This weekend as I was walking along the path to the football field I paused to enjoy the moment … the leaves fluttered down like confetti at a wedding littering the ground around me, the splendor of Fall. Sometimes, it is all in how you look at things…
The simplicity of the statement, “I wonder…” can often be overlooked in the busy rush of the day, the din of the supper hour or lost in the cheers from the crowded hockey rink as we bustle along in our days. Yet the more deeply we look, the more we listen, question and look for possibilities, the more we become open to see things differently. Recently, one of one of our Kindergarten students, this student, while observing / investigating a vase of sunflowers from our school garden she paused and asked her teacher, “Can I paint a Sunflower?” “Yes of course!” her teacher replied. A little while later there, on the ledge of the classroom, being gently touched by the sun streaming through the window, lay a painted sunflower, not a traditional picture of a sunflower as you might expect on a sheet of paper –instead, the creation (the one pictured in the banner of this blog) an actual sunflower, paint laying lightly on the petals, the stem and the leaves. This student wondered what would this object look like if she added paint to it. What would happen to the leaves? What would happen to the petals? Would the paint transform the flower into something else? These questions, this wonder was not clear in her original question but came clear as she experimented with her ideas. The outcome was not what you might think from the question that she asked, but it definitely provoked many more questions from her peers and allowed her to look at her world through her wonder. Like the leaves falling down, the petals painted on a sunflower, taking a moment to look at experiences a little longer, and at moments a little more deeply and from another perspective we can help foster creativity. At Haysboro School this year we will continue to delve more deeply into Curiosity, Creativity, Innovation and Wonder. From our garden to our classrooms we will be pausing to truly see... I invite you all to take a moment to; Notice, question, examine, engage and create meaning. Listen, observe and reflect. I look forward to sharing this journey with us. While Socrates’ states, “In wisdom begins wonder”, it makes me think that this wisdom may simply inspire more wonder. I am curious ...will you join us? |
AuthorI am a Calgary Board of Education Principal, proud to be leading learning. I am driven by curiosity and believe that each day welcomes new learning. I am passionate about intellectual engagement and task design and I treasure "wonder-filled" moments with students. Archives
July 2018
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