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


Creepy Characters

The hallway is a lively place this week.  Parent room reps from each class came in and decorated the doors.  A brew of ghosts and gooey stuff, pumpkins, candy corn, ghosts, creepy underwear, bats flying in front of a full moon, a giant spider, and green balloons are some of the decorations.  One class made . . . Read More


In Lieu of Halloween

 As the months keep adding up since the pandemic began, it’s easy to slide into the mindset of focusing on what we’ve lost.  I struggle with this daily, and all of it is making many of us feel incredibly tired.  Yet we press on, showing up every day to serve our students, support each other, and . . . Read More


Instead of Selling Candy

The Seed carnival started in the 1980s as an alternative to trick-or-treating.  It has evolved over the years into a huge community event, attended by current and alumni families, as well as neighbors and other local friends.  It’s become a much anticipated first return to the Seed after families leave to move on to other . . . Read More


Taking A Break

For over thirty years, the Mystery Theater has been a part of the Seed’s annual Halloween carnival.  It began in the 1980s as a production put on by Seed staff to entertain carnival attendees.  Dozens of staff have participated in all phases of the production, including script writing, acting, choreography, set design, costumes, music management, . . . Read More


Color Study in Grey

Early Tuesday morning I sat in the dentist chair, looking out large windows into the overcast skies looming over the valley.  I noticed a heron perched on top of the building in front of me.  It was a color study in grey.  Monday was the autumn equinox, and our shifting weather matched the change of . . . Read More


A Not So Silent Auction

On Friday the 2018 carnival will be in full force.  Months of preparation will come to fruition for the Seed’s big Halloween event.  The bounce houses will be installed, desserts will be arranged in delicious piles, and lines will form all evening for this year’s Mystery Theater performance of I Need My Monster.  Racks of kid-decorated . . . Read More


Hanging Out with the Monsters

When the carnival starts next Friday night, you won’t see me right away.  I’ll be hanging out backstage with the monsters.  You see, for the past 31 years, I’ve been one of the Mystery Theater players.  We’re a dedicated band of hooligans (also Seed staff members) who enjoy making people laugh.   The Mystery Theater . . . Read More


It’s Carnival Season

There are few traditions as well established as our annual Halloween carnival.  It’s a labor of love by many people in our Seed village, and it happens close to the beginning of the new school year.  For new families, it can seem like information overload.  I’m writing this to highlight a few components of the . . . Read More


Carnival…Seed Style

It’s carnival week.  We’re in the throes of a truly exciting time at the Seed.  Many, many people have been, and continue to be, hard at work putting it all together.  Parents and grandparents are baking treats, stirring up chili, and purchasing kid-friendly drinks.  Our highly efficient APA team has been steadily assembling silent auction . . . Read More


Sweet Lesson in Service

Halloween is a sweet time of year, and I’m not talking candy.  Certainly it’s sweet when the temperatures fall below 100, even if it’s just barely in double digits.  It’s fun to hear the kids talk excitedly about their Halloween costumes and what they plan to do at the carnival.  As I wrote last week, . . . Read More


Zombie Love

Without fail, the same thing occurs between our September teacher work day and the annual Seed Halloween carnival.  Regardless of who’s on the staff, it happens every year.   It involves wacky costumes, glasses with noses, ridiculous jokes, creativity, and imagination.  It’s a tradition that dates back to circa 1986, called the Mystery Theater.  Started by Mike . . . Read More


Halloweens Past

As kids growing up in a rural Nebraska town, Halloween was a highlight of the year.  Once we were old enough to go trick or treating, our parents let us loose to spend hours going from house to house on a mission for “the goods.”  Word spread quickly which houses gave out popcorn balls and . . . Read More