Honoring Gizmo

When my cat, Gizmo, passed away the kids at Steppers were quick to give hugs, kisses,
and all the compassion a person could need during such a sad time. Because of
their empathy and awareness I thought that doing a project at school to bring
closure to what happened would be beneficial to both the kids and myself. I
thought it would also give any Steppers who may have lost a pet themselves an
outlet to talk and process their feelings about it. Due to the sensitivity of
this subject I asked some parents how they would feel about me engaging the kids
in an activity that opens a conversation about death and loss at school, and
everyone I spoke to thought it would be a great learning experience. This gave
me the confidence and support I felt like I needed to be able to explore this
topic with the children. I gathered rocks from the stream in my backyard and
asked the children to decorate them in honor of Gizmo, or any other pet they
felt they would like to honor. Not only did our Steppers create incredible
pieces of art, but they also had very insightful and thought provoking
conversations. And, we even got to throw a little bit of science into the mix.
Its moments like these that I truly cherish being a part of the Stepping Stones
community. Here is what happened…..   

Uli and Charlie were the first Steppers to decorate
rocks. Uli – “My dog died in the snow. He was
beautiful, but I don’t remember what
he looks like.”

Lucy and Stella were the next two friends to
join the table. Stella – “I know that my mom
is sad that Bella died.”

Soon lots of friends started coming to
the group and painted rocks.
 

As we were painting, we noticed that the colors
changed when they mixed together.
Nora – “I know what red and white
makes. Pink!"
Mara – “I know what red and yellow
make. Orange!”
Naomi – “Blue and orange make grey.” 
Lucy – “If you put all the colors together 
it makes brown I guess.”

We also talked about what a cemetery is and why people
use headstones. I told them that cemeteries are made so
people can go and visit their loved ones after they die.
Lucy – “That’s why we are painting the rocks. So you can
visit Gizmo and he will know you still love him.”   

As I was setting the beautiful artwork out to dry Nora
wrapped her arms around me and said, “I’m sorry
that Gizmo died, Dawn Dawn.” I bent down and
hugged her back. Then Lucy, Ayush, Miles, Anya,
Stella, Eve, Mara, and Naomi joined in the hug and I
could feel so much love flowing through our little group.  
This project and my wonderful, loving students at
Steppers helped me accept and heal from my loss.
And the maturity and empathy our kids showed toward
this subject matter pleasantly surprised me. Its just
another example of how special our little school really is.