By Isaac Kemsley, Madrona School Kindergarten Teacher
Every year, I am surprised again at how the children in the Salmonberry Kindergarten class follow their own growth cycle, not unlike plants in a garden.
In the Fall, we spend a lot of time preparing the “soil” of the class; planting seeds of kindness and our expectations of how to interact with one another. As teachers, we water the group with the language we expect, and shine the golden rays of love and acceptance upon the children. Over the first few months of the school year, it can be muddy and rocky at times but we work together to pull the weeds of intolerance and nurture the seedlings of social engagement.
About midway through the school year, between Winter and Midwinter breaks, we often enter into the calmest part of the year. The social connections are strong, the community expectations are in place, and the seedlings are stocky-stemmed and beginning to fan out their leaves to absorb more of the sun.
Then comes the bursting forth of the riotous growth of Spring! The children, physically and socially, stretch and push themselves upward and outward. Their leaves press against the others vying for space in the same garden plot and they often shadow and shield the sprouting of weeds of new behaviors and powerful words to experiment with.
We then, the patient gardeners - parents and teachers, bend our backs to the task of continued watering, weeding and shining our radiant light on them… so that all their hard work and growth might bear fruit for the next season.
Isaac Kemsley has taught kindergarten at Madrona School, on Bainbridge Island, Washington for over fifteen years. The last four years have been entirely outdoors.
