Today, in the middle of a mini geography project, one of my third graders asked,

“Miss Kivela, heat travels up, right?”
“Yep!  Which forces the cold air down.”
“So then why is the North Pole cold?   Shouldn’t it be hot?”

I couldn’t help but smile.  We did a quick one-minute lesson together, pointing to the sky and how that is up, but we’re pointing toward outer space, not the north pole.  Still confused, so I broke out the globe.

I had him imagine he was standing from our little spot in Connecticut, pointing at the sky, and into outer space.  Then it clicked.  Seeing the visual and 3-D representation of the globe made all the difference.

He was so excited to understand, he nearly shouted “Thanks, Miss Kivela!” and returned to his desk.  He thanked me a couple times later in the day as well.

It’s all about those small, adorable moments.