Moment of The Day- 11/3/09

Tuesday, November 3, 2009, I woke up with a whisper of a voice. I could not speak above a certain level, that of a mouse, or it would turn into adolescent shrieking sounds or speech with no sound at all.

Teaching a soccer skills class of rambunctious 5 and 6 year olds with such a voice seemed nearly impossible; but not with the brilliant help of Amy Rizzo as my partner. I asked her if I could run the warm-up silently through action as she dictated aloud the details and meanings of my movements. I set up a track around the gym of various challenges for the kids to attempt and master: Sliding, jumping, cutting, and sprinting. I acted out each portion slowly as Rizzo explained, and then as they performed I whispered to her my next ideas for her to announce during the following break. We had them run the exercise for about 5 minutes with breaks and coaching tips and ended the warm-up by timing them while they raced through through the course as a team.

The moment: At the end of the exercise, Serena walked up to me panting. "Feel my heart," she gasped to me as she put my hand on the center of her purple and yellow knitted sweater. "Wow!" I whispered as loud as I could, "Your heart is beating very fast. You must have ran fast!" She smiled and responded, "I did!" and then she continued, "Is this where your heart is??"

I am blessed to work with children every day.