He came to us when he was exactly two. This week he turned six. When we sat down recently to log his costume collection we identified many of the roles he has played at Wee Friends: pirate, policeman, miner, strong man, doctor, santa claus, master gardener, Viking, train conductor, soccer player, mail carrier, construction worker, zoo keeper, fireman, pilot, farmer, chef and Gaston. We know there are more. We know there will be more.

Finn’s desire to dress in a different character each day went much deeper than wearing a costume. When he would arrive at Wee Friends, he would immediately begin building the life of his character in all our learning centers.   He learned letter and words by using pirate lingo. He studied patterns, length, distance and gravity by tying links around animals and babies, and watching them dangle and fall off the loft. He used paper and art materials to create sailor logs and menus. He requested music whenever he built ships or cars, planes or restaurants with the large wooden building blocks. He counted the number of triangles it would take to fill the crocodile’s mouth up with teeth. His character driven, self initiated learning explorations were endless.

Finn.

He was a natural leader in our classroom and would invite, appoint and inspire his peers to see what HE saw. He would teach them everything he knew about his current character interest.  He was most comfortable creating and learning with his friends right beside him.  He was a peer mentor and loved showing his friends the way, reminding them of Wee ‘rules’ and procedures.  Finn made his friends laugh with his storylines, comments and observations. His friends have loved him, liked him, listened to him and will miss him so. Finn has been a good friend to his Wee peeps.

Finn taught US how to teach him. When we said “yes!” he took us on an emergent learning journey that we couldn’t have planned ourselves. When we said “let’s think about that some more” he articulated his vision reasonably, clearly and with great passion.

And Lindsay and Jenn. How can we thank you for the volunteer hours, the generosity, the support and the kindness you have shared with us these four years. We will truly miss seeing your family everyday. And we thank you, so very much.

Finn, we love you. You are one-of-a-kind. Your personality, vocabulary, knowledge, curiosity and creativity filled our days and classroom with wonder. Thank you. We can’t wait for you to visit to hear about your GSMS adventures.

We’ll see you soon.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers. Breakfast: Cereal and pear slices. Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with chicken, fresh apple slices and peas. Snack: Yogurt and PPC’s fresh fruit delivery.