Monday, March 9, 2009

I can still hear, see and feel the bubbly excitement around me. We were holding the newly rooted potato plants that had just been dropped off for our school. Some gingerly took the plants and examined them. Others crowded in and my usual sense of classroom order started fading. But I let it slip, because I too was just as excited about their excitement.
The newly constructed vegetable beds are where these plants will go and my students were aware of this. They also knew they would not be the ones to plant. Younger grades would be digging in the soil, planting and watering these beauties.
No, my students just seemed to be excited about what was in front of them. "Look at this," I said, pointing in the dirt to the mound of a potato from which green and purple stems emerged. "What type of plant is this?" "Potatoes??" came the chorus.
We spent a few minutes in a simple lesson of potato production. "Potatoes grow underground?" a child said in disbelief. "I thought they came on bushes." This is going to be fun I thought to myself. New experiences.
We set the plants on the window sill and got to reading. It was just the moment we needed. A little time away from our routine. A slice of wonderment and excitement in a fourth grade Monday.

2 comments:

  1. This is wonderful! Some of my students are also surprised to learn thata potatoes grow in the ground, that pecans grow on trees ... There's always something new and interesting to learn!

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  2. I love these moments. They make our job so worth it!

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