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
A few years ago our Spanish teacher handed me a bag of onion sets for our garden. At the time I didn’t know what was a gift it was that would keep on giving. I found out later that they are called I’itoi Multiplier Onions and have been grown by the O’odam people in southern . . . Read More
Even though it was hard to come back to school after a week of beautiful spring break weather and a garden full of multi-colored sunflowers, I have to say it’s good to be at the Seed again. Whenever it rains it always serves as a reminder to pay attention to the moment. Monday morning’s soggy . . . Read More
Last Friday was the 108th birthday anniversary of Dr. Seuss. Born on March 2, 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was the author of books that date back to my childhood. I was six years old when The Cat in the Hat was written. I don’t remember having a favorite Dr. Seuss story but his books always . . . Read More
Contrary to what my husband tells his grandchildren, the antique blue trunk my mother painted for me when I was young does not have a snake in it. Although a snake would be quite interesting, most of the items filling that old trunk are artifacts of my youth: my old cheerleader uniform, summer camp yearbooks, . . . Read More
On Valentine’s Day I received the most unique valentine ever. Instead of a box of candy, flowers or some other sweet treat, on our dining room table were two sealed plastic containers and a card that read “About 500 Lady Bugs And Your Husband Wish You A Happy Valentine’s Day.” My gift was 500 ladybugs . . . Read More
I’ve been thinking about integrity lately, mostly in response to a situation unrelated to the Seed. I’ve pondered what it is that makes one a person of integrity and ways I can be more vigilant about living in an integrous way. I was reflecting on this Saturday while out in the garden with three of . . . Read More
Admittedly, I’m not a dog person. I grew up with dogs, especially collies, but when I became an adult and started a school, we never had pets. After spending my whole day taking care of children, there wasn’t much left for an animal. And because of the amount of time we spend away from home, . . . Read More
It was such a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I had to be in the garden for awhile. I felt a little guilty allowing myself this time, knowing that all of the lead teachers were likely working away on their progress reports. I then reminded myself that I put in my decades of writing progress reports, and . . . Read More
On Sunday night for the first time since I started writing my blog, I couldn’t think of what to write. As I’ve told the young writers I’ve worked with for over three decades, it isn’t a matter of not having a topic, but of having too many to choose from. Life has been full lately . . . Read More
Last Wednesday I gave a tour of the Seed to a large group of potential parents. We were also joined that day by a delightful teacher from New Zealand who was visiting Arizona as part of the Tempe Sister City Exchange Program. We held our usual question and answer session in the staff room and . . . Read More
Recently we had friends over for dinner and it was a proud moment to be able to serve a salad completely grown in our garden (minus the feta, cranberries, and dressing). The bowl contained onions, chard, mustard greens, kale, spinach, cilantro, and lettuce. I consider it no small privilege to eat a salad like that. . . . Read More
A few days before Christmas I was walking to the post office and noticed some multi-colored leaves on the sidewalk. Whipping out my iPhone, I moved in close for the photo shoot. Not only were the leaves of various brilliant colors, there were at least three that stood out for a different reason. Each had . . . Read More
Fluffy clouds made of shaving cream and glue rest on the rack, glitter and jewels sinking into the drying foam. In a few days the clouds will be transformed into hats that will rest on dancing preschoolers’ heads this coming Friday night. Every classroom has some sort of project like this going on in preparation . . . Read More
A row of paper snowmen can make all the difference in a child’s life. This little band of frozen friends has a special mission, to bring extra holiday cheer to mothers and children who desperately need it. On each snowman is written a gift idea, such as a baby doll, jacket, or pair of shoes. . . . Read More