It's May Day!

Today's Art+Play: Making May Baskets!
I acted out the "ding & dash" concept using the classroom coat closet and pretending to be my Gramma answering the door. (The children really seemed to enjoy this part.)
Construction:
The children decorated the paper and picked their flowers (assisting of course with the trimming of too long stems and ribbon cutting). Parents applied the contact paper and fashioned the paper into a cone shape. Deciding who they would surprise with their May Baskets was by far the best part. It was lovely listening to them chat with their parents about their choices as they left the classroom. I love May Day.

All day long I thought about the Montessori school the joy of May Day. I longed to stop by and join in the fun but resisted until the very end of the day. When I arrived a friend shared about the May Day festivities even before I could inquire. It made my heart smile to hear her stories of the children's tip toe adventures around the neighborhood like a pack of fairy folk. 
Complaints:
I've had a long and difficult week. My husband is away and parenting three children on my own is allot of work (and that is a major understatement!) My hat goes off to single parents everywhere! I could have written about all my complaints because there is a long list, but I'm writing about May Day. May Day is a day to surprise and delight. There is something magical about this day and being "thought of" always feels good when you're the recipient OR the gift giver. It's much nicer than complaining.
Random Acts...
When I went in to buy the flowers for today's craft I noticed an older woman sitting alone in her car, next to mine. When I returned about 15 minutes later she was still sitting there (I guessed, waiting for someone to come out of the store) she looked so tired. And I felt so tired, even though it was the beginning of my day. I put the bags in my car and started to back up to drive away. But then I stopped, pulled back into the space and got out. I gave the woman a flower.
"Happy May Day" I said to her
and she smiled,
"Thank you very much" she said.
She was obviously surprised but also very happy. I didn't know her and she didn't know me and it was a surprise, that's what May Day is all about. Random acts of kindness, to quote a bumper sticker.
It's a nice message to share with your children,
today and everyday.
In PEACE
~~MM