Day 29: Miss Mia

We live one block away from Helman Elementary School.  Both of our children attended Helman and I have volunteered there for many years – and because of this I have a good relationship with many of the teachers.  One such teacher is Mia – and she teaches kindergarten. It seems to me that children in kindergarten are discovering new things about their world each day…  and Mia seems to share that trait with them.  I love her positive energy and enthusiasm.

Mia is a master at crafts and finds uses for fabric scraps, excess tile, scrap paper, and all sorts of other things.  She is also an avid gardener and has established a garden plot at Helman.  Often I will see her walking with her class towards a pond in our neighborhood so the children can learn about nature first hand.  She is the real deal.

A few years ago, when my nephew was stationed in Kuwait, I asked Mia if her class would be willing to write a few Valentine’s cards for the men in his company. She jumped at the chance. Within a short time she had arranged for the whole school to write Valentine’s cards to the service men.  I sent my nephew two boxes filled with about 200 Valentine’s.  After doing so I wondered how that was going to be received by the other soldiers.  After a week or two I was able to ask my nephew about it.  He told me that he had placed a few Valentine’s on each person’s bunk.  He said that when the men came back to the barracks and saw something on their bed, they would shout, “What the ….” and then they would be silent.  Not another word was said.  I asked him what they had done with the cards and my nephew said, “Aunt Karen, they are all taped inside their lockers.”   Because of Mia, those children were able to give a precious moment of respite to those men.

For this and so many reasons, I would like to thank Miss Mia with a Berry Pie. She gives her all everyday – and her students – and we in the community – are lucky to have her.

Tags: Berry Pie, Helman Elementary School, kindergarten, Kuwait, Valentine's cards