Penguins

At the very beginning of this year, my class and I read about penguins. We read about their characteristics, their relationships, the environment they live in. And for some reason, we have continued to talk about penguins throughout the year.

I was struck by the way that penguins must huddle together in the severest of cold in order to survive. Standing or walking alone would bring certain death. They need one another.

And so, one day, in the midst of the classroom chaos I began to lecture my kids on the importance of working together...and I began to talk about the penguins...by the time I was finished...we were like the penguins and we needed to huddle together.

Every so often, we talk about our need to huddle...to get the job done, to support one another. But it's not a daily thing...and not something I would think my kids would think about upon leaving school.

Today was full of beautiful moments. We sat on the carpet so excited to give each other gifts. I don't usually get a whole lot of gifts from my students but this year is different. This year, quite a few came in with beautifully wrapped gifts saying, "Can you open it now?!" To which I surprisingly responded that we would wait until the party (because usually I cannot wait very long to open any gift).

So, there we were...sitting together in a circle. And I had to tell them finally why their teacher had not answered their pointed questions in the past few weeks. Why I might have seemed sad. They sympathized..asked questions. I smoothed it all over, giving them assurance that not all hope was lost. And then, I handed them each a pair of new gloves stuffed with a candy canes, Christmas pencils, and fun erasers. They loved them. I told them that the point of the gloves was to remind them, over the holidays, that when they felt alone or sad or when things got particularly hard, they were not alone, they had a hand to hold. It's our new saying, "You are not alone". We are learning to encourage each other. So, with gloves on each hand and excited little bodies that could hardly contain themselves, I got to enjoy the gifts that each child had picked out for me. A new mug to drink my hot tea (I so totally needed one), a few cards which I of course read out loud for the class to hear, lotion, a candle holder, and a cupcake mix with all the ingredients and tools put together (so cute). Each opened gift was followed by a hug and a thank you and several comments by the class. It was like a little family enjoying Christmas day together. Several more cards were passed out to the rest of the class. Several more moments of enjoying each other's company.

And this is the gift that brought tears to my eyes and let me know that this year, the penguins are not just penguins, they are an example of how to survive and weather the storm. My students are listening. God is listening. and maybe, just maybe...I have been listening too.