This week, as I focus on mentally preparing for Thanksgiving, I found myself in a delicious conversation with Mrs. Anna Taylor who has been teaching first grade here for the last 13 years. She was telling me about a wonderful unit on the Pilgrim’s Journey to America on the Mayflower.
This multidisciplinary unit involves: reading about pilgrims, journaling about their journeys, illustrating the voyage, creating Wampum bead necklaces, writing Thanksgiving comparative papers, and playing a Native American stick game that involves mathematical concepts. Mrs. Taylor shared that they have even been playing Pilgrims on the playground at recess! Needless to say, I was very impressed.
Inspired as I was, what affected me the most in our conversation was hearing the purity in Mrs. Taylor’s thankful heart. She told me that she was wandering her room, giving encouragement to the kids on the quality of their journals, (a pretty routine practice). When she said, “Oh, that’s lovely,” to one student, the little girl (Ellie Adkins) stood up with a look of bewildered appreciation.
“Thank you SO much Mrs. Taylor,” she said excitedly, amazed that HER art and work was praised.
Mrs. Taylor then told me that she was led to pause, as God lavished her with a sense of love and rapt appreciation for these little lives she has the blessing to teach. Her revelation made me think of Henry David Thoreau who once said, “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”
This Thanksgiving, I pray that our hearts reflect the same love and thankfulness as Anna Taylor’s. I pray that we find joy in ordinary circumstances, and that our joy will transform our lives into continuous moments of thankfulness.
Here are just a few precious comments from Mrs. Taylor’s little Pilgrims. I hope they bring you smiles, and make you (like me) ever-so-thankful, for teachers like Mrs. Taylor, and places like Westlake.
Out of the Mouths of Pilgrims:
* “I would be sad to be a pilgrim, because more than half of them died on the trip, and my grandpa died, and I know I felt sad.”
* “My favorite part so far is when they landed in America because I’d be excited to GET OFF THE SHIP!”
* “I liked the picture that showed the lady covering her eyes, because she was embarrassed that the Native Americans didn’t have much clothes on. I would be embarrassed too!”
* “I liked when they made a new friend that could speak their language!” (Squanto)
* “My favorite part was when they all became friends.”
* “I liked the part about building houses because I like construction!”
- Raquel Harris
Fifth Grade Teacher
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