Wonders

I love books.  My Amazon wishlist is about 4 pages long of books that I need to own.  (If you'd like to donate to my collection, let me know.)   I recently got this book, A Place for Wonder by one of my favorite authors:  Georgia Heard. 


It's a refreshing book that tells about the importance of letting children wonder about their world and ask questions, rather than limit their questions with the answers.  With children being natural questioners, it is crucial to not put out that flame, and for those who have lost it, ignite it again by showing them the power of their wonders. 

This poem from the book has become one of my favorites.

Straight Lines
By: Georgia Heard

All the kindergartners
walk to recess and back
in a perfectly straight line
no words between them.
They must stifle their small voices,
their laughter, they must
stop the little skip in their walk,
they must not dance or hop
or run or exclaim.
They must line up
at the water fountain
straight, and in perfect form,
like the brick wall behind them.
One of their own give the job
of informer--guard of the quiet,
soldier of stillness.
If they talk
or make a sound
they will lose their stars.
Little soldier marching to and from
pretend
their hair sweaty
from escaping dinosaurs
their hearts full of loving the world
and all they want to do
is shout it out
at the top of their lungs.
When they walk back to class
they must quietly
fold their pretends into pockets,
must dam the river of words,
ones they're just learning
new words that hold the power
to light the skies, and if they don't
a star is taken away.
One star
by one star
until night grows dark and heavy
while they learn to think carefully
before skipping,
before making a wish.


"We must educate about awe--awe of our universe, awe of our planet and its eighteen-billion-year story, awes of the creatures with whom we share this planet." 

Now.. I personally wonder how new movies get into the Redbox machines.  Seriously, it boggles my mind.