kinders find tiny ants, roly-poly’s, and baby spiders
when playing on the sidewalk
and decide to create a playground for them
using all of their pretty chalks.
—
“everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
-confucius
May16
Category Archives: children
Sep14
organization.
to do list – style a:
play with the ponies 1.
pack the cars. 2.
go to bed 3.
get in the car to go on vacation 4.
do fun things 5.
—
a major contrast in approaches
both with the same desired outcome
two grandies
each with their own
style of list
and
way of getting ready
and
organizing things
to go on a trip.
—
to do list – style b:
(loose translation):
‘go around and around in a twisty circle and get some stuff done
and not some other stuff and then hide for a while
and eat something you find outside
and then get in the car to go on vacation and do fun things.’
—
(i am more of a ‘b-list style’ of organizer. what about you – a or b?)
—
“the process and organization leading up to cooking the egg
can tell you a lot about the cook.”
-david chang
Oct28
advice.
out walking with the kinders
i come up behind
an unlikely pair
who generally aren’t together,
mid-conversation.
one who is learning to cope
with separating from a twin,
the other who is having a hard time coping
with separating from a best friend.
the only real separation
is that the friend/twin in each case
wants to seek out other friends
and expand their horizons.
one says to the other,
“i know she wants to play with other people
and when she needs to do that,
i just let her go.
i know it’s what she has to do
and then she comes back later.”
the other responds,
“wow. how do you do that?”
she answers,
“it’s just what you do.”
i am amazed by
this four year-old’s insight and advice,
as many adults
still have not mastered this understanding.
—–
the only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on.
it is never of any use to oneself.
– oscar wilde
—
image credit: google images
Aug17
roller coaster math.
what do you think, little f,
should we have another baby one day ?
no.
why not?
because of the roller coaster.
what?
the roller coaster.
why?
because then you’d have 3
and someone would always
have to sit alone.
yes, i see now.
—
life is a roller coaster; you can either scream every time you hit a bump
or you can throw your hands up in the air and enjoy!
– author unknown
—
image credit: the coaster critic.com
Jun3
“and all the colors i am inside have not been invented yet.” – shel silverstein
as our year together
comes to an end
sharing
an oval rug
a room
a building
the great outdoors
the community around us
we venture into new territory
making the leap
across snake rock
something new
and not so scary
with big kids
to lead the way
and
teachers
standing by
quietly watching
as
they grow into
their next adventure
with little fear
with great excitement
and
just a few tears.
—
“ listen to the mustn’ts, child,
listen to the don’ts.
listen to the shouldn’ts.
the impossibles, the won’ts.
listen to the never haves.
then listen close to me—
anything can happen, child,
anything can be.”
– shel silverstein
May19
a community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm. – henrik ibsen
community helpers wear many hats.
May9
never be afraid to sit a while and think. – lorraine hansberry
a young artist contemplates her surroundings
May2
being in the same room with people and creating something together is a good thing. – robin williams
the kinders create
Apr23
“sometimes it’s best to hide in plain sight.” ― david estes
a
rarely-seen
ever-elusive
crooked-lensed
rat squirrel
was seen in my room today.
Apr14
sometimes i lie awake at night, and i ask, ‘where have i gone wrong?’ then a voice says to me, ‘this is going to take more than one night. – charles schultz
once again
it seemed
like a good idea
at the time.
–
i was seven years old
when my
very cute
neighbor/paper boy
jd
told on me
for riding my bike
where i wasn’t
allowed to be riding
i got caught lying
by my mother
who asked me about it
i never was
a good actress
and there were
consequences
so together
with one of my sisters
and our good friend
we planned
our sweet revenge
in a style
only young children
could create.
–
we would collect
a huge pile of burrs
from the field
behind our houses
hide it in our summer tent
wait for the boys to show up
and
throw it at him
so he’d see who he messed with.
–
but
it took so long
it was such a hot summer day
it was so boring in there
and
i fell asleep in the tent
but somehow curled up
right on our
prickly pile of revenge
and
i woke up
with my hair
horribly embedded
with the all the burrs
so i
burst out crying
walked inside
asking nana
to help me
brush them out
i lost lots of hair
it hurt
it took
what seemed like hours
and
when it was over
my hair resembled
a giant ball of split end fuzz
so i
i went out on the front porch
to relax and eat a popsicle
and saw jd
delivering our paper
and
his hair looked darn good.
–
I didn't have my glasses on.... 