Sprinkles and Smiles

Today was a holiday- Martin Luther King Day, so Jonah was out of school. Jonah's kindergarten teacher messaged me bright and early this morning and I wanted to share her message, so I could remember this about Jonah Knox, age 6-

"Hey! I just had to share this with you. So yesterday I did our lesson on Martin Luther King. It's hard to find the right words...but I'm surprised every year how it touches the kids and how interested they are. I always use our lesson as a way to talk about people's differences. Perfect since this was the end to a special "be the change" week. Every morning we have had a short lesson on being a kind friend, standing up to bullies, etc. I challenged them with things like sitting next to a new friend at lunch, asking someone different to play at recess, etc..So it was perfect to end the week with. 

So, yesterday we watched Reading Rainbow talk about MLK and read a picture book about his life. When it ended I could see the look on Jonah's face and knew he was really touched by it. So when we sat down together to talk about it I was bracing myself and making sure I had the right words. Honestly just putting on a brace face and making sure they didn't see me shed a tear. Jonah's sweet face, though. He looked like he was about to cry. I asked him if he was okay and if he wanted to share or talk. He simply said, "I just wouldn't have very many friends it it weren't for him". It was the absolute sweetest thing, and so heartfelt. That boy really does have a heart of gold."

And he does.