Mrs. Wells - The Most Magical Kindergarten Teacher
We scored. Not just Lola, but all of us. Mrs. Wells was such an important part of all of our lives this year. Dan and I were nervous about sending our first sweet babe out into the big world of school, kindergarten, first friends made on her own. Mrs. Wells made the transition so easy for us. Every morning, she welcomes parents into the room as the kids transition into their work and prayer, and at the end of the day, she is so great at checking in with parents and keeping us in the loop as to what our kids are doing, how they are feeling, and how their day went. She couldn't wait to hold Hank when he was born just two weeks after school started, made a point to often talk to Mac and ask him questions, and throughout the year, made it clear that she adored Lola.
She believes in letting kids have the freedom to play and socialize in kindergarten, and couldn't have made Lola's kindergarten year a more loving, fun-filled place for her to grow. Field trips to the fair, pumpkin patch, and downtown for Christmas story time at the library and photo with Santa. One of my favorite things that she did was have a pajama party in the fall. The kids brought in their favorite teddy bear and had a teddy bear picnic, eating porridge, reading books about hibernation, and said goodbye to the bears until they would return for another visit in the spring...when hibernation was over and she turned the classroom into Camp Kindergarten, filling it with tents, lanterns, and sleeping bags. They studied nocturnal animals, dissected owl pellets, and sang camp songs.
On the 100th day of school, Mrs. Wells was gone, and in her place, a 100 year old lady named "Miss Kitty" was their sub. She walked with a cane, had a grey bun, glasses, and told storied of what is was like to live for 100 years, what all she had seen and done, and celebrated the kids 100 day accomplishment. The next day, Mrs. Wells was back, and wanted to hear all about Miss Kitty. The kids wore black and white free dress and brought their favorite stuffed dog to celebrate the 101 day of school, full of puppy face painting, dog bone cookies, and the opening of the pet clinic, where the kids could use the doctor and vet kits to give check ups to their dogs and other stuffed animals.
My favorite memory of what Mrs. Wells did this year, was teaching the kids two songs about mothers, and hosting a Mother's Day tea at school. When mom's arrived, the kids decorated corsages for us, served sparkling lemonade and cookies, and read books that the kids wrote about their moms. Then they performed the songs for the moms, and there was not a dry adult eye in the room.
She teaches her students to be compassionate, reverent, animals lovers, explorers, and friends. On the last day of school, I was the mom who cried in the hall because I didn't want to say goodbye. I didn't want it to be over. As I told Lola as we got into the car, "You really landed in such a special place, with such an amazing teacher. I feel like we all have been blessed by having Mrs. Wells in our life this year."
Now I just have to pray that the boys will one day have her, and experience the magic of Mrs. Wells.
