Episode 68: The Circle of Life with Pete Springer

Posted on by Wynne Leon

In this episode, Vicki Atkinson and I are with blogger, author, retired elementary school teacher and great storyteller, Pete Springer.

Pete’s storytelling is fantastic. And the fun twist with this particular story is that the story I told about trying to rescue Buttercup the bunny in episode 66 is what prompted Pete to volunteer to tell us about the great adventures of class pets.

That’s the connective tissue of stories. We tell a story and it takes the listener someplace. Hopefully someplace worth going.

Pete also shares with us the impact he’s seen for storytelling across the generations. Regardless of age, there is an intimacy when we dare to utter our personal narratives.

Please join us for the scenic and beautiful places we go when we share the power of story.

We know you’ll love it.

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to on Anchor Episode 68: The Circle of Life with Pete Springer

Or subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Transcript for Episode 68 of the podcast

Links for this Episode:

Episode 68: The Circle of Life with Pete Springer

Pete’s blog: Pete Springer

Pete’s post about Class Pets

Pete’s previous HoTM podcast episode: Episode 36: They Call Me Mom with Pete Springer

From the hosts:

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

19 thoughts on “Episode 68: The Circle of Life with Pete Springer”

      1. I loved hearing about your experiences with your kids, Wynne. That’s what stories do—connect us to each other through shared experiences. your kids will be be telling their kids the bunny story someday.

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    2. Who doesn’t like a good story? While I enjoy reading to seniors, my favorite part is when literature makes them think of stories from their past that they want to share.

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  3. “Rats not so bad after all.” Hmm, Pete, I might disagree with you there. Ha, ha, I’m just kidding. Love Pete’s message and love how you’re leading with stories. I think your site proves that readers want to connect with others and they want to be told stories!😎😎😎

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    2. My wife and I found a lot of humor that we were battling with rats on the home front while I spoke of my classroom rats with such reverence. I never told the kids about how I was trying to get rid of the buggers at home who got in our duct work.

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  4. Pete told the sweetest story about rats I’ve ever heard. His second graders learned so many impressive life lessons through the care and bonding of his classroom rats. The crowning glory of the story was the fabulous ending when Pete received cards from his students after the loss of Oreo.

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    2. The beauty of a classroom is that you become a family each year, filled with joys and challenges. It was never lost on me that the kids were often teaching me life lessons through their actions. I was touched by their compassion and messages. “I know it’s hard Mr. Springer . . .” I was worried about them while they were looking out for me. So beautiful!

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  6. That was delightful! I loved Pete’s rat stories and I can picture that poor little girl crying during the choir performance. So sweet.

    Hearing Pete’s thoughts at the end about him writing about his teaching experience after he retired really struck a chord with me. A co-worker once told me, “You have so many great stories and they always make me smile.” It’s a reminder that I need to capture some of these moments.

    Thanks Wynne, Vicki and Pete!

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  7. Pete reminds me of the best elementary school teachers I had. Very warm, personable and great sense of humour. Speaking of bunnies, as I noted in my comment to Vicki’s related post, it reminded me of the bunny our science teacher kept in the classroom in elementary school. I remember it pooped a lot!

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