This morning when I walked I was greeted by a sky laced with orange wispy clouds. I’ve anticipated this day for months. In early spring I heard about a two-week trip to Bhutan organized by a group from California. I was eager to go on the trip and applied. Initially I was not selected. I . . . Read More
I’m writing this particular blog today because I’ll be in Nebraska next week celebrating the life of my dad, James Kenner, Jr. He died peacefully on August 11, 2024, at the grand age of 99 years, 5 months, and 8 days. You can read his obituary if you want to know where he was born . . . Read More
I appreciate how nature often reflects what’s going on in my everyday life. On my morning walk this week I noticed a mother duck guiding her family of ducklings along the canal. I could tell she was training them in the ways of the water, giving them time and opportunities to find food for themselves. . . . Read More
We held our annual spring picnic on Saturday. It ended up being a celebration of both our school and Planet Earth. Although the day was quite warm, the energy and ambiance were so extraordinary that it was easy to forgive the 90 degree temperature. For a starter, we had live music from Dr. Jesse McGuire. . . . Read More
Energy is high around the Seed, as we approach parent/teacher conferences. It’s a time that demands much of the teachers, as they thoroughly prepare progress reports and gather materials to communicate each child’s progress. This season of reflection on individual children helps us establish our path forward for the second half of the school year. . . . Read More
From time to time a certain voice catches my attention. Most recently it’s the voice of Christiana Figueres, the former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2010 to 2016. She is also known for being a key figure in making the 2015 Paris Agreement possible. Christiana had a . . . Read More
The days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday look different from what they used to prior to the pandemic. For decades each class selected a food item and was responsible for preparing it for a school-wide feast. After a few songs with Jay, items like green beans, applesauce, quesadillas, cookies, fruit salad, mashed potatoes, and . . . Read More
A bulletin board covered with paper monarch butterflies is one of the first things you’ll see upon entering the building. It’s a group collaboration in honor of Día de los Muertos. According to one source, “Monarch butterflies are souls of ancestors who return to Earth for their annual visit.” On Wednesday and Thursday, celebrations were held, . . . Read More
Last Saturday evening at the Seed was magical. As the full moon rose in the east, dozens of families gathered on the Seed playground for an outdoor movie night. It took awhile for the sun to go down enough to see the image on the screen, and once it did, everyone’s attention shifted to the . . . Read More
During a committee meeting, Danielle and I were asked how the year is going. We reported that things are going well on many fronts, including our new flooring, our fabulous climbing structure, and the fact that at the start of the year everyone working here was a returning staff member. As the conversation continued, we . . . Read More
It’s been three mornings of celebrating each and every Seed child. One class at a time gathered beneath our huge shade trees on the playground to honor the excellent year we’ve had. Starting on Wednesday morning with the Toddler 1s students, parents arrived to join the ceremony, cameras in hand. Their ceremony was an exercise . . . Read More
On Thursday I was sitting under the loft in the 1st/2nd grade class with one of the first graders, finishing up the final touches of his published book about museums. Although we were highly focused on his book, I couldn’t help but be distracted by what was going on with the rest of the class. . . . Read More
Tuesday night I set foot on US soil again after two and a half weeks of traveling to India. Shortly thereafter, I received a phone call from my daughter, welcoming me back, and she put my three-year-old great-granddaughter on the phone. She asked, “Mamie, did you have a good day in India?” I told her . . . Read More
It’s been a week. It was Thursday before I was able to work at my desk for any length of time. As predicted by the media, the trifecta of winter ailments (covid, influenza, and RSV) has hit our staff and their families hard. We seem to be slowly coming out of it, but there’s the . . . Read More
Beginning school in early August has its challenges, one being the Arizona heat. We’ve been lucky so far that the temperatures have hovered under 100, allowing us to be outside for midday recess. Our policy is if it’s 100 degrees we will offer an indoor/outdoor option. When it hits 110, we keep everyone inside, except . . . Read More
I first met Elsie Moore in the late 1980s, around the time of the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster. I remember vividly sitting at a low table with Elsie and her husband, Wade. They were looking for a kindergarten program for their eldest son, Arthur. She was pregnant with her third son, Allen. As always, she was . . . Read More
Excitement is growing for our upcoming Welcoming the Winter Solstice: Darkness to Light celebration next Thursday, December 16. Artwork made by our students is showing up everywhere around the building, including bigger-than-life puffins and an igloo decorated with cotton balls. Personalized six-pointed stars sparkle in the hallway, and holiday desert cacti await final touches. . . . Read More
In two weeks we will experience a new Seed event and, perhaps, tradition. Since the 1980s we’ve celebrated the winter solstice as a universal approach to the holidays, in respect for the variety of families the Seed serves. The original celebration included music, singing, and dancing. Each class was responsible for preparing a dance that . . . Read More
There was a bit of a commotion on Thursday in the 1st/2nd grade outdoor area. With the weather cooling, there’s been considerably more activity outdoors. The commotion was the construction of a “swimming pool” for their outdoor classroom. It involved several shovels, numerous project managers, watering cans full of water, and lots of mud. No . . . Read More
I spent last week in the small town in Nebraska where I grew up. Although the days were warm, autumn was in the air. None of the trees were turning colors yet, and the greenery in front of my parents’ house was plentiful. Near the driveway was a plant that had poofy white flowers that . . . Read More
I spent Monday morning wandering Silver Strand Beach, just south of Coronado, California. It had been almost two years since I’d walked that shoreline, and I was more than happy to be there. It wasn’t an ordinary Monday by any means—it was my 70th birthday. To be honest, it feels unbelievable to have reached this . . . Read More
Generally, I avoid writing about individuals with staff or students. I don’t want to give the appearance of showing favoritism in our tightly-knit community. We’re a team, and everyone counts. This week, however, we have a unique situation involving one of our staff members, and I couldn’t help myself. Today is the last day for . . . Read More
Our summer program is off to a glorious beginning. We’ve welcomed back many of our current students, as well as families we haven’t seen since March 2020. Additionally, we have a number of students who only attend our summer program who are here for another six weeks of immersion in the Seed experience. Many of . . . Read More
If there’s anything the 2020-2021 school year has given us, it’s an overabundance of opportunities to be innovative. After missing their graduation a year ago, we wanted to make sure our 3rd-5th graders had a memorable ceremony. Although some of the mitigations for COVID-19 have eased up a bit, we still have to follow . . . Read More