Seasons are so different in the desert. While gardens in much of the country are thriving with the green moisture of summer, gardening here in July is quite a challenge. Tomato plants in the midwest are hanging heavily on the vines and we hardly have any on the meager vines in our home garden. I . . . Read More
I spent last week in northern Minnesota with my parents and granddaughter Emily. It was a restful week of days on the lake, a basement art studio, and numerous conversations about loons. Even with the concentration of humanity surrounding the lake, wildlife is everywhere. The loon’s nest just offshore from my parents’ cabin, was a . . . Read More
We don’t have any certified Zentangle® instructors at the Seed, although there is plenty of talent and creativity to fill in the gaps. Using available books, YouTube clips and ideas from each other, the staff has come up with several innovative ways to “tangle.” The kindergarteners started with small squares of paper with a line . . . Read More
This week I’ve spent the mornings teaching my annual kids’ yoga summer camp at Desert Song Healing Arts Center. It’s my sixth year of teaching the camp and although it’s a lot to juggle my work at the Seed with five mornings of kids’ yoga, I’ve managed to make it work. I choose to write about . . . Read More
Thirty-six years ago I gave birth to my second daughter, and six months later, a school. Astraea and Awakening Seed have been closely tied ever since. Her first year she spent most of her time swinging and smiling, learning to walk, and holding her own with all of the other much older preschoolers. One of . . . Read More
There are two additional high school graduation announcements on the alumni bulletin board, both sent by Seed classmates of Betty and Sami. Over the long weekend I was roaming around Facebook, checking out our alums as I occasionally do, and ran across a picture of each of them. Their stories called out to me. The . . . Read More
One by one, the elementary classes have dismantled their outdoor areas, stacking up bricks and other materials for summer storage. Most people don’t really understand the history created in these spaces. I was recently asked what function the outdoor classrooms serve, if learning went on or it was just for recess. I can’t remember my . . . Read More
On Mother’s Day weekend I traveled to Nebraska to visit my parents, family, and a few friends who have been long time characters in the story of my life. I spent a day in Lincoln, then ventured down the highway to Hebron, the town of just under 1,600, where I grew up. The trip had . . . Read More
Those who are around me for any amount of time would probably tell you I spend more hours than the average person thinking and talking about food. I’ve taken it on as a personal mission, and don’t plan on letting up any time soon. In the past week food has been in the forefront once . . . Read More
Especially this time of year I have to be mindful of not repeating myself. As the spring season comes into full bloom, it’s hard not to write about the lovely sunflowers, the growing band of hollyhocks, or the doves again building their nest in unusual places, this year on the light fixture by the main . . . Read More
I found another reason to be proud of the Seed this week, we celebrate Earth Day. At a time when the planet needs informed citizens more than ever, I was disheartened to learn during my Tuesday kids’ yoga class that, of my four students, only one had done anything at school to celebrate Earth Day. . . . Read More
Lately I’ve admittedly been obsessed with a collage artist named Donna Downey. She is entertaining, funny and one of the most creative artists I’ve ever experienced. I love her process and the way she uses whatever she has for her weekly Inspiration Wednesday video demonstrations (www.donnadowney.com). I realized this past week how much her process . . . Read More
On Tuesday I finally carved out a day to work away from school to attempt to catch up on the many items I never seem to get to on a given day. I had my list ready, coverage was in place, and I looked forward to an uninterrupted chunk of time. By 9:30 I had . . . Read More
I know I just wrote about compost a few weeks ago, but I can’t help myself. The compost in our back yard has truly taken on a life of its own. The way we handle compost at home is we dig a hole and toss the scraps in. Occasionally we’ll throw some dirt on top . . . Read More
Beets are a crop you plant in early fall, then forget about for a long time. I planted golden heirlooms this year in addition to the usual blood red variety. I noticed they were still growing but hadn’t taken the time to specifically monitor the roots. On Sunday I saw that a few were . . . Read More
The Friday before spring break it hailed on the Seed playground. A huge dark cloud that resembled the kind Nebraska tornadoes dropped out of when I was a kid rolled across the valley, leaving us slightly stunned by the load of white icy pellets on our streets, yards and even the Seed playground. It was . . . Read More
By mid-week my blog topic usually surfaces. I was pretty certain it would be the book fair this week, with all its festivities, including visits from Clifford the Big Red Dog, the extraordinary collection of beautiful books, the over-the-top decorations by students and teachers, and the excitement of the Thursday night event. I planned to . . . Read More
It’s never too early to learn about compost. We have endless opportunities every day at the Seed. Snack scraps, lunch leftovers, stems and leaves from harvested produce. Even the toddlers and preschoolers are learning about this process. Earlier in the week I visited with the Preschool 2.5/3s to kick-start their composting project. With a load . . . Read More
“Winter” in Phoenix is always a random event. In January we had below freezing temperatures and several pipes blew out from the ice. Faucet drips turned into icicles and most of the sunflowers in my life were wiped out by the frost. Within days, it was in the 70s again and it felt like spring . . . Read More
Trash has been on my mind for as long as I can remember. In the early days of the Seed when we had ten kids in the school, we took everyone to the landfill to see what happens to all the trash. We saw piles of discarded items, including large appliances like washers and refrigerators. . . . Read More
This morning, while teachers began the important process of meeting with the parents of each child, I planted onions. They are the small type called I’itoi Multiplier Onions and have been grown by the O’odam people in southern Arizona for centuries. My backyard garden at home is loaded with them, so I thought I’d share . . . Read More
It’s a known fact that I’m a frequent walker and my walks, especially those by the canal, never fail to produce their share of surprises. The coyote sightings are by far the most exciting. One of my favorite days was when I saw three coyotes on the other side of the canal and right before . . . Read More
Monday morning I happened to notice our neighbor’s flag hung in honor of MLK Day and probably the inauguration. At first I walked past it, then something in the way the early light shone through the flag caught my eye. I paused to capture the moment before moving on into my day. I didn’t think . . . Read More
Bill kept busy this week with multiple broken pipes, both at school and home. The most exciting one was on the playground Tuesday when a gusher erupted on the big sand circle. The frozen PVC pipe that carries water from the main line to the misting system broke in two places, creating a lovely fountain . . . Read More