It is difficult to explain emergent curriculum to people. For teachers it means paying attention to children, seizing the moment that ‘something happens’, and letting the moment be the guide for teaching.
Picture this: walking along a path in the woods with children, seeing a light ahead, and rushing over to discover the light is on a hatch doorway. Should we open the door? You bet! It takes a lot of work to clear the dirt and weeds off the hatch and find the big brass ring to open the door. What is on the other side? We discover there’s a golden slide that goes down farther than we can see. Should we slide down that slide? You bet! And what is at the bottom of the slide?
You get the picture. This pretend story is how it goes and how it feels when teaching children and seizing the moment. I can’t imagine following a scripted lesson that has no room for those moments when ‘something happens’.
Life is the same way. It’s how we welcome what comes our way that makes all the difference. Stephen Colbert says it best:
“If I thought I knew what was going to happen, it wouldn’t be worth doing. The challenge is how joyfully, with what sense of fun and adventure and playfulness, we will greet it. We don’t have to look for what the next thing will be. If experience is any judge, it’ll come flowing toward us like a river.”
Those words ring true. Yes, that’s Life-101.
Here is one of life’s emergent adventures: Last week a child came to me and said, “Jennie, there’s a footprint on the bathroom mirror.” Of course I had to see. There was certainly something that looked like a soapy footprint.
“Jennie, do you think it was a leprechaun? Do you think it was Lucky the leprechaun?”
This is where I seized the moment, because ‘something happened’.
“I don’t know. Do you think it was Lucky? It might be. Let’s show everyone.”
I shouted, “Aqua Roomers! There’s a footprint on the mirror in the bathroom. Joe thinks Lucky was here. Come take a look.”
Yes, there was a stampede into the bathroom. We studied the footprint, and children wanted to know if it was from Lucky. Did he really visit the Aqua Room again?
“I think we need to write Lucky a letter and ask him if he was here and left a footprint.” We wrote a letter and taped it to the mirror.
At pick-up time, I told Joe’s mother what had happened, and how cool it was that he brought up Lucky. She was thrilled. That night before I left school I wrote a big green YES below the letter.
The next morning every child rushed into the bathroom to show Mom and Dad the footprint and letter, and of course to see if Lucky answered the letter. What excitement! Better yet, there was a letter for the Aqua Roomers on the table. It was from Lucky!
Lucky me! You found my footprints. They can be tricky to spot, so you must be super smart! The school year’s nearly over, and I couldn’t leave without wishing you a fantastic summer filled with sunshine, laughter, and maybe even adventures as grand as the ones we have in the Aqua Room! Look what I left for you! Red, white, and blue treats, just like the colors in in a rainbow. Yum! Leprechauns love rainbows, so I know you’ll love these too. Enjoy!
Your friend, Lucky.
Thank you to Joe’s mom for understanding, and bringing Lucky full circle.
Thank you to Stephen Colbert for explaining your approach to life’s experiences.
Thank you to all the teachers who embrace every moment and run with it.
Jennie
A Teacher's Reflections 
I absolutely love embracing moments like this!
Currently, we have a magic egg in each classroom that hasn’t hatched, bit no obe knows what is going to come out because we don’t know which mummy laid it!
There’s a hole in my ceiling where a projector used to be. The most recent imaginative ideas led us to explore the possibility that mystery mummy may be up there, checking up on us, and how we look after her egg!
The children’s imagination is running wild with guessing who mummy might be!
I love this mystery mummy story! Thank goodness for these moments that we both embrace! 💕
That’s why we love what we do! 🤩🤩
Exactly! 😍
Magic!
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Adding a touch of whimsy and the possibility of magic to a child’s life (or an adult’s) is an amazing thing, Jennie. Thanks for sharing this story and thanks for being Jennie.
It certainly is, Dan. I’m so glad you enjoyed this story, and I will always be Jennie. 🙂
How wonderful that Lucky replied with a note and some treats. Let the magic continue!
It was wonderful! We all need magic. 😍
how fun!!
Yes!
What magical fun!
Yes! Thank you, Marcia.
How wonderfully, exciting, fun, and brilliant of you to follow it through! The kids will likely keep this experience/memory with them forever. 😊❤️
I think they will, Deborah. It was very exciting. Many thanks. 😀
Those kids are so Lucky to have a teacher like you, Jennie
Thank you, Don. I think I’m the Lucky one.
thank you Jennie for teaching an old woman like new tricks 💜💜💜
Always happy to teach, Willow. 😍
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I love that you teach with emergent wonder 💕
Thank you, Alethea! ‘Emergent wonder’ is my new favorite term.
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Love this story, “lucky” indeed!
Thank you, John!
