Fairies, Butterflies and Ladybugs

Summer is drawing to an end, and the enchanted garden next door is all aflutter.  The fairies are doing their best to calm the butterflies, as the Monarchs excitedly prepare for their long flight back to Mexico. They've got butterflies!  You know - the kind you get in your tummy before a big event, or doing something new.

If you have a child, or grandchild starting school, they may have butterflies too!  Like the Monarchs, generations before them have made the journey, in a mass migration.  Like the Monarchs, the children won't be travelling alone.  Yet, the first day of school is experienced by one child at a time. It's personal.  It may be awful...or awesome!  

    

Every advice column on the subject, says to take time to visit the school with your child before the school year begins.  This way, your child learns the route to school, and has a sense of what that big building looks like on the inside.  If possible, introduce yourselves to the teacher, so that your child sees a familiar face in a classroom of strangers.

Creating an amazing first day of school may be as simple as a comforting hug, and a message to carry your child through the day, and through the years.  "You are going to learn so much, and make a difference in this world.  Remember, you are loved".  The ever cheerful Ladybug, would add, "Just be you!"

The Fuchsia ballerina fairies are whispering that Summer's carefree spirit does not have to end. Those magical days of happy adventures, and playful learning can be part of everyday life, for the rest of a child's life.  Curiosity about the world, and creative expression last a lifetime - if they're nurtured.

We all know what happens when we take a beautiful butterfly, or tiny ladybug and put them in a glass jar.  Something inside a child dies when creativity is stifled.  In the coming months and years, give them the freedom to explore, experiment and discover.  Give them new ways to express themselves, through art, music, dance, writing, baking, woodwork, or sewing. Give them a sense of security, without the walls of a glass jar. Give them plenty of hugs, and smiles...and love. 

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.