When I first started this blog, I set out to find moments of joy. These days, the world feels heavy and there are days the joy is harder to spot- but it’s always there. I know that.

The best days are when the joy sneaks up on you. I started my day screening kindergarteners in math. Even though it’s not a season I look forward to, sitting with those kids and getting a glimpse into their little brains is joyful. I worked with one student today who posed all of her answers as hypothetical questions. “It could be nine?”

Then, later in the day, I headed to kindergarten for day two of a read aloud. I was introducing writing about reading…something new we are trying out. I knew the class was in the midst of their Reading Super Power unit. Looking for a connection, I launched by having the students talk about their super powers. As I called on students to share their super powers, they said things like “I have think power,” or “I have pointer power.”

I called on one final student. He grinned and in all seriousness said, “I have cheese power. I like to eat all kinds of cheese.”

I smiled back. “That is quite the superpower,” I said.

I think we will add “cheese power” to the anchor chart and when the world feels heavy, I’ll head to kindergarten.