TEAM

It took me these past two weeks to understand what they have been learning and how they have been learning it. Every day within that time, my appreciation for their teachers grew deeper. The patience that they must have to practice; the flexibility in adapting to each child's different learning styles; how they quiet a classroom full of crazy; and how on earth they teach division without that little box we used to make (bottom out, top in!). I'm trying. I know we all are.

I think we are all capable of teaching one way or another. We are all adaptable, whether we believe it or not. I try to remember that. I am trying to adapt and learn. For them. And for me, too, honestly.

So we learn. We talk about nutrition and the important of sleep. We read. We write our thoughts in our journals. They whine. They laugh. They draw. We play outside; run around the fields, jump on the trampoline, ride bikes, kick the soccer ball, skate, and they hit each other with hockey sticks. They build things, then break them. They play their violins. I bring in their more-patient-than-me-substitute-math-teacher: Mr. Dad. I think he secretly wonders where the box went in division, too.

We started a new lesson on "character". Why it's important to have humor, persistence, curiosity and hope- to name a few. Especially during this time. I secretly wonder if I am helping them learn these by being the person that I am to them.

We talk about history and current events. We eat meals as a family. We go around the table telling each other something good about the day. I appreciate all the resources and ideas we have been given during this time.

We do a lot of work on the farm: collect eggs, take care of the pony, fix the tractor, get the garden ready. It can be really muddy, messy, and tiring. Like life. But we keep going even when it is.

I give them assignments to create a commercial, a movie, and an obstacle course. They fight. They cry. They are told that TEAM stands for Together Everyone Achieve More. And we are a team. We leave no man behind, crying. I hope they always remember that.

The truth is, I don't know what I am doing. Maybe none of us do. And if that is the case, here we all are in the same boat. As a TEAM. Together Everyone Achieves More. So perhaps all we can do together is believe that one day this will all circle back; maybe whatever it is that we didn't know we were teaching our children will be the lessons that they remember.

There IS hope. And when you feel your hope is a little lost along the way in all of this, just remember, somehow, they are teaching division without that little box. Anything is possible.