Slow Down

"Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last.

Just kicking down the cobblestones

Looking for fun and feeling' groovy

Hello Lamp post,

What cha' knowing?

I've come to watch your flowers growing.

Ain't you got no rhymes for me?

Doot-in' doo-doo,
Feelin' groovy.



Got no deeds to do,

No promises to keep

I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.

Let the morning time drop all its petals on me
Life I love you,
All is groovy.
* * * * * * * 
This is the time of the school year when the children come into the classroom wanting to know when we will go to the playground.  The sun is shining, the air is warming and the outside is beckoning us to escape the confines of our four walls.


I am no fool.  I know when to give in and just head outside.  I also know when to push them a little in hopes of learning something new or mastering something they've previously met.


One of my favorite things to do is to hand them a blank piece of white construction paper and ask them to draw a picture.  I will almost always offer up part of a sentence for them to complete with a drawing, i.e. "I know it is Spring....."  


I have only a few instructions.


 Take your time and do your best.


I don't care what it looks like as long as you can tell me what you have drawn.


You must use at least three different colors.


When I see a child rushing through their work, I start singing the above Simon and Garfunkel song.   The children think it is funny, and for a few minutes, I've hushed the call of the playground.

I have very high

for them and for myself.

Spring is on her way full of expectations and possibilities.