03/05/2025
I wrote this last week but delayed posting it, I’m not sure what I was waiting for… I certainly wasn’t expecting what happened on Friday to happen… who would ever expect that?! However, today, the US withdrew all military aid to Ukraine. How long can Ukraine survive without US support? I hope that Ukraine can withstand this moment, I hope they are not an overstuffed mitten creaking and cracking at the seams. I hope that for the sake of the Ukrainian people, they can hold it together…. Thankfully, Ukraine is strong. I hope they know that Trump does not represent all Americans
Yesterday marked three years since the start of the war in Ukraine.
While the exact casualty numbers remain unclear, we do know that the war has deeply impacted children and their families. Over 2,500 children have been killed, and more than 20,000 have been taken from their families and brought into Russia. This doesn’t even account for the countless children who have been uprooted, lost their homes, and experienced the trauma of war. While peace talks are ongoing, the situation remains tense and uncertain.
Three years ago, I wrote a post about the Ukrainian folktale The Mitten, and it’s interesting to reflect on how my appreciation for the story has evolved. When I read it to children, I highlight that it is a Ukrainian story and ask if they know where Ukraine is, trying to show them on a map. I have also asked if they have heard of Ukraine, what they know and what they might be wondering about.
I have been mindful not to villainize Russians as a whole. Instead, I refer specifically to Putin or “the leaders of Russia” when discussing the invasion. Growing up at the end of the Cold War, I don’t want children to see Russians—or, historically, Soviets—as the enemy, especially knowing that many Russians have conflicting feelings about the war. As we see in the U.S., a country's policies do not always reflect a unified perspective among its people. Additionally, we have both Russian and Ukrainian families in our community, and while more mature minds can think about the complexity of the world, it is difficult for young children to think beyond the black & white, beyond who is good and who is bad, beyond who is right and who is wrong.
Instead, I invite children to think about fundamental questions: What happens when someone takes something that isn’t theirs to take?
The irony is that The Mitten is a story about making room for others, sharing space and warmth, and the sacrifices it takes to care for our neighbors. It remains one of my all-time favorite stories for children, and it has been meaningful to help them engage with it on a deeper level—connecting the story to the people who told it and the country it comes from.
