“expecto petronum”
—
“dear miss kennedy, i know this spell. if you do that magic it just keeps you safe from stuff if you are in danger.”
– from my student, l.
—
one of kindest and most wonderful gifts i’ve ever received
—
“kindness is a magical spell –
performed by enlightened beings –
meant to enchant hearts and lift weary souls that they might fly.”
-richelle e. goodrich
when you choose
to step out of your comfort zone
to dip your lucky charms into ranch dressing
and fully enjoy eating them that way
no matter how others react
that is confidence.
—
“i have made the choices that work best for me. i know i cannot please everyone, and that’s fine.”
-marlee matlin
it took a while and a team of busy gatherers
but the kinder were happy to announce
they had collected and lined up
79 rocks
and that equals 1 museum.
—
“as with other phases of nature, I have probably loved the rocks more than I have studied them.’
-john burroughs
the kinder discover yet another miracle
—
“every moment of light and dark is a miracle.”
-walt whitman
when someone in our class
got injured while playing outside
the kinder quickly sprang into action
creating art and cards for their friend
23 pieces of art from 14 children
given to her to know she was cared about
a quiet smile was her gift back to them.
—
“making art is like giving a gift: evidence of your spirit and that you are here.”
– paddy mitchell
—
i’m ready for you, kinder!
—
art credit: gary larson, the far side
love seeing my granddaughters
riding while filled with a gentle spirit and mutual trust
love all the other grandies coming out
to see what they have been working on
love that they each have different things they love to do
karate, basketball, writing, swimming, cooking, reading, fantasy games,
swimming, horseback riding, drawing, helping people, flying, exploring,
floating, small business building, playing, celebrating
yet they all have the same tender spot for animals
while living life and learning.
—
“from horses we may learn not only about the horse itself
but also about animals in general,
indeed about ourselves and about life as a whole.”
-g
one of the kinder drew this portrait of me in class
and
it is one of my favorite portraits of all time.
—
‘every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”
-oscar wilde
the kinder wondered what happened to the big, old tree they used to play under
it was a good tree
we sat under it when it was hot in the sun and its shade kept us cool
we collected pretty leaves that floated down from it in the fall
it was on a hill and we ran by it in the winter when we were playing in the snow
pieces of it had been falling off for a very long time
we guess that maybe it was very old and very sick and it was getting too tired
the kinder began to put its little pieces back on to decorate it
we hope that in the spring
a new sapling will come up near where the old tree used to stand so tall.
—
“a tree’s wood is also its memoir.”
-hope jahren
when you try and try
to make a snowman
the fluffy, sticky, wet snow is gone
the icy, hard, dry snow is here
you think and think
of another way
just decorate a bump that you find
make a flat-puffy snowman
and there you go.
—
“creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. it fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.”
– bruce garrabrandt
I didn't have my glasses on.... 