Repurposed

I’m loving these new days of autumn, even though we are still in the upper 80s for midday recess.  After such a long, hot summer,  it’s wonderful to feel a breeze that’s slightly cooler.  The seasonal change has invited more time outside to enjoy our playground and outdoor areas.   While supervising a small group . . . Read More


Our APA Is Alive and Well

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


Food Rainbows

Our food study has been deliciously successful this year.  In speaking with various teachers, several themes have been present across grade levels: learning about foods by color and what they do for our bodies inviting parents/grandparents to come in and share favorite or traditional foods of their families/culture making a connection to gardening and our . . . Read More


Sorting Through the Layers

First, I want to say thanks for all the kind words in response to my mom’s passing, the cards, flowers, and generous donations of trees in her memory.  My heart was quite touched.  In all honesty, my  initial response to her death was relief.  As this week has unfolded, I’ve moved into forgiveness.  I’m intentionally . . . Read More


Wrapping It Up

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


Shout Out for Gayle

One of my favorite annual Seed traditions started years ago and continues to this day.  Each year Changing Hands Bookstore donates a gift card to each of our Seed graduates, and the school matches the amount on the card.  It’s an arrangement that originated with Gayle Shanks, co-founder of Changing Hands, whose son, Michael, and . . . Read More


Bouquet of Moms

In every class there is a flurry of creativity that will translate into Mother’s Day gifts.  Without revealing any top secret surprises, it’s heartwarming to see such an outpouring of appreciation to the moms who are such important members of our community.  The Preschool 4s class held an extra special celebration in honor of their . . . Read More


Why I Continue

Yesterday afternoon I returned from a week in Nebraska.  Most of that time was spent with my extremely elderly parents, who are hanging on by a thread.  Still living in their own house, they are daily supported by my brother and his wife, and one of our neighbors who is a childhood friend.  The intention . . . Read More


Echolocation

 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


In Celebration of Progress

We still have two months till the end of the school year, and already it feels like we’re in motion toward that ending.  Lately I’ve witnessed multiple examples of growth toward mastery of skills practiced for, in some cases, years.  Snippets of paper with invented spelling that a year ago was unreadable, now hold words . . . Read More


Among Other Humans

This week I’ve had the opportunity to observe our three youngest classes as part of our annual teacher evaluation process.  Additionally, we had another teacher presentation from our professional development series featuring classroom practices.  These experiences, as well as more time doing playground supervision, gave me plenty to write about.  When I looked for a . . . Read More


Toddlers Eating Carrots

You’ve probably seen extra vans parked in our lot these past two weeks, and plenty of ladders and equipment strewn in different parts of the school.  At last, our new fire surveillance panel has been installed, and the final details are being worked out.  It feels great to have this upgrade behind us.  We received . . . Read More


seedjustice

 We’ve been practicing social justice at the Seed since we first began in 1977.  Granted, our students were very young and there were just a few of them, but even in those early days we talked about saving the planet and being kind to each other.  Over time, as we grew larger and expanded our . . . Read More


Getting Ready

This entire week has been one of preparations.  Danielle and I have focused most of our attention on setting up schedules, staffing, and the calendar for upcoming aspects of our program.  For example, we have been talking about registration for the 2023-2024 school year, considering placement decisions and classroom configurations.  We have had conversation about . . . Read More


Solstice Light

Despite all the hustle and bustle the season, I love this week of school leading up to the winter break.  The winter solstice falls right in the middle of it, which is an added bonus.  Over the years, the winter solstice has become one of my favorite days of the year.  I like the history . . . Read More


Leaf Showers

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


Campaign for a Climber

First of all, thanks to all of you who purchased bricks to support the playground project.  We look forward to adding them to the current collection near the ramp to the playground.  Now, as we slide into December, we will begin our capital campaign for the remainder of funds needed for our playground structure.   . . . Read More


Sticks and Roughhousing

From time to time, situations arise that force us to reflect on our practices and policies.  We use these situations to refine what we do, driven by what’s best for children, what’s safe, and what works in a school setting.  Such is the case of sticks and roughhousing.   Sticks have always been a part . . . Read More


Food Kits

How can it be that we’re already entering the second half of November?  The cooler days make it seem more believable, yet it’s all going so quickly.  On the agenda for the Seed in the coming weeks is our annual gathering the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  In years past, each class cooked an item to contribute . . . Read More


Larger and More Alive

 Over the weekend I traveled to Cheney, Washington, for my friend Elaine’s  celebration of life.  I was invited to join her family at their lake home for a Saturday afternoon gathering in her honor.   Their house felt like a shrine to Elaine Surbeck, with photos of every stage of her life filling walls and . . . Read More


Precocious Pumpkins

You may have noticed the parade of silly pumpkins lined up along the hallway this week.  You might not recognize them as pumpkins, since they’re disguised as doughnuts, an ice cream cone, a very hungry caterpillar, and other fanciful characters.  We wanted to do something fun to usher in the Halloween season, especially since we . . . Read More


A Place in my Brain

In preparation for a writing lesson about pumpkin seeds with the 3rd/4th graders, I found these few lines from a poem from “Jerusalem,” a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye: “There’s a place in my brain where hate won’t grow. I touch its riddle: wind, and seeds. Something pokes us as we sleep. It’s late but . . . Read More


Gluing Seeds

Now that parent/teacher conferences are behind us, and the weather is definitely cooling down (relatively speaking), many classes are at various stages of planting their gardens.  It’s always an exciting time of year to start the process and then see what happens in the coming months.  Our garden soil is prepped each year by Bill, . . . Read More


Talent Show

These days fractals seem to  occupy my mind.  In her book, Emergent Strategy, adrienne maree brown describe fractals as “never-ending…infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales.  They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop.”  Further on in the chapter about fractals, she applies this pattern . . . Read More