I have been meaning to post this picture for a while now.
I know I have talked about my time in teachers college before. It keeps coming up for me during all this time With my own kids. In teachers college we talked a lot about making space for and honoring children's theories about the way the world works. The thinking behind this is – is that their theories represent their understanding or misconceptions and these are the gateways to advancing their learning. Anyway, making space for their thoughts isn't always easy. Especially when you are on your way to school in the morning. Especially when you're on your way to school in the morning
And you already had to turn back once because the two-year-old decided she just couldn't go any further without a snack. But this one particular theory was worth stopping for.
The bucket on the ground beside Charlotte has been there for the better part of six months. We have walked by it every week day. I've navigated around it with the stroller. I watch the children jump off it. It just keeps sitting there with no one seeming to take responsibility for it. Charlotte and I have wondered in the past when it would disappear. On this morning though, her thinking took a different turn. She asked the question “dad why do you think that family leaves that bucket on the ground all the time?” I didn't really have anything snappy to reply with at the time so I employed the classic teacher strategy-I responded with the question of my own. ” I don't know what you think?”
Here comes the best part.
I got a lengthy explanation about how Charlotte thought this was the family's temperature bucket. They leave the bucket on the ground in front of the house every night. Water collects on the lid of the bucket. In the morning they come out of their house, stick their hands in the water, and decide what the temperature is outside and what they should get dressed in that morning.
Truth be told, it is as good an explanation as any as to why this bucket has remained on the sidewalk for six months time. And, aside from the fact that this would be a labor-intensive way to figure out what to wear, her theory isn't really flawed at all. Sticking your fingers in the water on top of the bucket would give you a sense of what the temperature is like outside that morning. I completely admired her creativity on this one.
3 Ginger Snaps 