Saving a Bee and the Magic of the Moment

Yesterday I was in the nursery in the morning. In amongst all the seeming chaos of new children who are like babies compared to the older ones, an assembly practice in the hall and lots of ball related arguments, I noticed one of the boys trying to squash a bee that was resting on some blue fabric. I had seen it there earlier and it had been there quite a while. I rushed over to stop him from killing it, and explained that it was just having a rest and that he should just watch it to see what it did. We watched for a little while, then I remembered the sugar water thing-where you can revive a poorly bee by giving it a little. In the meanwhile, another child had become interested, and he went inside to ask an adult to get me some of the sugar water. I put a little on my finger and the bee had a drink. It then crawled onto my finger. A girl had also become interested in the bee. The two boys went off to play with balls, and the girl follwed me into the garden. We put the bee on a Jasmine flower. It fell off though, so I gave it some more of the water. The girl was so interested and concerned for the bee. After a little while I put it down near some flowers. It sat for a moment, then flew off! We were both so excited! It is these little moments that I love about teaching. They can happen in any age group and any setting, and, although they can contribute to the never ending assessment of children, they are more important than that. They are the moments that are remembered as a shared experience which emotionally affects all involved as human beings. They can't be planned for, though they can be helped by good provision. I was telling the nursery teacher what happened this morning, and she asked whether I got any pictures. No! If I had left the situation to get an iPad or ask another adult for one, the moment would be gone. The pictures are in my mind though and, hopefully in the minds of the children involved.