Celebrating Words that Heal: Here We Go

Celebratory moments sprinkle here and there throughout each day. And lucky me, students are generous in their offerings.

I love this book.
Can we get the next in the series?
Thank you.
Why didn’t we have poetry this week?
I have a passion for writing.
Ivan was a real gorilla?
I love this author.
Oh! I get it!
Can I help?

Words to treasure and celebrate. Bright spots are to build on.

One moment this week lingers. It weights heavy on my mind. Requires my attention.

Words fly.
And quiet is hard to find.
It’s physical.
Words fill spaces where questions lie.

When all have settled down there is a moment and
thought happens and
quiet descends and
muffles and
pushes
words
down
that want to wiggle free.

In that silence someone notices
Annie’s crying.
“Are you sick?” I ask. There have been fevers raging.
She tilts her head.
and whispers no.
Let’s go outside and quiet lingers.
Wondering respects her unknown pain.

What can it be?
Something said by friend or foe.
What word has hit and exposed her heart?
What happened?
The playground?
In class?
Who did this?
But no.

This pain is deep. Ages old.
Something she holds alone.
A broken family just poked her heart.
Somehow, some way
Words rose up and took her by surprise
in a classroom
one late Friday afternoon.

Annie leaves and words fill the space.
We wonder silently why.

We need words that heal. To counteract the words that sting, confuse, and worry. To lift us up.

Next week, I’ll pull out HERE WE GO by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. This book is crafted so perfectly. I want to give one to every teacher I know. I want to give one to every student I know. This week I celebrate planning next week.

Here’s to celebrating the week with Ruth Ayers on her blog Ruth Ayers Writes.