Life has moments that, somehow, stamp themselves into you: catching water bugs in the shoals of a mountain lake on a cool June day; the surprise of a quick kiss stolen by a playmate when you were just five; a father's strong embrace when a midnight clap of thunder awakened you in terror.
The best parts of our lives are made up of those moments, constructed (it seems, almost) willy-nilly from the detritus of just existing day by day ... and yet ...
... and yet ... Head Start children seem to find those moments more often than most. You can see it happen in our classrooms every day. Here it happens to a little girl in a candy-flowered dress, improbably blond hair, and sparkling eyes, transfixed by the glow of a leaf in the light of afternoon.
But there’s a reason why this moment happened. It seems random, but if you spent time just moving among the children in our classrooms, you’ll see it’s not random, not willy-nilly at all. Head Start classrooms are designed to be places where children stumble across “moments” repeatedly. Head Start intends for children to have these moments, an intention expressed in the creation of a place that is rich, supportive, and nurturing — a place for them to be.