I'm a Grasshopper

You know that fable about the ant and the grasshopper? The ant is busy storing up food for the winter, working his little tail off. The grasshopper is enjoying life and sort of scoffing at the ant for working so hard when he could be having some fun. That story makes me mad. I like the grasshopper. He is relaxed and enjoying the moment and I feel sorry for him that he has to listen to the ant brag about his productivity. I know the grasshopper gets really hungry and almost dies because he didn't plan ahead. Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. I feel this way at school sometimes. I'm fifty. I have nothing to prove. I love the kids and I want them to engage and respond to the world. I do plan, but not as much as I should. I hate packets and I hate the restrictions of schedules, but I do sort of "starve" when "winter" hits and THEN I realize how I could have approached the unit, lesson, activity with a little more foresight. I cheer for the grasshoppers. I'm a little jealous of the ants. Maybe it's because I have a little of the sloth in me.