These pictures brought me back to third grade-probably the reason I just had to click on each one to see the next! Third grade was the first time I remember being interested in science. It made me start to wonder about how things are made and I truly looked at things around me in a different way. Here's what happened. My class was studying multiplication- or the "times table" as we students called it. I was so bored- I already knew all the tables and had passed every test the teacher had given. What a remarkable teacher I must have had, as she did something not heard of in those days- I was given something different to do!
She must have seen how restless I was and she asked me if I would like to go outside with a small magnifier to look at snowflakes. I wasn't excited about leaving, but I did want to get away from those times tables- and at least I could go outside. So, I semi-reluctantly took the magnifier and went into the school yard. It had been spitting snow and the flakes were swirling around in slow, lazy circles. It was easy to get a snowflake to land on my sleeve and then use the magnifier to observe it up close. I couldn't get enough! I continued to "catch" snowflake after snowflake and look at them in amazement! How could something so white and plain look so beautiful? And how were they formed? And where did they come from? And was each one really different? (Remember, this was third grade.) The teacher finally had to send someone outside to get me. It is an experience I will remember forever.
My hope is that all of our children have a moment like this- have many moments like this. Something or someone who will catch their attention, instill curiosity, spark an interest, and create awareness of the world around them. I also hope that for every child that proclaims boredom, someone will say, "Let's go out and catch snowflakes!"
Medium-size snowflake, around 4 mm, taken in January 2013, Moscow. (Alexey Kljatov)
