Turn, turn, turn

I meet with a small group of students every day from 10:15-10:35 during a period called Oasis. It's a poetic term for advisory. We are supposed to use the time to bond and take a break, perhaps under metaphorical palm trees, from the desert that is middle school. Or something like that. It's a cool program. I've never had a formal advisee group like this, and it brings back fond memories of my high school advisers. I hope to be as wise and mellow as they seemed to me way back then.

My group is all 6th graders, and most are my students (though some are in the half of the grade I don't teach). I have kids from Texas, and kids from Beirut. One kid from Holland. Another from Turkey. Two from Jordan. One from India. One from Michigan. Some still look like 4th graders; some are 11 going on 16. So far, I have trained them to sit on the cushions in my room and listen to each other for about 1o minutes. This is an achievement I'm proud of because 6th graders are not renowned for their sitting-and-listening abilities. This group is super sweet and corny, though. They make it easy.

Every day we have a check-in question, and usually the kids come up with it themselves. We've had all the classics: what's your favorite candy? What's your favorite singer? What's your favorite TV show? (A disturbing number of the boys claim to watch "Prison Break" on a regular basis. K is watching it as I type, and I can barely listen without flinching. Kids should not be watching this show!)

Today, the question was what is your favorite month and why? (The girl who came up with it was very proud). We had perhaps our deepest conversation yet. Many kids chose their birthday months, but several chose the months that reminded them of home. We heard about Lebanon in the spring, and Grand Rapids over the 4th of July. Most of the responses started, "I like this month because that's when we go to ______________(insert name of their home here)" Many mentioned presents, parties or fireworks. Even more mentioned rain, that precious commodity that's such a rarity here. January and December were the top months, and not just because of Christmas.

Ex-pat kids are often referred to as Third Culture kids because they roam so much that no place feels like home. I was fascinated that my students' sense of home was so closely tied to the seasons and the way the world looks when they are in the place they feel most safe.

My favorite month used to be whenever it was the most sunny in the Bay Area. Now that I live in the desert, I'll be watching for my favorite time of year here. Maybe it'll be when I can walk along the Gulf without my feet sweating. Maybe it'll be the day I turn on the hot water heater. Probably it'll be some quirk of the seasons I can't even imagine.

What season makes you feel most at home? What is your favorite month, and why?