At our Mystery Theater rehearsal on Wednesday night we took a break from blocking out the action and laying down the tape for the stage to open the tubs of costumes we’ve accumulated over the years. It’s become a tradition within a tradition that always inspires a walk down memory lane. The recent night’s venture . . . Read More
If you’re a gardener, this time of year is one of hope and belief in miracles. A few weeks ago I ordered my year’s supply of heirloom seeds and I’ve been waiting patiently to offer them to the soil in our back yard. On Sunday I finally had my chance to do that. As I . . . Read More
Over the years I’ve grown to appreciate the creative opportunities that being a school director offers. I never thought I’d get to that point, which is one reason I resisted giving up being a classroom teacher for so long. I loved teaching, particularly writing. Even though most of my days are spent covering subs, talking . . . Read More
On Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of talking with Kevin, our Preschool 3s teacher of many years, who recently moved to Vietnam to teach English as a second language. While it appeared that his original intention was to work with adults, Kevin has found himself again teacher three-year-olds. This time he is employed at . . . Read More
It’s quite a leap from last week’s topic about the Twin Towers to this week’s account of our annual Seed tie dye event. I have to say, it was quite an event and I’m not really sure how I was drawn into it as much as I was. For the last several years we had . . . Read More
It rained during my morning walk on September 11. It wasn’t a big rain, just a light mist that didn’t let up until I approached our driveway on the return home. When I first started out I thought of going back to the house to get my umbrella, or at least a hat. But then . . . Read More
The toddlers’ counting bears took a field trip last weekend. Red, green, yellow and blue plastic bears were loaded up in their tubs and hauled off to my 96-year-old mother-in-law’s assisted living home. The bears were part of some volunteer work my granddaughter is doing to fulfill a high school graduation requirement. Along with the . . . Read More
Now that daily routines are mostly established, our first fire drill is out of the way, and good-byes are getting easier, attention is shifting within the classrooms. As I walked through several rooms this past week, teachers have their notebooks out to document what children are doing in their classrooms. Some have individual sheets for . . . Read More
It’s been a big water week around the Seed. Valley storms transformed our playground from a dry, grassy area to a lakeside recreation spot. Imaginations have had a heyday as children became sharks feeding on acacia seeds washed into large piles by the rain. Upside down pots and pans formed a trail through the sand . . . Read More
The other morning as I was out for my walk along the canal, I noticed a bird’s nest in a cholla. It had an elaborately constructed ladder made of sticks, precisely woven throughout the prickly thorns, to give passage to a brave bird through the treacherous branches to its nest in the middle of the . . . Read More
Yesterday morning I took a walk with a dear friend in a quiet neighborhood outside of Boston. It’s a neighborhood filled with history from before Revolutionary War times. Her house on Concord Road was built in 1830 and the whole area has deep roots into the past. Bobbi and I were teacher friends in the . . . Read More
I thank Frederick Douglass for my introduction to the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Years ago when I was teaching 2nd grade, we examined the life of the famous abolitionist as part of our annual human rights study. As I read his biography in preparation for my teaching I learned that the AME Church, of which . . . Read More
At the lake last Friday I photographed this delicate wild iris blooming at the edge of the dock. I spent considerable time getting the right angle and lighting. I’m so glad I did. By Saturday it was all shriveled up and drying out. That’s the way life is, always in a state of change, . . . Read More
In honor of Father’s Day, I thought I would write about mine. I feel blessed beyond words to have both of my parents still living and enjoying a meaningful life. My dad is 87 and still acts like he’s 30 sometimes. Tonight when I called to wish him a happy Father’s Day, I asked how . . . Read More
One of my greatest joys at Awakening Seed for over 35 years was the chance to have all five of my grandchildren at the school during a twelve year span. There was even one year when all five were present at the same time. Zoë, the oldest, was the first second-generation Seed who started at . . . Read More
In case anyone noticed, I skipped my blog writing last week. I tried all week to finish this piece, but things just kept coming up. I’ve only missed three or four weekly posts in the nearly two years since I started blogging, so I cut myself some slack. It’s a practice I’m trying to include . . . Read More
This morning I returned to the Seed after a week of solitude, resting my voice and, to be honest, a lot of art. In my days of silence I made collages from garden photos, old stamps, rice paper painted by toddlers at school, and cut letters from old yoga magazines. I also watched a number . . . Read More
Just a little over a year ago I posted a blog about my breast cancer diagnosis. It was a scary time that brought some of my life’s most important teachings. I learned lessons I wouldn’t have learned any other way and came to terms with my own mortality. It was a year of immense healing. . . . Read More
I’m certain we have the happiest roly poly pill bugs in the neighborhood. Who wouldn’t be happy to live in a strawberry bed heavily laden with such sweetness? There are so many strawberries in our patch I can’t keep up with them. I fill a bowl with juicy red berries and two days later there . . . Read More
Last Wednesday I was invited to the Preschool 4s class to teach the kids how to do Chinese calligraphy as part of their “cuisine of the world” study. The calligraphy is one of the random skills I picked up during my ASU days. I don’t recall exactly why I signed up for Chinese calligraphy but . . . Read More
On Friday I was ready to write about the beautiful poster all the classes created in honor of Earth Day that included the phrase, “We’ve got the whole world in our hands.” I thought I’d also say something about the sweet all-school celebration we had in the multipurpose room. Soft spoken representatives from each class . . . Read More
Years ago I promised I’d sing at her memorial. On Friday I kept that promise and along with my guitar, two daughters and youngest granddaughter, sang two songs for the celebration of her life. Caryl Steere was one of my first professors in early childhood at ASU. She taught me about child-centered education and was . . . Read More
Saturday night I put the finishing touches on a quilt that’s been in process for almost a year. It started as an idea for our annual Seed Earth Day celebration and will reach its final destination by the end of the week. The quilt has an additional special meaning in that it was created for . . . Read More
In the Seed office hangs a handmade quilt, created by my 1992-93 first and second graders. It was made as part of our annual human rights study, which emphasized advocacy for human rights and devotion to making change in the world to improve the lives of others. One of the students in my class that . . . Read More