Hearts of Gold

As part of Teacher Appreciation Week at our school, many children brought flowers to their teachers on Monday. Since I hang out in the hallways to do rainbow charts with children every morning, I get to see lots of interesting sights. Well on Monday, I noticed that there was a mom with a large vase of tall flowers who was sitting outside a kindergarten classroom. At first I didn't pay much attention to her, but as I moved on up the hallway closer to where she was stationed, I realized what she was doing. Watching each child who entered the room, she ascertained who had flowers for the teacher and who didn't. Catching those who were empty-handed, she let them choose a long-stemmed flower from her vase. Then she helped these children think of something kind to say to their teacher when they presented her with their poseys. I noticed that several of the children who received help from this mother were children with limited English. It occurred to me that maybe their parents hadn't been able to read the information sent home about Teacher Appreciation Week and therefore hadn't been able to send their children to school with flowers. Surely these little ones would have felt left out of the festivities, as most kindergarten children have very sweet hearts and love to show affection. Going up to the flower lady, I introduced myself and thanked her for what she was doing. She said that she and another mom who had a child in this particular class decided it would be helpful to buy a bunch of extra blooms so that each and every child would have the opportunity to show their love to the teacher. I got chill bumps because of this very thoughtful and generous gesture. What kind hearts these ladies have!