From time to time a certain voice catches my attention. Most recently it’s the voice of Christiana Figueres, the former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2010 to 2016. She is also known for being a key figure in making the 2015 Paris Agreement possible. Christiana had a . . . Read More
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
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
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
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
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
As Earth Day rolls around, we take time to reflect on our practices at the Seed to evaluate how we’re doing and what we can do better. As I look around, one area in which we’ve improved significantly is with lunches and water bottles. Throughout the school, children of all ages are utilizing reusable containers, . . . 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
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
Tuesday night I set foot on US soil again after two and a half weeks of traveling to India. Shortly thereafter, I received a phone call from my daughter, welcoming me back, and she put my three-year-old great-granddaughter on the phone. She asked, “Mamie, did you have a good day in India?” I told her . . . Read More
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
For eleven years I taught first and second graders. I believe it was some of my best work as a teacher that ultimately resulted with years of memorable teaching. In fact, I’m still friends with many of my students and their families from that era. Looking back, it was my most prolific time as a . . . Read More
You might notice a large very hungry caterpillar hanging above the Toddler 1s door. The paper was painted by our littlest toddlers, then cut and shaped by a teacher to make the caterpillar. It’s a wonderful introduction to our annual food study, using Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Each year we devote the two . . . Read More
I listen to so many podcasts, it’s hard to remember which thoughts and ideas come from which podcasts. Often podcasters interview each other and/or appear on a number of episodes within a short period of time. I love this intermingling of thought leaders. It’s interesting how they might speak on the same topic with different . . . Read More
I know it’s unbearably hot this time of year, as sweat becomes a natural state of being. That said, I love the storms and cloud formations that appear during July in Phoenix. Last night the clouds were unusually mesmerizing, and I’m glad I captured a few views before the light changed. As I continued my . . . Read More
It’s a time of practice for our 2nd-6th grade class. They are in the throes of preparation for the 32nd annual Way-off Broadway production. It’s a long-standing summer tradition here at the Seed and involves prop making, backdrop painting, practicing dance moves, and learning lines. The performance at 2:00PM (which will be presented on Zoom), . . . Read More