I’ve spent a lot of time in elementary schools the past two weeks. I’ve mostly worked with younger kids and the work I’ve been doing has allowed me to be in the classrooms briefly for care I needed to provide. While in the classrooms, doing the work I need to do, I get to overhear some of the teaching.
One lesson stayed with me. A first grade teacher was talking about math. Some of the kids groaned and said math was not their favorite. Other kids cheered and said they loved it. The teacher took it all in stride. She said they were all going to work on planting a math garden. She said it was the kind of garden that everyone could plant something they liked and once it grew, everyone could find something to harvest too. The kids would all learn something by planting a math garden. The kids would all grow along with the garden.
The idea of a math garden stayed with me…
If I were my own best friend I would ask myself to think about my garden. What kind of garden I am planting right now? Am I planting a math garden? Is the garden a mix of things I like and things other people like? Is it varied enough that it becomes stronger than if I only grew one thing? Once the seeds grow will there be something to harvest? Something to preserve and save for a leaner season? As this garden grows will I grow too?
What kinds of gardens are you planting? (Spring is just around the corner here and I am getting excited to start planting soon!)
If I were my own best friend... 
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