Holding Wonder in the Palm of a Hand

When you walk into Grace on any given morning, there’s a hum — the kind that only happens when curiosity fills the air. This morning, I had the privilege of experiencing it first-hand in my talented colleague Ms. Aponte’s Grade 1 classroom.

A small cluster of students stood gathered around a table, each positioned before a tiny plastic container — the kind you might usually pack with a few grapes or a small handful of crackers. Today, though, these containers housed something far more intriguing: small superworms wriggling and stretching in quarter-inch layers of raw oats. Students were gentle, patient, and deeply invested while their “pet” superworms crawled across tiny hands and hung from six year-old fingertips. 

When a student spotted me in the doorway, without hesitation, she lifted her container and made her way across the room — container in one hand and superworm in the other — smiling with unshakable pride and enthusiasm. “Look!” she said, beaming. I couldn’t help but smile back; her delight was contagious, her confidence pure, her joy undimmed by what so many adults would avoid.

To the casual observer, it might look like a simple moment of play — a group of children fascinated by their classroom pets. But beneath that moment is something profound: a quiet choreography of empathy, responsibility, and scientific thinking taking shape.

At Grace, these moments are rarely accidental. Our teachers intentionally design learning that awakens curiosity and connects children to the living world — to help students understand not just how things work, but why they matter. Harvard’s Project Zero reminds us that curiosity isn’t just an academic trait; it’s a moral one. When students are invited to care for living things, they begin to see themselves as caretakers — as people whose actions have real consequences in the world around them.

Research published in Frontiers in Psychology underscores that empathy develops through emotional awareness, social interaction, and opportunities for reflection. When children care for living things and are encouraged to consider what those beings might feel or need, they strengthen their capacity for perspective-taking and patience — qualities that support both deep learning and human connection. In a time when the world can often feel hurried or divided, nurturing this kind of empathy is more than an academic goal — it’s an act of hope. These early habits of noticing, caring, and understanding lay the groundwork for thoughtful learners and compassionate citizens — qualities our communities need now more than ever.

At Grace, we believe that wonder and care belong together. When a child holds a superworm — they are also holding the beginnings of scientific thinking: forming hypotheses, testing ideas, and practicing gentleness. Real science isn’t only about finding answers; it’s about learning to notice, to wonder, and to care.

In a world that often rewards speed and detachment, our classrooms invite children to slow down, observe, and connect. Whether it’s measuring growth in the garden, designing experiments about what living things need to thrive, or simply ensuring each small container stays just right for its tiny inhabitants — students are building not just knowledge, but habits of mind and heart that last.

And that’s what we mean when we say that at Grace, deep learning and deep humanity grow side by side.