Category Archives: childhood

Feb7

scouting out.

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 I only made it through two uniforms in the lineup

brownie and junior scout

with aspirations to go all the way through

beginning as a brownie (fun!)

 officially  becoming a junior scout

after my ‘flying up’ ceremony 

I imagined all kinds of adventure

canoeing, camping, first aid, parades, hiking, building fires, survival, rescues…

earning badges galore

anything was possible

bring it on!

but  

 my leader had a different vision 

of what a junior scout should do and be

we made a lot of crafts

like oranges with cloves stuck in them

(pomaders)

to use in closets at home

each week I looked forward to the announcement of what was to come

yet it was always another craft

or making something to eat on foil

literally all I remember 

 then the cookie sale

 I was really quiet and dreaded going door to door

I knew my days in the scouts were numbered

this was not my path

I would need to seek out my own adventure

 and while my path was all over the  place

that’s exactly what I did. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        —

‘I am an aging Girl Scout.’

-amy sedaris, american actor, comedian, and writer

Apr11

kinder-garden.

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jane

today the kinder saw the space where they will create their garden.

 

—

“why try to explain miracles to your children when you can have them plant a garden?”

-*janet kilburn phillips

*Janet is a gardener who found that she had to employ a growth mindset when she moved to the United States from England. She had previously been creating English cottage gardens but encountered challenges when she tried to grow them in a drastically different climate and in heavy clay soil. After experimenting with her gardens she created a CD called English Cottage Gardening — American Style. She adapted and persevered and found a new way to succeed at something that she loved.

 

 

Feb10

tree huggers.

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 the kinder were very worried about a tree that had lost some of its bark

they spent a long time finding little chunks of bark lying on the ground

trying to piece it back together and fill it in like a puzzle.

some had questions about how it might have fallen off.

‘was it a big, big storm?’

‘did something hurt it?’

‘did it get sick?’

some had thoughts about the tree.

 ‘i remember this tree from when we played here.’

‘that’s kind of sad.’

‘don’t worry, i saw in a book that it will be okay.’

try as they might, they couldn’t get the bark 

to stick back on the bare part of the trunk

they left the pieces nearby on the ground around it

 used a stick to mark where it was

 gave it a hug before we walked back to our classroom.

—

“there’s nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.”

-bob ross

Jan24

reports.

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*frank the 6-month-old puppy with his report card that hailed him as the “life of the party.”

—
spending the recent past writing report cards
for the kinder
 always a fascinating trip down memory lane
seeing how far they’ve come already
an unlimited distance still to go
the good, the bad, and the unexplained
all the good hearts, dramas, tears, and laughs
each their very own person
learning as we go.
all of us.

—

*more of frank the puppy’s report card:

“We sent him there because he is truly the most energetic puppy I have ever met,” his mom told Newsweek. “Our older dog needed a break,” she joked.

When Frank came home with the report card, she was in stitches. “I thought it was hysterical when I saw it because I can only imagine that Frank is probably the class clown that’ll do anything for a laugh and that’s definitely his idea of the best time,” she said.

Described on the card as the “life of the party,” the report also says that Frank loved wrestling with his buddies.

“It makes my heart so happy to know that he has so many pals at preschool,” said Spahr. Working on etiquette skills in his preschool class, the report also told Frank’s owners that his best friends are Daisy, Cooper, Vader, Hudson, and even a dog named Angus Beef.

—

“my report card always said, ‘jim finishes first and then disrupts the other students.”

-jim carrey

 

—

credits: newsweek magazine uk, alice gibbs

Jan20

snow very happy.

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“well, I know now.  know a little more how much a simple thing like a snowfall can mean to a person”
― sylvia plath

 

 

Dec9

move-in ready!

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this looks like my kind of place!

—

i have such fond memories of childhood forts-

blanket forts

pillow forts

under the table forts

box forts

tree forts

garage forts

lower bunkbed forts

underground cave forts

behind the couch forts

secret forts

forts with passwords

anything/anywhere/anytime

we could find to makeover into a fort,

we did.

—

are you ‘pro-fort?’

is yes, what kind of forts did you enjoy?

 

—

“forte is french for fort.”

*buddy wakefield,  

*american poet, three-time world champion spoken word artist, and the most toured performance poet in history

 

 

 

 

—

image credit: facebook, ty to b. miller

Oct25

dream big.

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watching the big kids and wishing you were on the other side of the fence. 

 

 

—

“dream big, little one.”

-a.u.

Oct2

butter rum?

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am i the only one who never ate butter rum lifesavers as a child
because i thought they had rum in them?
maybe pirates ate them?
for some reason i never questioned the idea that they’d sell liquor candy to children.
—
it turns out they didn’t, as described by the candy company below:
what flavor are butter rum lifesavers?
“the aroma alone will ignite your tastebuds as you happily experience the irresistible and warm flavors. each candy is filled with an incredibly creamy texture and a buttery and sweet taste with a hint of saltiness. warm and smooth tasting and echoing a gentle note of rum, creating a decadent and distinctive flavor.”
what?!
 paradigm shift.
—
“candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.”
-ogden nash, american poet
—
image credit: life savers, mars candy company
Oct1

be water.

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when all are watering the plants at the same time,

while facing each other,

what could possibly happen?

let’s do the probability math.

 

—

“be water, my friend.”

-bruce lee

 

Sep27

chopped.

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today we began using scissors

and

some people really got the hang of it.

 

—

“who took my good scissors?”

-mom