I am a substitute teacher for RE. One beautiful spring day I was asked to teach, but only one child showed up in that class. The co-teacher and I decided to get to know this young child (who didn’t want to join another group), so we set out to enjoy the day.

The curriculum had us read a story about worms with related activities. We set out a few building toys to fool around with as we each introduced ourselves with an introductory check-in question to answer, and then one adult arranged blocks with the child while the other adult read the book. We asked “shall we do the indoor activities, or shall we go outside and hunt for worms?” The child chose outside, and equipped with a hand trowel, off we went.

I knew worms needed organic matter, so we looked for damp, dark dirt, not dry sand, and started digging. Then I learned the child was creeped out by worms. We found the worms and talked about castings (worm poop), soil aeration, and the many animals that are glad to eat worms. The brave child gently held the worm and had a minute on the playground.

As we returned to Follen, the child told me about things they were interested in outdoors. There was the lesson: the web of life, the inherent worth and dignity of the worm. For me, the lesson was the deep heart and active mind of a child and that an adult I thought I knew was so flexible and allowed the child to choose worms over curriculum. RE helps keep me growing.

—Janet