In February, I concluded my fourth year as a Destination Imagination team manager. If you're not familiar with Destination Imagination or DI, it's a program that promotes teamwork, creativity, problem solving, and more. Teams comprised of up to seven members select a challenge provided by DI and then spend the season working together to create a solution to present at competitions. My role as the team manager is basically to be a guide and help the team stay focused. One of the main rules I, as well as parents, have to be aware of is the role of interference. I cannot tell my team what to do or how to do it. No matter how much the team may appear to be struggling or unfocused, I have to keep my mouth shut--even if I have a great idea for accomplishing what members may want to do, but haven't figured out yet how to do it. Ultimately it is up to the team to solve its own problems and create a wonderful solution to the challenge. If the team falls, I am there to help the members celebrate the process and honor what went well, as well as reflect on the struggles.
Keeping my ideas silent at times is incredibly challenging. I literally have to bite my tongue.
And sometimes, it is painful.
* * *
A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards; Illustrated by G. Brian Karas (c)2016
Schwartz & Wade (Publisher)
Mrs. Goldman knits hats for babies, for adults, for children, for all different head sizes. She says it's her mitzvah, or good deed, to keep keppies (heads) warm. She even knit a dinosaur sweater for her dog.Sophia received her first hat from Mrs. Goldman, her neighbor, when she was a baby. Mrs. Goldman later taught Sophia how to knit, but Sophia prefers to make the pom poms for the hats.
One day, Sophia joins Mrs. Goldman as she walks her dog, Fifi. The air is touched by winter approaching and Sophia notices that Mrs. Goldman does not have a hat. Mrs. Goldman tells her that she gave her hat to someone who needed one. As the days grow colder and Sophia continues to see Mrs. Goldman without a hat, she worries about her friend, and wonders who will make a hat for her? Then Sophia decides that she will knit a hat for her dear friend.
As the story continues, Sophia knits whenever she is not visiting Mrs. Goldman as she wants to keep her gift a surprise. When she finally feels she has completed the hat, Sophia becomes distressed by what she fears she created--a monster hat, full of holes where she dropped stitches. Sophia realizes she cannot give this hat to Mrs. Goldman and considers her options for solving the problem. Unsure of what to do next, Sophia remembers Mrs. Goldman encouraging her with a craft beyond knitting. Sophia makes a decision of what to do and turns the monster hat into a work of art that both she feels proud of, and Mrs. Goldman cherishes.
What I love about A Hat for Mrs. Goldman is that there is no interference from adults. There is no meddling. Sophia is a child who identifies a problem, and dedicates herself to figuring out a way to solve it. Even when things do not work out quite the way she imagines, by remembering Mrs. Goldman's words acknowledging her talent, Sophia realizes that she has the skills to fix the problem and create something beautiful. And in the end, she truly touches Mrs. Goldman's heart.
This book touches my heart and makes me smile each time I read it. Plus, it shares a pattern with readers for Sophia's hat. If I ever make it, which I hope to one day, I'll be sure to share it here.
Today and tomorrow,
~Tamara
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