Regarding Celebrations

You may notice the beautiful bulletin board in the hallway, celebrating the Ramadan holiday.  It’s part of a year-long effort to represent and celebrate the various cultures of our Seed families.  Prior to the Ramadan display being installed, I was asked to review the content of the material that was going to be used, to make . . . Read More


Mysterious Markings

I know I write about the Seed’s outdoor space quite often.  I love being outside with the children, watching them play in all the ways they do.  It’s when many of them are at their finest, using their imaginations freely with no adults telling them how to play.  Certainly we keep track of how materials . . . Read More


Garden Renaissance

In the sweaty days of August during our teacher prep week, we were approached by two enthusiastic parents about starting a volunteer garden club. It was a busy week with a long list of tasks and, to be honest, the gardens weren’t high on my to-do list.  Nevertheless, the pair had such enthusiasm, I found . . . Read More


Even In Our Neighborhood

Last weekend I was out for a walk along the canal by my house.  I was appalled by the huge pile of trash accumulated near a barrier consisting of styrofoam Polar Pop cups, recyclable water bottles, a GrubHub cooler, and a soccer ball.  I shared this with the 1st graders to remind them that climate . . . Read More


What’s Not to Love?

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


Sifting Through Climate Change

Since I last wrote, my four-year run of avoiding Covid came to a screeching halt.  Mostly it  felt like a bad case of bronchitis, for which I am grateful.  I’m slowly sifting through the residual symptoms, and am glad to be on this side of it.  I now understand the brain fog piece, and see . . . Read More


Activist Training

Each year around this time, we learn about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others, like Rosa Parks, who contributed to the Civil Rights Movement.  Although social justice practices are ongoing, this time of year is an opportunity to hone in on activism. I’ve always loved putting together studies, and the chance to . . . Read More


Here Comes the Sun

On Wednesday evening, from 5:30-7 pm, our playground will be transformed into a magical evening of light, art, and music.  This year will be especially fun, with our theme, “Here Comes the Sun,” featuring Beatles music.  To capture a glimpse of this extraordinary Seed event, check out this link.  We wish you all a safe . . . Read More


Community Collaboration

When the pandemic arrived in 2020, an important part of my life was hit hard, Desert Song Healing Arts Center.  Since 2003, it was my yoga community where I taught and practiced, as well as a personal refuge in many ways.  The same week the Seed shut down, the studio’s doors also closed.  Several of . . . Read More


Gathering in Gratitude

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


Ancestral Remembrance

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


Emergent Curriculum for Teachers

We often talk about our emergent curriculum, especially with new incoming families. It’s described on our website as “an organic approach to learning that incorporates the interests and passions of children, their teachers, and relevant issues or current events.” We use it because “it offers children and teachers the most autonomy as learners.  Using an . . . Read More


Cricket Workshop

Like most people I’ve talked with lately, my heart feels immensely heavy.  It’s the news, the level of stress we all live with, and the fact that it’s past mid-October and it continues to be over 100 at lunch recess.  We have such easy lives compared to many, and it’s still a lot.  I take . . . Read More


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


Embracing Loss

Sunday late afternoon, I was heading back home from a walk.  We live in a neighborhood called The Pines, named for the dozens of pine trees planted in residents’ yards.  Over the past two decades, many of them have died and been replaced with more desert-friendly varieties, such as palo verde, mesquite, and Chinese elm . . . Read More


I Couldn’t Do It, Then I Practiced

 There’s a theme emerging from our new climbing structure:  I couldn’t do it, then I practiced.  In under ten days, examples of strength, determination, courage, and triumph have shown up over and over.  It’s a beautiful sight to behold.   On the first day of school, one of the PreK students stood at the edge . . . Read More


Juneteenth

 On Monday, June 19, the Seed will be closed in honor of Juneteenth for the first time in the school’s history.  Now a federal holiday, Britt Hawthorne describes it as a day “to commemorate the day that enslaved Black Texans in the U.S. were finally free.”  It’s the longest Black American holiday to be celebrated, . . . 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