By Lisa Catterall

was training elementary teachers on how to deliver the Next Generation Science Standards , and was asked . “ When do they learn that some animals are called amphibians , some mammals , and all of that now ?”

I thought for a moment about how to answer that without using a lot of jargon . I said , “ We are teaching big ideas and skills now . When you teach about life cycles , you teach that all things have them , why they are important , and that they look different for these groups called amphibians , mammals , butterflies , or even trees , flowers and sea jellies .”

A classroom is a blank canvas for a group of people to paint , and the teacher does the sacred work of starting the picture first . We are nesting in our classrooms and touching every piece of curriculum and every item , deciding what to use and what to put aside . While we were once curators of the world ’ s most important museums , we are now also curators and guides on the worlds ’ most important walking tours , because students no longer sit still .

At the same time as we are curating , we are anticipating the people we ’ ve chosen to spend our lives with showing up at the door . It ’ s no secret that we have a beloved age group , and that we generally prefer spending time with our students than with other adults . They ’ re percolating through our minds and we ’ re calling them in .

If I could make a lifecycle wheel for a teaching year , August and September would be creativity . October and March would be the months of hard work , of making sure everything is covered during uninterrupted stretches . November and December would be the months of reveling in joy , and January and February are months for coping and grit . May would be a month of dancing with the students for the last time . June and July are the “ nomad season ,” where we wander freely spiritually , mentally , physically and emotionally .

One activity I gave the third grade teacher to use for this is a spinning wheel the students create , where all the different forms of an organism throughout its life cycle can be artistically rendered and spun around in a circle . Suddenly , a wheel for the cycle of a school year flashed in front of me .

One of my mentor teachers described September as “ the gift of starting a new cycle .” One of the miracles of the school year is annual renewal . Whatever happened during the previous cycle can be built upon or tossed aside , elevated or buried , and new things can be planned and created .

Having this varied , rich , spinning wheel of a year to ride around on is a gift . Life is never boring in this career , there is always something new to embrace on the horizon . Just like butterflies and trees shift between forms , so do teachers and students . The cycle is just as satisfying in its familiarity . May our school communities across the county enjoy this new season of creativity , anticipation and excitement .

This is just as true for students . I see my youngest daughter , who is going into first grade , thinking through how she will present herself to her friends this year . In so many ways , her choices are a little different than last year . She ’ s doing the same thing I am . She ’ s building her story before it happens , and she is thinking about what emotions , thoughts , strengths and physical things she will bring into the sacred incubator of her classroom and playground .

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Lisa Catterall teaches STEAM , math , science , and art at Mount Madonna School and is a senior associate of the Centers for Research on Creativity . She lectures and trains teachers and administrators on innovation in education in Beijing , China . Lisa has five children and lives in Santa Cruz County .

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