Today in class I brought out a box of all types and sizes of mixed blocks. The kids ran over and claimed their piles. They began to build “castles”, telling me in detail what part of the castle they were building and what the function was. I sat back and watched them create and chat with each other. Then the sound came….the loud….echoing…..crash of the falling blocks…I mean castle.

I waited to see the reaction predicting what was in store. I waited for a devastating scream that the world was over because the castle was down. But no. I walked over to where the blocks lay and I looked at the child who built the castle. She picked up the blocks and started rebuilding! I was ready to console her to tell her that blocks fall and we can build them back up. I was prepared to console her and tell her I know how hard it was to watch her hard work spillover. I did not need to. She picked up the pieces on her own. She found a new way to create a better castle.

Our children will learn through falls, crashes, and spills that they have the power to build something new. To fix the fall.  They will learn about balance in the blocks and life. If they build too high, climb too high, run to fast, they may fall. But they can learn they have a choice to get up and build again…bigger, better, and stronger each time.

We all fall…..we all learn to get back up….our castle is waiting.