All the time
Before the kids (and teachers) find out what’s in store for them in October, we’ve been doing a bit of background research into the real meaning of Thanksgiving. And the equinox, and the seasons, and the night, and well, just everything that happens all the time.
In fact, September has been all about time. What a concept!
Perhaps mistakenly, I decided to start with the macro…
The animals of the Chinese calendar follow one another through the zodiac according to the order they finished the Great Race. There are many versions of this story, but in all of them, the crafty rat pushes his friend cat into the river, and takes first place in the Jade Emperor’s 12-year count. In China, Cat doesn’t even finish! No wonder they hate rats so much!
After reading the story, the kids chose their own animals, and practiced using their skills to win the obstacle-scavenger-hunt-race through Buddings. Since Caris’ heart was set on being cat, we used the Vietnamese version of the story, where cat survives his soaking, and replaces 3rd runner up, rabbit, at the finish line.
We played the race game all afternoon, and even though in Sharing & Reflecting, the kids agreed that Rat hadn’t behaved in a friendly way, I didn’t feel like they’d understood “time.”
So the next week, I tried again, using our copy of Goodnight Vancouver to draw the children’s attention to the seasons. Good morning, cherry blossoms, making the streets look magical… Good evening snowboarders, swooshing through the snow.
Christa taught me a catchy tune for remembering the months of the year, but even though the kids are starting to get the hang of them all, I still don’t know if they’re understanding “time.”
Back at the drawing board, I was searching for a better way to explain it, when I stumbled upon the Aboriginal Medicine Wheel, with the cardinal directions, seasons, colours, and stages of life, allocated according to medicine traditions.
In the centre of the circle is Drumming. Everything fell into place.
Time isn’t linear, it’s cyclical. Which means there’s no beginning and no end.
Seasons follow seasons, and children are born, grow, age, and die, just like the sun that rises and sets every day.
Time as an abstract, human convenience – arbitrarily decided, divided, named, and changed – probably doesn’t mean much to my preschoolers. But they had no trouble talking about time marked by the patterns they experience in the world. Or even explaining it scientifically:
As Felix says, when the Earth is spinning and it spins to the other side of the sun, that’s when it’s night. 🙂
This week, as we approach the annual autumn celebration of food, my researchers take a trip to Nourish Vancouver Cafe and Cooking School, to learn about the healthiest ways to eat well, and appreciate the world’s bounty at the same time. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
