~and it was time and money well spent~

Nearly a month has now passed by since this school year of 2020-2021 began.  In our fourth grade classroom it has been a busy time with the kids and I getting used to one another as we tried to pick up from where the pandemic intervened this past March.  If I told you that it has been easy, well then I wouldn't be telling the truth because some days it has not been.  There have been many programs that I've needed to become familiar with plus dozens of first and last names that I forever was mixing up.  I have made what seems to me at times like a zillion mistakes and of course I am hard on myself for making them.  Often times I forget what I tell the kids in my class each day.

"Don't be afraid to make a mistake once in a while.  They help you to learn, grow, and change.  That's a GOOD thing."

I'd do well to keep that in mind.  One of my character defects has always been being overly critical of myself when I do the wrong thing or let someone down.  Even at nearly age 65, I am still working on it and probably will be until the day I die.

Yesterday my class and I had the chance to do something different by going on a field trip to the small community grocery store that our town of Newkirk, Oklahoma is blessed to have.  Earlier in August, I was fortunate to be the recipient of $50 to use for purchasing things we could use in our classroom.  A parent of one of the 4th graders had nominated us to be "adopted" by a business in nearby Arkansas City, Kansas.  As I was thinking about what to use our gift on, the idea came to mind that perhaps instead of using it to buy consumable classroom supplies that we could instead find a way for it to have a more lasting impact.

Because I am trying to teach the kids to have a servant's heart and to do acts of community service throughout the year, it was the easiest of decisions to make on how the money would be spent.  Yesterday all 22 children and I, plus two other adults who volunteered to help out, made the short walk to the Apple Market with our grocery lists in hand.  Our aim was to stick within our budget of $100 and pick out as many items as we could that would help our local food bank here in town.  

Just as I predicted, the kids were awesome!

In small groups of 7 or 8 each, the fourth graders made their way up and down the aisles of a store that is quite familiar to them.  We had already talked about what perishable and nonperishable meant earlier this week.  The discussion was had about the merits of buying brand name food over a less expensive version of the very same thing.  As mathematicians, they quickly see the differences in prices as well as quantity.  By the time they opened the doors and walked in, those young kids already had the makings of being pretty savvy shoppers.  In record time, we were at the check out counter and waiting to see our grand total.

"Your total comes to $93.76 ma'am," the check out person told me.

I breathed a sigh of relief after learning we had stuck to our budget and had made it through the store, accomplishing our goal in just at 30 minutes time in all.  No one got lost or hurt along the way and customers within the store's aisles appeared happy to see young people learning in a different way.  I was so proud of them!

As we left the store, all the kids assembled outside so that I could take a picture of them with the many bags of groceries we had managed to buy with our allotted amount.  Perhaps it is because I am older and growing more sentimental as each day passes, but as I saw them standing there with smiles on their faces, a lump grew in my throat.  I looked at those young people and felt compelled to say something to them.

"You all did the right thing just now and I am so proud of you.  We could have spent the money on ourselves and no one would have said anything about it.  It feels good to do the right thing.  Each of you just grew 6 inches taller in my eyes.  Thank you!"

And so that's how that life lesson went.

22 kids and their teacher, plus a school counselor and assistant principal who believe in the value of life lessons too, all made their way back in time for lunch and a chance for noontime recess.   In the years to come, I imagine that they will not remember everything I taught them in math or reading.  They may not recall the particulars of a science or social studies unit.  But my bet is that they will forever remember the day they clutched grocery lists in their little hands to buy food for those less fortunate than them here in Kay County, Oklahoma.

It was a lesson that was worth it to teach.  It was time and money well spent.