SLICE OF LIFE: Day 26/31 The Tea Party

SLICE OF LIFE: DAY 26/31

Today started off like any other day in one of the buildings where I facilitate with teachers. It was going to be a day of co-teaching and coaching the writing workshop in the area of persuasion. After three hours I had finished the fourth and fifth grade rooms where I was working today. As I completed my post-conference with the teacher, we got onto some things she could change in the room...basically the lay out. As we were deep in discussion, she asked me if I wanted to join her for lunch in her room. Since I had only planned to work at my computer to catch up on e-mails, that sounded fantastic. So, I joined her.

When I came back with my bag lunch in my hand, I was surprised to find a candle on her small group table along with a delicate, flowered tea cup and saucer. Along side the saucer was a tiny bit of chocolate. Desert! We sat and talked about her workshop, her room arrangement, her community of writers. All the time we were sipping tea from these tiny tea cups. She then told me the story of how she had gotten her set of china from a trip to Europe many years before, bringing each piece home tucked into her suitcase.

The time slipped by and she had to rush off to pick up her students. I cleaned up the last crumbs from my sandwich and drained the last drop of tea. I glanced back at the candle, blew it out and meandered out into the hall full of eager children fresh from a romp outside.

A little bit of culture. A little bit of peace. A little bit of collaboration over a wonderful tea party. What a great Slice of Life!