Hurt No Living Thing #sol15



When my sister rose to give the toast as Matron of Honor at my wedding, she told our guests about one way she could always bother me when we were younger: She would kick the pine cones when we walked in the park.  For some reason, I imagined the pine cones were with their families, laying on the cement clustered in groups.  She would laugh and say, "Oh no, the baby pine cone is calling out to his mother!" as she gleefully kicked the smallest one away from the group.  I would cry and put the pine cones back as we found them. 

I am overly sentimental, I will admit, but I do think there is something to not deliberately hurting anything, even pine cones.  A few weeks ago, my son Alex was with other children who were squishing ants.  I am not an insect lover by any means and have gotten rid of many a bug, but to purposefully squish ants just scurrying by on their way seemed cruel.  I told Alex that ants were creatures who had families and we should leave them alone.  I saw him process this and he immediately stopped the squishing, telling the other children that the ants have families and we need to leave them alone.

Yesterday we had a barbecue with friends and I overheard Alex telling his buddy that ants are creatures and we shouldn't hurt them.  He was really passionate in his speech, gesticulating and everything! I took his picture because I wanted to remember him defending the rights of ants at 4 and a half years old.



The irony, though, is today poor Alex picked a spot on the curb to watch the Memorial Day Parade that ended up being an ant colony.  Ants were crawling on his legs, his socks, his shoes, his arms before he realized his unfortunate position.  He was near hysterical to have ants all over him, understandably. My mother was with us and helped me get all the ants off of him.  As we walked home, he said that the ants crawling on him was the worst part of the day.  My mom explained that because he defended the ants, they saw him as a friend and knew he wouldn't hurt them.  He listened to her explanation without reply, taking in her words and mulling them over.

He didn't get my love of eating or my curly hair.  He doesn't like to sit with books or color like I did when I was young.  But, he is the daughter of the pine cone defender and like it or not, he is now protector of the ants. 

Comments

  1. Jennifer LaffinMay 26, 2015 at 6:27 AM

    I often find myself thinking about the same thing...the families of the birds, ants, rabbits, etc. that roam around my yard. (I thought I was the only one!) I love how you instilled this lesson to your son and he took it to heart. It reminds me of the story, "Hey, Little Ant." Such a great slice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 26, 2015 at 7:35 AM

    One of my beloved colleagues teachers her students to protect living creatures. Her students may not like spiders or other crawly things, but they do save them when they are in their classroom. They place the creatures in a large container, and release them outdoors. There was evena little ant colony the other day where a student had spilled some juice, and some of the kids were trying to scoop up each little an before the custodian could spray any chemicals on them!
    You and your son have sensitive, lovely hearts. What a blessing you each are to our society, and to the living creatures we share our spaces with. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kimberley MoranMay 26, 2015 at 11:32 AM

    This made me smile. I loved your opening poem. I had forgotten that one. I try to live by that and teach that in my classroom. I always say that life is hard enough without having to worry about someone being mean or hurting you,

    ReplyDelete
  4. Stacey ShubitzMay 26, 2015 at 5:18 PM

    From a pinecone defender to an ant defender. Wow! The lesson is the same regardless of what it is. And it is an important lesson everyone must be taught.

    ReplyDelete
  5. wahooliteracyteacherMay 26, 2015 at 9:37 PM

    What a beautiful slice! I think that this story would make a wonderful picture book. I think your message is definitely one that needs to be shared!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMay 26, 2015 at 9:49 PM

    The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It's amazing the powerful influence we can sometimes have on our children...and a big responsibility, too! My daughter awoke last spring to a bedroom filled with bees that had burrowed into her closet. Nature lover that she is, she was traumatized! Nature is my salvation so much of the time, but it can also be horrific! Sounds like Alex might be ready for some of those great science magazines for kids, like Ranger Rick....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#SOL16 Lesson From Piper

Image
Have you seen the Disney Pixar Short film Piper ?  If not, go watch...I'll wait. :) I watched this movie today with a few of my students who stay after school for "Club Success" (formerly called "tutoring" but this feels way more positive for the kids who are asked to stay). After we watched Piper , we wrote about the movie and then shared our writing. Each of the three students who wrote touched upon the idea that Piper had to learn how to get the food for herself. Some students mentioned the pride she felt after she learned how to survive the big waves and find food.  We talked about the mistakes she made and how they helped her to learn.  I think this video is a MUST WATCH for a few reasons.  1- It really makes you think about the process of learning and how uncomfortable it can feel when you move to trying something new for the first time.  2-Piper learned by her failed attempts and eventually by finding a mentor and trying his strategy. 3-When ...
Read more

A Working Mom's "I am" Poem #sol15 Day 16

Image
Disclaimer: I have nothing but respect for moms who "stay at home." It is the hardest job.  In my brief stints being a stay at home mom while on maternity leave and on summer vacations, I know that the days are exhausting and challenging.  This poem attempts to capture how I feel about life at the moment, being a third grade teacher and a mom to 2 kids under the age of 5. I am a Working Mom I am exhausted and never done.  I wonder how to find the elusive "work-life" balance  I hear my alarm go off at 3am and trudge downstairs to do the work I couldn't do when the kids were awake I see my work bag,bulging, begging me to finally pay it attention. I want 5 minutes to myself. I am exhausted and never done. I pretend I can do it all I feel the need to eat lots of chocolate I touch my children's soft little cheeks and hug them. I worry I am missing important moments with them. I cry when I feel like I am drowning from it all. I am exhausted and n...
Read more

#SOL19 You Can Go Your Own Way

Image
If you were looking at an Identity Web for me right now (Sara K. Ahmed's Being the Change has been on my mind with our recent #twtblog series and a book study/ workshop I facilitated with the Long Island Writing Project), you would see the added role of "Daisy Co-Leader" as another hat (or Girl Scout tunic?) I am wearing. My daughter, Megan, is a kindergarten student and I have signed on to be her Girl Scout troop co-leader. My fabulous friend and colleague (and down the street neighbor!) is the leader of the troop and she is everything you've ever dreamed of in a Daisy troop leader- enthusiastic, creative, organized, kind, thoughtful, and ambitious. Our troop has done A LOT in our short six months together.  Last night was another Daisy event. We met up with other Girl Scouts from our town and the town right next to us for a "Paint Night." Each girl got a canvas and paints and was instructed, step by step, on how to make a snowman in a winter sc...
Read more