Planting Seeds

Today when I walked into the school to spend a couple of hours with a class of teenagers, I heard songbirds singing.  It is nearly the end of February, we are still having cold temperatures and snow lies thick on the ground.  But birds were singing.

I looked around to see if I could spot them - their voices were so loud I felt surely they must be very near by - but in the brilliant sunshine, they must have been hiding in a protected shadow of the building.

It made me smile to hear such a delightful harbinger of spring.

I don't know how many kids tried out weaving a bit of 'tapestry' on the cardboard I supplied.  They came and went as their interest waxed and waned.  A few had completed small bits of cloth by the end of the two hours, so I was able to show them how to finish their weaving off.  The teacher had a button and bead box and one added a button to her strip of cloth to turn it into a bracelet.

A couple of the students seemed interested in doing more on the floor loom so the teacher and I talked about giving the kids time to think about what they did, maybe finish their little cardboard loom weaving, maybe try the floor loom (one of the students says she remembers what to do so she has been designated 'teacher' for any others!), then maybe come back again to help those who want to learn more in a few weeks.

The past couple of days have been more about planting seeds than harvesting a crop.  Weaving cloth takes time.  Sometimes a student knows immediately they want to explore further.  Sometimes it takes a while.  If nothing else, those who tried it have an appreciation for what is involved.

And today I heard the songbirds singing. 

Currently reading Pandora's Boy by Lindsey Davis