permission granted

I took the children outside to look for signs of spring. Its our new
science project. I needed a branch in bud to take to class, so as
my Celtic spirituality dictates, I asked the tree's permission first. I
then chose a branch that was brittle anyway.

Later in our tour of the playground I stopped near a Rodhidendrum (sp?)
and the children kept asking me...
"can I ask permission to take a leaf?"

I thought, that's my reputation shot to buggery!

Of course this is the same class, who got an earful from me about
pulling off branches from trees, back in the Autumn. When questioned
the following week about what we had been talking about the previous
week it was repeated

" we must treat trees with respect, they have been at school much
longer than we have"

Well that was the gist of the row I gave them, not the lesson, and it was 'here' meaning earth I said, but it was remembered as 'here' meaning the school.

So on we move to another tree, this one can be seen outside the class.
I explained to them that last years class did not know what kind of
tree this was as it had no leaves, just as it hadn't today. I explained
that for ease we had called it Eric. With one voice they shouted "HELLO
ERIC"