Teachable Moments

My job as a literacy coordinator affords me the opportunity to work with wonderful teachers and students on a daily basis.  One of my roles as an LC is to provide professional development for the teachers.  This year our focus has been on non-fiction writing.  We studied the book, A Place For Wonder by Georgia Heard.  It is a wonderful book to introduce children to writing about things they wonder about.  Unfortunately, in this day and age of fast video games, texting, TV, etc., children do not take the time to wonder...especially about nature.  The teachers I work with embraced this notion of wonderment and provided wonder boxes filled with articles from nature such as shells, rocks, pinecones, etc.  Some purchased ant farms, squirrel feeders, and goldfish.  The students observed and took notes, wrote stories, and poems.  They were like sponges trying to soak up everything they could!

So, how does my job fit into my blog?  Last week, my worlds collided when I noticed a robin building a nest in the courtyard of one of the schools I work at...and today, she was sitting on her nest.  It has created such an excitement throughout the building.  One teacher even climbed on a ladder to take a photo of the inside of the nest and discovered three,beautiful, turquoise eggs!  My own children have seen birds' nests and have hatched eggs in incubators but for some of the children we teach, this is their first experience with a bird hatching eggs.  It is such a display of unconditional love.  Even with all the eyes staring at her all day, she remains dedicated to her nest.  I have never seen students walk in the hallways so quietly so as not to scare the mom away!  We are all lured to the window as we walk by hoping to catch a glimpse of those eggs.  I believe we all have the "wonderment" of nature.  Unfortunately, not all of us have the opportunity to embrace it like those of us in the country.

I am so excited for the students in our school who will be able to observe the miracle of those hatching eggs.  We are hoping to set up a livestream, so everyone will be able to watch them when they can.  The miracle of nature is all around...even where we least expect it...lucky us!