…while you’re busy making other plans. I heard that phrase (again) recently, and it is so true. My take on that as a daycare director is: my work is in the ‘interruptions’ that happen while I’m trying to get my tasks done.
Does this happen to you, too? Does it ever feel that the most important work you do isn’t expected, anticipated, or planned? It’s kind of the same with teaching (and directing). The most teachable moments aren’t always something you can plan.
A walk through the woods on campus is an adventure in unexpected teaching. I might not have planned to explain what a compass is or the four directions — north, south, east, and west — on a overcast day in the middle of the woods in January, but one of our kiddos found a mini compass in the leaves. A group gathered around to learn about how the needle always points north and the sun sets over the lake, which is west, and which direction is the moss growing on the trees and…you get the picture.
So, let’s embrace the interruptions and be grateful for the unexpected opportunities they give us. (Is it stretching the analogy to compare an attitude of embracing interruptions with a compass needle pointing north? My attitude towards interruptions has certainly needed re-calibrating from time to time.) While the tasks, eventually, need to get done, there’s always time for one more hug, a chat, or another adventure walk.