Inquiring Minds is delighted to share the following blog post, generously written and shared by one of our JK parents. We are grateful for the wonderful relationships we enjoy with our families, and how that enriches the learning of our children. There are no boundaries when it comes to learning

“Parents can plant magic in a child’s mind through certain words spoken with some thrilling quality of voice, some uplift of the heart and spirit.”  – Robert MacNeil  

Our journey began over the past weekend, during dinnertime. It was Sunday evening and we were discussing the upcoming events for the week with the boys.

“How many days until my show and share?” J.K.

J. is extremely excited about his turn for Show and Share. We count through the days of the week until we get to Friday – 5 more days.  He begins to list off several items he would like to bring, ranging from his picture of a frog to his collection of Lightning McQueen cars.  We begin to ask J. and his brother what they are investigating at school currently.

“We are learning about frogs.” D.K.

“We are growing trees mommy.” J.K.

“Mama, can I take my picture of the frog like D.?” J.K.

We probe further and start a discussion about Earth Day – which the boys are discussing in class.

What is Earth?

“Earth is where we live.” Devin

“You know mommy, we have to take care of Earth.” J.K.

Why do we have to take care of the Earth?

“We don’t want the Earth to get sick.” J.K.

What would happen if the Earth got sick?

“The trees would crack down.” D.K.

What can we do to take care of the Earth?

“You should put the garbage in the right place.” D.K.

“If you don’t have a garbage bag put it in your pocket, and when you get home, put it in the garbage.” J.K.

After our discussion about Earth and what Earth Day is, J. exclaimed, “Mommy, I want to take Earth to school!”

So we began discussing how we could do that.

“We could draw a picture of Earth.” D.K.

“We need to make a circle because the Earth is round.” J.K.

I began discussing how we could make the Earth, instead of drawing a picture I suggested paper mache.  When I showed the boys what that was (thanks to YouTube), they were very excited and wanted to begin their masterpieces  immediately.  When I picked them up from school, J. promptly asked me if I had everything ready to make his show and share and he told Ms. Sherry that he was going home to paint the Earth.   When I left Richland that day I couldn’t stop smiling. My boys were engaged in their learning, they were curious and asking questions and excited to share their findings with their classmates. The journey has only begun for my two little guys, but what a great start! As a parent you couldn’t ask for anything more.