well. They dug a hole so big and deep that I actually had to ask them to stop!
I then lifted the tree and put it in the hole. I was amazed! I didn't have to pick up a shovel even once! And I personally hate digging with a shovel!
I've decided from now on out that channeling the energy around you is better than fighting that same energy or going at it alone. I now just need to present things in a way that let's the kid's feel empowered and capable of doing things. They might not do it all completely right the first time, but it's certainly easier than doing it all by yourself!
Posted: Sun - May 13, 2007 at 04:58 PM