It’s the time of year when we start talking about the holidays, especially how to approach them in a developmentally appropriate, socially conscious way. Actually, we’ve been in serious conversation about this for more than a year, according to my blog from a year ago. For as long as I can remember, we’ve used The Anti-bias . . . Read More
Occasionally I have the opportunity to leave my desk and spend time with a class. This happened with the Prek children on Monday morning. After a story and snack, we all headed to their outdoor classroom on a beautiful sunny day. At first I watered the garden, simultaneously keeping an eye on the various activities . . . Read More
Since March 2020, the Seed has been in protection mode. We had to close down for five months due to Covid-19, until we knew enough about how to re-open safely. When we did open our doors again, there were months of intensive sanitizing, social distancing, and making sure everyone was wearing their mask. As time . . . Read More
Thursday morning a coyote crossed my path on my morning walk, just as I was listening to a conversation where the participants were sharing quotes that inspire hope. Here’s one of the quotes: “People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, . . . Read More
On Sunday we received news that our long time friend, Deborah Cox, passed away. Deborah and her family have been a part of the Seed’s history for decades. Prior to retirement, she served as the assistant director of the ASU Center for the Study of Race and Democracy. It was through Deborah and her family . . . Read More
If there’s one thing we’ve learned this week it’s that COVID-19 is real, and we need to remain vigilant now more than ever. Since we re-opened a year ago, we’ve consistently worn masks, practiced social distancing, kept classes separate, and followed protocols recommended by the county health department and CDC. Our cases last year were . . . Read More
We’ve entered our fourth day of school and, all things considered, we’re off to a good start. We have many wonderful new families, along with our wide range of returning families. It’s been a delightful experience to see our students back in person who have been at home for the past fifteen months. Additionally, . . . Read More
If there’s anything the 2020-2021 school year has given us, it’s an overabundance of opportunities to be innovative. After missing their graduation a year ago, we wanted to make sure our 3rd-5th graders had a memorable ceremony. Although some of the mitigations for COVID-19 have eased up a bit, we still have to follow . . . Read More
It was a wildlife day at the Seed. The morning began with the arrival of Winston, a staff member’s rabbit, who came to visit the toddler playground. He was quite popular with both toddlers and older students as he settled into his makeshift environment. As if that wasn’t enough excitement, the grandfather of two students . . . Read More
One morning on the playground a student ran up to me and announced that there were animal tracks in the mud under a tree. I wandered over to check them out, and sure enough, there was plenty of proof that we’d had a four-legged visitor, or visitors. My first guess was that it might be . . . Read More
Monday, March 15th, marked the ten-year anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis. It happened over spring break in 2011 on my first-born child’s birthday. It was a surreal day, and one that significantly altered the course of my life. I had “the good kind” of cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ, and managed to get through . . . Read More
It’s been a good year for peas. All along the sidewalk on the south side of the building, tall vines are loaded with white blossoms and forming pea pods. Peas are one of most popular crops in Seed gardens, and they rarely make it into the building. As soon as each pod grows full of . . . Read More
Every year our studies around social justice manifest in an organically unique way. There’s always a plan, and what actually happens emerges totally from the kids. Last weekend I was talking with one of my former 2nd graders, who is now a young mom, and she said, “I know you’re really into social justice right . . . Read More
A winter storm blasted through Phoenix on Monday, ripping three screens off our office windows and leaving piles of white precipitation scattered around the playground. I learned later that there is a special name for this precipitation, graupel. Graupel is described as “water that accumulates on snow above the ground, then freezes and creates . . . Read More
What I’ve always loved about this time of year as a teacher is the opportunity to explore human rights issues with children. Even though I haven’t been in the classroom for over ten years, I manage to keep my fingers in the pie, so to speak. It’s one of the most organic parts of my . . . Read More
Yesterday was another day of challenging news, and although I’ve vowed to give myself some space from all of the listening and reading, I’m having a hard time staying away from it. I want to know what’s going on in the world. I want to be informed so I can be a better teacher, leader, . . . Read More
The other day I noticed this beautiful sunflower on the verge of blooming. Two bees were scurrying about in the center where seeds will eventually form. It was perfect timing for a day early in the new year. Months before this moment of unfurling, I devoted considerable time and energy to protecting the seedling that . . . Read More
Under normal circumstances, this week would have been a high energy time around the Seed. We’d be putting final touches on the dances each class was about to present on Thursday night in our Celebration of the Winter Solstice. Dances would be unveiled on Wednesday morning at the dress rehearsal where we were all dazzled . . . Read More
Normally on this day we’d be hustling around, setting up tables, plugging in the warmer, and preparing for our all-school feast. The building would be filled with unbelievably mouth watering smells, and aluminum containers would be lined up for the eventual food service lines. Eventually families would start arriving, and after a large gathering in . . . Read More
It’s a week before Thanksgiving, and we hit a record 92 degrees on Tuesday. Hardly anything surprises me these days. In addition to the unusual weather, it’s a time of profound change, both externally and internally. Certain world events have triggered profound changes in myself, one of the most significant being the killing of George . . . Read More
Wednesday was Veterans Day. I held my own personal celebration by calling my 95-year-old father, Jim Kenner. He’s a veteran and continues to be involved in his local American Legion post. In fact, he was the recipient of a 75-year continuous service pin in March, right before the pandemic hit. We were able to be . . . Read More
The last sentence of my previous blog reads, “We are the Seed after all, and our work will always be to reach toward the light.” I thought of this Wednesday morning with all the weight of uncertainly around the election, the growing number of COVID-19 cases on the planet, and the daily responsibility of making . . . Read More
A favorite part of my day is pickup between 3 and 3:20. Over time, my task has become walking children from their classrooms on the south side of the building to their parents waiting at the gate. It’s a time to connect with certain children I don’t normally see throughout the day. Some students are . . . Read More
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