First things first: From Yuma to Philly- time to process it all!

Happy Tuesday!  It's about a month and a half since I departed from my new sunny home of Yuma, AZ.  I have been waiting, waiting for the right time to finally digest all that I learned over the last year, but it is only now that it all seems to be falling into place.

Even during the school year, I continually had to push my brain away from processing in order to stay focused.  I thought it would happen immediately after I handed in my keys on that last day of school.  I closed the preschool door for the last time, said my final "see you laters," headed to the car with the last few classroom plants, and walked to the driver's side door to drive home.  I planned to stop at my sister's to see the kids and celebrate the beginning of summer, hop in the shower, and head to the airport- my sweetie was coming!!!!!!  But alas, the best laid plans... I locked the keys in the trunk.  Apparently I was not meant to leave that parking lot so fast!  With the help of two great teacher friends, my mom, my sister and Kia Roadside Assistance, I was on my way in less than two hours!  Thank goodness for mindfulness practice- no real panic or anger ensued- and to the generosity and kindness of others.  Needless to say, I didn't start processing everything right away. In fact, with my little brother's wedding taking place in Jersey just one week later and a cross-country road trip in between, my brain was kept busy with many other things.  Side note shout out: what a gorgeous wedding!!!!  It was such an honor to be a part of their ceremony and to witness the joining of two hearts, committing to ride out this journey of Life together.  Congrats T.J. & Devon 💚 They returned from their honeymoon in Costa Rica and have put an offer in on a house already!  Oh yea :)

Throughout the transition, I kept trying to get to a mental place of reflection, but I simply wasn't ready... until now.  After four weeks of working with the Philadelphia families I know and love (and one new family!), walking the streets that feel like mine and gazing up into the tall shady trees in all my favorite parks, I am finally beginning to think, process, and write about the last year.  All the information I am taking in about the American education system, and specifically about early childhood education- it's all coming together with my real-life experiences to mean something quite powerful.  I lived a certain type of lifestyle in Philadelphia, I moved to Yuma and lived a very different type of lifestyle, and then I returned to Philadelphia with the ability to view Life through a different lens.  A lens built upon all of the experiences that made up my journey until today. This is a fine example, albeit a very long term example, of the value in pursuing hands-on, experiential, authentic tasks in order to promote deep and meaningful growth in a human being.  This goes for children birth through eight (the definition of early childhood extends through third grade, not just preschool, as some might infer), and also for those in elementary, middle school, high school, college, and beyond.... Learning is a natural human inclination- people are curious unless they learn not to be curious.  Some people would argue this point, and that's okay.  We are allowed to disagree, although perhaps with some hands-on experience themselves, minds may be swayed. 

Anyway, stay tuned for reflection and how I plan to use the reflection for planning the next stage of Life.  It's exciting and scary, all rolled into one!  What more could I ask for to keep my peripatetic-self on my toes and interested!?.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Waking up. What does that mean to you? Hitting the alarm clock as fast as possible to halt the heart wrenching sound of sirens going off beside your head!? Haha, can you tell I really don’t like the sound of alarm clocks? For me, waking up can mean so many different things- from setting the alarm (thankfully with ascending volume of a peaceful melody nowadays) to having another aha! moment while working with kids, talking to a friend or reading a book or website. The path of Life has so many twists and turns, sunshine around one bend and a dark storm cloud looming around the next. I think I have always been a free-spirit at heart, but life can sometimes lead us to put up walls, create boundaries where there were none before, and believe that we need to live within them in order to “attain success.” I’ve spent a good part of my life fighting against the feeling of this while also increasing my belief in it being the right way to live. The inner turmoil has been real. And then, after
Read more

Smith Memorial Playground

It's a new day and so far it's a great one! My Saturday has been filled with learning through play and by following the lead of Life.  We spent the morning at the amazing play space, Smith Memorial Playground in Fairmount Park.  Most everything about this place speaks to play- letting children explore at their own pace. The human-made play structures are set in nature- tall trees, green grass, logs for balancing, hills for rolling.   The staff are passionate, enthusiasts of play- being silly with one another and the families visiting for the day.    The woman who was seated at the top the infamous wooden slide, told me and the kiddos about a baby bird preparing to leave the nest just above our heads.   She also pointed out a tree with a blue robin's egg within view.   On our next trip down the slide, we mentioned that we thought the egg was gone since we couldn’t find it. She followed us down to check- indeed the blue egg was right where she expected, in the next tree
Read more

She Let Go

Image
I am calm and cool, warm and not, at the same time.  A brisk autumn walk, turned coldish at the end.  The grandpa I passed wearing a leather Eagles jacket and black knit cap shivered and breathed into his cupped hand as we passed.  “Cold,” he shuddered with eye contact when we shared the same sidewalk square for an instant.   Moments before I had been sitting on the sidewalk, taking in the warm glow of the tree across the street. I felt the frigid pavement, but it was worth the sit.  The phone stopped working just before I arrived here.  Despite there being some percentage left in the teens, it suddenly stopped playing the podcast, stopped letting me add photos to my Google Keep memo of ideas and reflection, stopped acting as a camera. It just went black, and apparently shut down. I shoved the device in my pocket thinking this must have happened for a reason.  I’m meant to enjoy the rest of my walk without distraction.  I turned the corner and there in front of me was a magn
Read more