Gratitude Practice 2022 Nov 19: Rubbish Robots

This week, I got to volunteer in my kid's second grade classroom and help with a Star Wars themed STEM project. For the last several months, recycled items have been saved and collected so the kids could construct their very own droids as part of "Life Day" which is a holiday celebrated by Wookies and apparently second grade students.  My mechanically minded kid, along with her squarely classmates, were in absolute heaven as they had forty-five unstructured minutes, free reign over a large pile of garbage and endless access to glue and tape and paint and glitter and…WOW….it was awesome. 

Grateful for patient, creative, kind and willing teachers who absolutely conjure kid magic in traditional classrooms on a daily basis. My respect for this skillset grows deeper with each passing year. Teachers are my people and I salute them daily as we metaphorically high-five and pass off the students once the school bell rings. I have endless respect for those who wrangle little minds and bodies from 7am to 2:30pm and I will happily take the afternoon and early evening shift. I would however like to respectfully re-examine our existing agreement for supporting kiddos during the summer months but that is a conversation for another time.  

Grateful for the wonder and possibilities that only a collection of random art supplies can provide. Grateful for the forever memory of the kid who will remain nameless who, while unattended in a corner of the classroom, dumped an entire container of bright pink glitter in his hair and massaged it around like he was the star of a high end shampoo commercial. It was an absolute disaster and a gift at the same time. Grateful to have witnessed his big bold grin and sense of sinister accomplishment once he realized he had actually pulled it off. Grateful to have witnessed the shock, surprise and horror of the teacher as she realized both the short and long term impact of this creative exploration. Grateful it was not my kid. Grateful it was not my classroom. And forever grateful for this memory…a cautionary tale of full access glitter.

Grateful for the chance to see my kid in her day time element and watch her navigate her peer group with inside jokes and social agreements. Grateful for her strong curious mind and endless creativity. Grateful for her confidence and most of the time I am grateful she is willing to push boundaries and skate along the edges. Grateful she feels safe and seen and cared for. Grateful for cardboard boxes and plastic juice bottles and milk caps and her beloved aluminum foil. And grateful for this new little rubbish droid that will most certainly live in our home for many many years to come.