This week I had the most excellent opportunity to observe in the Early 3s. It was during open centers, and there was no shortage of action or engaged activity. As I entered the room, two children were finishing up snack, one sat quietly working at the writing table, some were exploring natural objects near the . . . Read More
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
You might notice the sticker recently adhered to the glass door of our Little Free Library. It came with the books and materials for the READ IN COLOR program sponsored by the Little Free Library Foundation, with books provided through Southwest Human Development. Their mission statement says: “READ IN COLOR aims to promote the distribution . . . Read More
I’ve intended to write this blog for awhile, since learning that Vivian Paley passed away last summer. We met in the late 1980s at a workshop hosted by a local teacher organization. The event was hosted at Awakening Seed, and Vivian and I made a connection right away. In addition to our common practices of . . . Read More
We want you to know about our exceptional K-4 program. Although we’re just entering our fourth month of the school year, it will soon be time for making decisions about the future. In order to help families make the most informed decision about elementary school placement, we are offering a K-4 information session on Wednesday, . . . Read More
I can tell it’s spring, and it’s not just the weather. All kinds of blooming is happening at the Seed. I noticed dozens of pink and purple blossoms on our peach tree, and the apple tree has buds as well. Things are blooming inside the building, too, as was evident in the K-1 class last . . . Read More
It’s impossible for me to see wild geese and not think of Mary Oliver. High above the Platte River on a wintry Nebraska day or passing through the desert at the change of seasons, the wild geese are poetry in action. These words at the end of Oliver’s most famous poem, “Wild Geese,” have sustained me . . . Read More
As an alum of Arizona State University, I often receive ASU publications. One arrived last week that caught my eye. On the cover was a delightful photo of Alberto Ríos, an ASU professor, Arizona’s first poet laureate from 2013-15, and a former Seed parent. I read the engaging article about Alberto, his life, and his work . . . Read More
On Friday morning, as the hustle and bustle of carnival setup was transpiring, I received news that my longtime mentor and friend, Ralph Peterson, passed on from this world. It was fitting that he left us on the same day as the carnival. Ralph and his wife Georgia attended many Seed carnivals over the years. . . . Read More
I’ve had a relationship with invented spelling since I started teaching in 1977. Particularly during the 1980s when writing workshop in schools was spreading all over the country, invented spelling has played a big role in the lives of Seed writers and teachers. “Invented spelling, sometimes referred to as inventive spelling, is the practice of . . . Read More
Our Seed writers are on fire. It’s a rebirth of the writer’s workshops that were prevalent at the Seed in the 80s and 90s. Although there have been threads of writing throughout the school’s history, we wanted to re-establish the depth and volume of the past. So every Wednesday of our summer program we met . . . Read More
On my walk this morning, I heard the writer Elizabeth Gilbert quote her mom in a podcast. She said, “The big picture is in the details.” She was talking about the way in which the bigger view of a situation can be revealed in the details of a story. It seemed applicable for this week . . . Read More
As I write this, teachers and parents are engaged already in midyear conferences. The amount of preparation that goes into these conferences is significant. Lead teachers do most of the work and there are additional layers of staff support that round out the process. It’s a major wave of stories documented and preserved for . . . Read More