“Help! Help! They need our help,” you cried to the new grownup. You aren’t the newest Mulberry student anymore. A newer family joined our class today. Yay!
In the meantime, the person who needed help waited on the swing for someone to push them. You ran from the bottom of Rainbow Mountain all the way to the swingset, and you gave them a push. Then, you ran back to the new grownup to tell them.
Love, Teacher Michelle
P.S. Can you find the monstor in the news? Most monsters are monsters with an “e.” I wonder what kind of monstor is with an “o”.
You picture wrote at the mark making table. You made red circles on all the paper. Near the circle stood a person. You pointed them out to me, but oh no, you covered them in red. I suggested you call the doctor or an ambulance. The story changed. There in the circle were two people.
They were in jail. One had a very large hand. Above the hand was a giant leaf. The leaf was so large it stretched from the jail to another page. I wonder if the person with the large hand grabbed onto the leaf and climbed from the jail. Their hand was so large, they could rescue the other person too.
You made a rainbow circle of the last circle, magic perhaps.
Did you hear that Elsie likes to swing by her toes? Did you hear that Nickie eats Sloppy Joes? Oh no. Whoops! Backup. Can I get a redo? I care about you, and I care about Elsie and Nickie too, so I don’t want to talk about them. I thought it might be funny, but that doesn’t feel good.
Instead, let me introduce you to Elsie, so she can tell you what she likes to do. “Hi. I’m Elsie. I like to swing. I can pump my legs and swing really high.” And here’s Nickie. “Hey Nickie, do you eat Sloppy Joes?”
“Sloppy Joes? What are those?” Oh-oh.
Love, Teacher Michelle
P.S. Nickie wonders where the 1 went from April 21 and whether the raindrops are melting our News.
You were swinging and singing. The swing went forwards and backwards, and your voices followed back and forth, back and forth. John was weeding, pulling up foxtails. You went to help, taking care of Rainbow School.
Some of you grabbed from the bottom pulling up the whole plant roots to the ends, the foxtail itself. Some of you grabbed from the middle big handfuls of green. One of you thought to just pull off the foxtail itself, the part that turns yellow and pokey and grabs onto you when you walk by, the part that wants to be carried off to grow new foxtails far and wide, the part where the seeds are.
Later, I switched places. One of you joined another to play drums for a while and make up new songs. A few of you gathered around me to look at the daddy long legs, pill bugs, beetles, and pincher bugs that had been living among the roots of the foxtails and were scurrying to find new homes.
I heard a band today. Did you hear them? They have a number song that goes like, “A 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a 5 and a 6 and a 7 and a 8 and 20!” I liked it. They had a gig at the Reading House. I think Cutie Possie possum was dancing under the deck to the song. It was very catchy. Cutie Possie told me that they have a Possum Song too. I haven’t heard that one yet.
Then they went on the road. They packed up their drums and sticks and headed out. Their next gig was at Mud Mountain. Over in the Mud Kitchen, someone made cake with sprinkles. It was a pitcher cake, and I thought it looked delicious, so I took a picture.
Today, I noticed you following the three Rainbow School rules. You cared for yourselves. You made it clear when you didn’t want to play the pool noodle game. You got yourself more water to drink.
I noticed you caring for each other too. You washed your hands. Oh, that’s taking care of yourself too. Also, you carried people’s backpacks to the gate at the end of the day. That was an armload. You pulled the wagon. You pushed the wagon. You checked in on someone who boomed and helped figure out why the boom happened.
And you took care of Rainbow School. You made sure the trash got to the trash. You looked at the caterpillars with your eyes. You kept the sandbox sand low and in the sandbox. So many many ways you care! I wonder what ways you noticed today.
“Is he a bad guy?” you asked. I wish that I’d asked you what you think. Instead, I shared a belief I have. Not everyone believes the same things, and I would be curious to know your ideas. I believe all people are good and that there are no bad people. And people do bad things. When someone does a bad thing or if I do a bad thing, I want to stop and wonder why. Sometimes, I might feel angry or bad myself before I’m able to stop and wonder why.
When I can stop and think that they are good and did a bad thing and wonder why, maybe then I can help or maybe not. Maybe all the help they need is a hug (if they like hugs). Sometimes, that’s all I need.
“When is it going to be pancakes?” I wonder. You were on the watch for Mary, and Everett came. He didn’t know when Mary was coming. It’s hard to wait for pancakes.
Then, she came with all the things. You chopped and measured and mixed, and Everett cooked. Thank you!
We had sausage and pancakes. Some people had pancakes with whip cream. Some had strawberries. Some had bananas. Some raspberries. Some had blueberries. Some had peaches. Some had a mix of things.
They were delicious and filling, but by the time we were packing up, I was ready for some milk and cookies. Yum! Happy Pancake & PJ day. See you in 7 sleeps.
You ran. You ran so fast that you were a blur down Rainbow Mountain past the Book Nook, through the Pine Forest and Sleeping Barn and up Rainbow Mountain. Another person joined you. You took a short cut through the mud kitchen.
You tried to give others a helping hand by pushing the backs of their bikes. They didn’t want help. You climbed up the triangle and down again. You climbed up the dome. You made it to the first rung. You tried for the second. You tried using feet midway. You tried pulling with your arms while sliding along the belly.
Then, you slid down and were off to the sand box to spin with handfuls of sand.
I heard someone say, “We don’t like them because they boom us.” We care for ourselves and each other and that means keeping ourselves and others safe. And it’s okay not to like someone, and at Rainbow School, we still love and care for everyone whether we like them or not. I love each of you whether you boom or not.
Some booms are loud scary voices. Some booms are ouchie words. Some booms are pushes. Some booms are kicks. Some booms are punches. Some booms are things thrown or swung. I do not like booms.
I don’t like booming, and I want to keep myself safe. I know that all people boom, including me. It’s how our bodies and brains work. Something surprises us, startles us, or scares us, and our bodies boom without our brain wanting to.
Just like if we surprise a rattle snake or a black widow, they may boom us with their fangs and venom or looking scary or rattling their tail. It’s how they keep themselves safe from other animals that want to eat them. We know the best way to keep ourselves safe from their booms is to keep our distance and not surprise them.
My booms look like getting big and loud, and I feel bad after I boom. I feel sorry. And then I try to understand what surprised, startled, or scared me. That helps me so the next time I’m not surprised, startled, or scared.
Sometimes, I see one of you trying to take care of a friend or sibling, and you BOOM. Sometimes, I’m trying to care for others and keep them safe and my big and loud helped. For instance, I see someone about to run too close to the swing, and I yell, “Stop!”
Even so, I don’t want to be scary, and I can check in with anyone who might have been scared to see if there’s anything I can do and to tell them how sorry I feel.
As we grow older, we learn how to pause and how to take care of ourselves, so we boom less and less. We all know that it’s never okay to hurt someone. Also, other people help us. They share their calm with us until we feel calm too.
I don’t like it when I boom, and I don’t like to be boomed. And I still love me, and I still love you.