Love this story. Embrace and moment and run with it. Such a great philosophy for life! Bless you for this valuable life skill to kids!
Thanks, Wynne. It really is a recipe for happiness and joy.
And that’s how it’s done–that’s how to make learning fun.
Yup!
Jennie the post was so thrilling and the children too were enjoying the moments. Thanks 👍
Many thanks, Kamal!
You are always welcome Jennie 😊💖💖
That’s so much fun! I want to be in your Kindergarten, Jennie.
Awww…thank you, Anneli. 😀
As delightful as this is to read, it also made me rather sad to reflect on my own schooling from a very young age.
We still had a Victorian-school environment, and had to sit up straight at desks, learning the alphabet and numbers, from the teacher writing with chalk on the blackboard. When it was time for break or lunch, we had some freedom in the inner-city tarmac playground but had to amuse ourselves by playing childish games with no input from any teacher. I wish I had gone to your school, and you had been my teacher.
I don’t recall any mention of Leprechauns, but feel sure we would have just been told that they didn’t exist.
Best wishes, Pete.
I was so stuck by Stephen Colbert’s quote, the fact that life’s approach is as emergent as it is in my classroom. Lucky was a good example.
I grew up with the same Victorian style school environment, which I attribute to my lack of confidence and always worrying. It was many years before I became the ‘real me’. Perhaps that’s why I understand how precious joy and bravery are, and why I’m always on the lookout for those moments I can bring to children. Thank you for your wonderful comment, Pete. I understand how this gave you mixed emotions. Best to you, my friend.
you have explained it all so perfectly, and is very hard to explain sometimes – because you get it and understand the benefit, your children reap the rewards
Thank you, Beth, and thanks for opening the door with Stephen Colbert’s wonderful quote. Life can be like our classroom, with joy and adventure and learning. I’m glad I was able to explain this! ❤️
exactly! and my pleasure
We are two peas in a pod, Jennie. I think I’ve already shared this with you when you previously wrote about Lucky. My second graders wanted to build leprechaun traps. Their “traps” were mostly flimsy structures made of construction paper, but that’s beside the point. (I found it amusing to think about what they’d do if they ever caught one.) On the night before St. Patrick’s Day, they put out their traps around the room. When they came in the next day, Lucky the Leprechaun (same name as yours—apparently he gets around 😊) led them on a scavenger hunt, by leaving letters around the room which playfully teased them about how he was outsmarting them and sending them in a different direction to find the next letter. At the end, Lucky congratulated them for finding his letters and left them a treat.
The kids were thoroughly engaged. Years later, I shared this story on Facebook, and a couple of my former students, who were now young adults, immediately responded saying how fun that day was. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Yes, I love this story! Those are the moments children remember. I was so struck by Stephen Colbert’s quote; life can be just as joyful and emerging as our classroom. Both our ‘Lucky’ adventures was a good example. Best to you, Pete.
And thanks to Jennie for sharing this delightful story with us.
You’re welcome, John. 😊
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A reminder that sometimes the very best lessons taught are ones not within a textbook, but by paying attention to each moment and looking for the lessons available within them. Great post, Jennie!
I couldn’t have said it better! Thank you, Bruce.
I 💗using emergent curriculum.
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It’s improv, like in comedy where no matter what is said or done you just keep saying “yes” and move the story along. I like this post.
Exactly! And thank you!
Another delightful post that put a big, goofy grin on my face. This quote is exactly how I feel about writing fiction: “If I thought I knew what was going to happen, it wouldn’t be worth doing.”
The quote really struck me, as it is same thing I do in the classroom- except it is in life. Writing fiction is a great example of this terrific approach. Thank you, Liz.
You’re welcome, Jennie. Thank you for prompting to think about why I love writing fiction so much!
I loved every word and thought here. You bring so much magic to learning.
Thank you, Marlene! 😍
Fabulous post! You have a gift for improvisation!
(My daughters are teenagers now, but when they were little, we had a Fun Fairy that often pranked them in gentle ways or rewarded them for good behavior. It is one of the things I most miss from their childhood, but I am strangely confident they will adopt a similar version of the routine when they are parents one day!)
Linda 🙂
What a great story! Yes, I think they’ll adopt something similar. Thank you for your kind words.
Hi Jennie, this is a wonderful post!
Thank you, Charles!
Loved this. ❤
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The only way to be with kids! Thanks for sharing.
Yes, the only way! Thank you, Elizabeth.
Hi Jennie, what a wonderful and exciting time the children had interacting with Lucky. A memorable way to finish the school year 🌈
Jennie, I have written a critical review of this post. It is available here: http://zaccs-writing.com/?p=3688 and will publish on July 4, 2024 @ 9a. I mean this with utmost respect.
Thank you, Zacc.