When the school began in 1977, in the garage of our family home, we established a set of values upon which the school would operate. They were based upon the description of a school about which my spiritual teacher would read to us. Basically, it was a place where all involved would be respected and . . . Read More
This is a bit of a sequel to last week’s blog, “Love Day.” The day after the valentine celebration at school (celebrated on the 12th because school was closed for conferences on the 14th), my great-granddaughter dumped out her personally decorated box of kindergarten valentines on our bathroom floor. It was an assortment of commercially . . . Read More
I grew up on a dead end street. For over 70 years, the red and white house at the end of Olive Avenue was home to my parents and, in the early decades, my three siblings and me. I am the oldest, and our ages span nine years. Growing up in the 1950s in rural . . . Read More
With a slight shift in the weather toward cooler days, I noticed this morning a group of preschoolers out in Gwen’s Castle. During the warmer months there tends to be less activity in the space, but once it cools off, children begin to gravitate to that area of the playground. The Castle was created in . . . Read More
Today is our last day of summer camp. The two oldest classes are preparing for their afternoon performances, and teachers are going over checklists for closing up their summer classrooms. We have a few construction projects going on, and two classrooms are being prepared for painting. One of my projects for the summer has been . . . 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
It’s been a week of living creature events. On Tuesday, an injured black cat was discovered hanging around the trash can by our front door. It had a collar and appeared to be injured. Though our camera system, it was revealed that it had been hit by a car. There was a bit of blood . . . Read More
I can’t help myself from writing about the great outdoors. It’s full of surprises, discoveries, and inspiration. On Wednesday morning we were surprised by a visit from a neighborhood toad. It was about the size of a medium baked potato, and didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere else. One of the . . . Read More
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
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
This past summer when we installed our new climbing structure, a mountain of sand was displaced by wood chips that would become the material for the fall zone. It was 20 inches of sand that had to be moved to a new location. Some of it went to the other side of the building, and . . . Read More
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
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 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
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
So many life lessons happen in the sand circle. The Seed playground continues to provide opportunities that serve as a microcosm of the way the world works. A brief time supervising the Early 3s during their Monday recess did just that. During the pandemic we removed many of the pots and pans from the . . . 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
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
It was 102 at recess today. Although I appreciated the rain that August monsoons brought, I’m glad to be stepping into September. The rain brought plenty of humidity, and this has been exacerbated by extra hot days this past week. For outdoor play when the temperature is 100 to 109, our practice is to offer . . . 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
For the last 23 years our climbing structure, made from recycled plastic “wood,” has served us well. Hundreds of children have played tag, taken wild imaginative journeys, and escaped from pursuing bad guys on it. Over time a few components had to be replaced or removed, and quite honestly, our current structure is ready to . . . Read More
Life on the playground is a constant dance of balancing creativity, exploration, and imagination with plain old safety measures. We look at it as a fluid process of measuring affordable risks. We let children (except toddlers) play with sticks and bricks. Yes, we encourage them to walk when they have sticks in their hands, and . . . Read More
Earlier this week I was covering a playground shift and noticed a kindergarten student exploring the outer edges of our outdoor space. I wandered over and decided to engage him in conversation about the cool shirt he was wearing. It was brown with a bright green snake on it. I asked him if he liked . . . Read More
During recess I noticed a child sitting by herself in the grass under a shady tree. She seemed perfectly happy engaged in her own little world. I approached her to check in, and was amazed at her willingness to talk. Keep in mind, this is a child I’ve known for several years, with whom I’ve . . . Read More