Kindergarteners and the Power of Wonder
Wonder is powerful fuel for resisting tyrants and foul moods.
Like most of you I’ve been both riveted and repelled by the daily chaos emerging from the new US administration. No matter which side of the ideological aisle one might fall on, the manner in which decisions are made and then carried out have the ring of middle school bully to me.
So it was with great relief and pleasure that I spent last weekend in the company of my good friend Kirsten. Kirsten is smart, sensitive, creative and warm. She’s no stranger to the daily dose of dreadful news that seems to be coming from all corners. She is also no stranger to the realities of life on this planet: tricky relationships, financial insecurity, funky health dilemmas. And yet … she is one of the most centered and optimistic people I know. I think I know why. She’s a kindergarten teacher.
Spending time with Kirsten in her whimsical home, I found myself immersed in the world of 5 year olds, who are the company my gifted educator friend generally keeps, and thus who inform – or reinforce - the way she sees the world. It’s a world where wonder takes precedence. The centerpiece of her living room is a plate-glass window looking out onto her plant-filled back garden, where strategically-placed feeders attract all kinds of winged creatures. A cozy couch is an inviting spot to snuggle up and gaze out the window at nature’s wonders. Lovingly creative touches are everywhere in her home: a bowl of pebbles that kindergarteners over the years have offered their beloved teacher as gifts, coat hangers made from wood stumps, photo collages interspersed with inspirational quotes, splashes of nature and color everywhere you look, books that can entertain 5- or 75-year olds. One cannot help but feel submersed in wonder.
Kirsten told me about a story she’d recently heard which involved a bunch of kindergarteners getting the best of a hijacker through their natural propensity to wonder. I looked it up and it’s a true story from 2021 in which a man with a rifle boarded a bus filled with 18 kindergarteners in Columbia, South Carolina and ordered the bus driver to “Get out of town, now!” As the driver took off, the kindergarteners started peppering the hijacker with questions: Was he a soldier? Why was he doing this? Was he going to hurt them? What about their driver? Their curiosity was too much for the gunman. After 6 minutes he ordered the driver to stop the bus and get everyone off. He was quickly apprehended by local authorities, who later credited not just the brave driver but the curious students with saving the day with their questions.
So now I say … let’s learn lessons from kindergarteners! Wonder and curiosity not only help us stay rooted in what’s really important, they can also help us disarm bullies.
On the subject of young’uns and wisdom: When my kids were not much older than kindergarteners, we came up with a few fun and easy ways to ‘beat the blues.’ I pulled these together back then into a compilation called Little Trampolines, which I only shared with the younger versions of Jack and Kate. Somehow, it seemed appropriate to dig that out again for current times and realize it could be helpful for older folks as well. I’ve had fun creating a digitized and slightly grownup-ized version of it in Canva, and now share it with you, my Sidecar community. Enjoy Little Trampolines!
Yours in beating the blues with little trampolines and fighting oppression with questions,
Bridget
