5-18: "Be the change you want to see in the world" - Gandhi

As a parent I think I'm fairly conscious of my children's behavior - especially in public. I tend to avoid certain situations where I think they might not be able to maintain good behavior - or where I might be too stressed out with them to enjoy myself. Situations like 2-hour long graduation ceremonies or even dining in a fancy restaurant are sometimes avoided. I'm also starting to recognize how I sometimes underestimate my children. They've been surprising me quite a bit lately. They are doing very well at walking to and from school (a total of 2 miles for my youngest). They are mostly agreeable to the close quarters of the bike trailer and sing to me about princesses or bulldozers to help me bike faster. They greatly respect the rules of the bus. I expect them to be great in these situations and they are.

Would taking 20 preschoolers on a one-mile-long walk along well-traveled streets and onto a city bus fall into an "avoid" category? We expected great things. . .

. . .and then many beautiful things happened!

Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world!" Don't just think about it or talk about it or even plan for it. Definitely don't doubt it. Be it! Today we were the change we want to see in the world. We had the awesome privilege of attending a field trip at the recycling center. Instead of having parents drop their children at school then get them into chaperon vehicles and drive to the recycling center then drive back to school and have all of the parents return to school for pick-up, Renae had an awesome plan! Parents dropped their children at the recycling center and after touring the center and learning about the recyclables they accept we set off on an exciting journey back to school. We walked 0.6 miles from the recycling center to the nearest bus stop - all 20 preschoolers and five chaperons. This was not a crazy group of wild children running down the sidewalk. We expected great things from them and they were beautiful! We waited patiently for about 15 minutes at the bus stop (we were a little nervous about missing the bus with all of these children!). We made the arm-pull movement to elicit honks from every truck driver that passed. We chatted, laughed and sang songs. We expected great things from them and once again they were beautiful! The bus finally came and we boarded efficiently and headed toward school. We expected the children to sit safely in their seat and to use indoor voices and they were beautiful! Their eyes were wide taking in all of the sights and sounds of the bus. We got off of the bus and walked another half-mile from the bus stop to school, stopping at a park to play along the way. In spite of our hesitations and doubts, we set our expectations high and the children were amazingly beautiful the entire way! And we became the change we would like to see in this world.