Today, I let myself dive back into my quilting. These afternoons are precious to me- I focus, close out the world, and create. It was wonderful, creating the next square in my color harmony quilt. I cut, sewed, pressed, arranged. And when I was finished…I realized I had made a mistake.
There was no way to simply move it around and fix it. I had sewn the pieces incorrectly. I would have to take many seams out to correct my mistake.
In that moment, I understood the frustrations of a particular student in my class.
He is working on his All About book. He is a confident reader and writer, who breezed through the research process. As we started completing the graphic organizers, he got off track. But he didn’t realize it until he had completed his task. Now he is faced with going back to fix his mistakes, and he is resistant.
Who knew that an afternoon of creation and frustration in my own life would remind me of the struggles my students face? Certainly not me. But when I see him Monday morning, I will be reminded to be kind with him.
Because fixing mistakes, whether great or small, is frustrating.
Live. Laugh. Learn. Repeat. 
What a wonderful teacher you are–thinking of your kiddos when you are submerged in your quilting. This is a great life lesson for teacher and student–sometimes we have to take mistakes apart to make them better.
I can relate to your experience on both sides- as a creator and as the receiver of the “lightening bolt” of what one of my students was experiencing. I encourage you to share this story with your student- not the written one, but verbally. I have found that my students are so thrilled to know that I care enough to think about them outside of my school time, that they are more motivated to face whatever challenge lays ahead of them.
When I try to do puzzles, fixing mistakes is easier than figuring out the puzzle in the first place. I like linguistic puzzles (like inquiry and research). But if I quilted and then found a mistake… I’d have to burn it. Yes, have mercy on your little researcher… he may be another “me” when it comes to quilting…
I love the connection between your sewing and your teaching. I don’t sew at all, but I have seen that frustration in my daughter as she has had to rip out seams.