I like watching little kids light up with delight during the holiday season. My adult brain sees the Christmas parade pass by and registers all the work involved in creating floats, blocking streets, and keeping everything moving, all for a brief hour or two of community celebration. Then I notice the little one standing nearby, jumping up and down, waving, howling, every inch of her just vibrating with joy, and her excitement revives my childhood memories and gives me a jolt of wonder at the magic of the whole experience. I visit a preschool where the children are reciting a poem as they count the candles on a menorah and pretend to blow them out. One child turns to me, gently blows in my face, and says, “You have a light inside of you, too.” And just like that, a glimpse of wonder turns my day brighter.
These gifts of wonder that young children share so spontaneously can be easy to miss and easier to dismiss, arriving as they do in the midst of our busy lives and so important to-do lists. If we allow it, wonder can disrupt lesson plans, sabotage schedules, and detour deadlines. Wonder sees a problem and rejects the “right” answer. Wonder reads a book and ignores the phonics, the page order, even the beginning and ending. Wonder asks over and over; how, and why, and where? Children seem to have a natural radar for finding wonder, if adults are willing to make space for it in our homes and classrooms.
During this season of giving, it is worthwhile to consider that gifts of wonder often don’t cost a cent, and can last a lifetime. Where in the world would you find gifts of this sort? The natural world is an excellent place to shop. Viewing a winter sunset or the super moon, feeding birds, cracking the ice at the edge of a pond; nature offers gifts of all shapes and sizes, delivered to us free of charge from right out our windows, and from more distant mountains and seashores, if we’re willing to travel. The public library is another surefire place where wonder is never out of stock. Books are passports to other places and times, treasure chests for the curious mind, and gifts you can open again and again. Actually, wonder can be found in plain sight all around us, but often it’s only the children who are watching for it.
As I go about making lists and checking them twice this year, I’m rethinking the gifts I want to give. If, like me, you’re hoping to make this a holiday to remember, remember to begin with wonder!
Holly Hartman is an early childhood educator, author, and member of Stillwater’s Early Childhood Coalition.