A Chance to Learn, A Chance to Grow

If a seed of a lettuce will not grow, we do not blame the lettuce.  Instead, the fault lies with us for not having nourished the seed properly."  - Buddhist proverb

Recently, the Robbinsdale Area Schools Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) was awarded a fantastic Environmental Education Grant from Hennepin County Environmental Services.  This grant will help families become more aware of and participatory in public issues such as the environment.  I'm connecting a thousand dots in my head right now about this - proactive citizens help to create a stronger society, awareness of and participation in environmental issues will help bring about solutions, etc.

But what I most connected the dots with is the fact that families who learn together, well, learn together.  They grow and learn.  And I can't help but think, isn't that the point of education? 

Early Childhood Family Education is named well.  It's early childhood FAMILY education.  Families and their little ones, participating together, learning together.  ECFE isn't just about learning to read and write earlier and earlier and earlier.  There's isn't one of us who knows everything as a parent.  I remember being scared to death with the birth of my daughter.  I had barely even done any babysitting - and the one of three times I did babysit, the three boys tried to lock me in a room.  (The thought of that day still makes me shiver.  I swore off children for good - which of course didn't last, considering I am the mom of two great kids.)  With no experience, and no undergraduate degree in motherhood, how on Earth was I going to succeed?  My daughter was doomed, for sure. 

The good news is that I became a student as well as a mom.  I embraced the fact that I didn't know everything, and went about trying to find answers to that which I didn't know.  And sometimes, my daughter was my teacher (how many of you were "taught" by your kids... I'll never do THAT again...You know, that type of thing?)  I went to ECFE classes with my infant girl on subjects that I knew less about.  I already knew how important reading was, although I was going to help her embrace the LOVE of reading, not just the alphabet.  And I was going to do that by reading to her, every day.  But there were things that I didn't know, and how wonderful for a program like ECFE that parents have a resource that helps them grow their children and themselves. 

I think that becoming a steward of the earth helps build experiences that will make for more rich learning in all other areas.  It's the mentality of service to others (and "others" doesn't just mean "people".  It also means "lettuce plants" and "animals" and a whole host of other things.), but like any learning, it's an opportunity for another building block of learning to be laid on the foundation of education.  Le'ts embrace all opportunities to help our children - and to learn with them.