using
cocktail umbrellas
chop sticks
mini pumpkins
and
pancake mix playdough
kinder create something new.
—
“a child’s attitude toward everything is an artist’s attitude.”
-willa cather
‘i love cinnamon and baking with my mom.’ – h
—
class bakery day
the children worked
very hard
over the last few weeks
learning
about bread
about baking
how sharing bread is a way to welcome others
every culture makes and eats and shares bread
listened to books about bread and baking
practiced ‘baking’ with play-dough
baked real lemon bread at school
baked breads at home
bought breads at the store
made signs and decorated tables
learned about buying and selling using pennies
gave other classes pennies
that they had to ‘earn’ by working in their rooms
invited other classes, faculty, staff, and families
to come to our room for a big bakery event
said they would give pennies or free bread
to anyone who had no money or food
families supported their efforts
making this day so special
everyone went home
very full, very tired, very happy.
the bakery in full swing
“anyone who gives you a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven is a friend for life.”
-daniel handler
“I made this thank you note. I’m going to give it to my family.”
“what are you thanking them for?”
“I’m going to thank them for being my family.”
—
“if the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
*Meister Eckhart
*Eckhart von Hochheim (c. 1260 – c. 1328), commonly known as Meister Eckhart, was a German theologian, philosopher, and mystic.
as we watched
the big kids perform
‘a christmas carol’
the kinder
kept whispering
and asking
‘why is that man so mean?’
‘why is he so crabby?’
‘how can he be that mean?’
I told them that later in the play
mr. scrooge’s heart will grow
and he will learn to be nice
just like what happened to the grinch
it made my own heart grow
to think about
their innocence
their naturally kind and compassionate state of being
how they could not even begin to imagine
why someone would choose to be mean.
—
‘i think being nice is more important than being clever.’
-ricky gervais
my grandson, Jackson (in the green shirt and shorts)
who loves
people, animals, kindness, dancing, laughing, and tacos
has become a part of a new kid congress
a group springing from the legacy of
‘kid president’
(who has now grown into a young man)
with a mission to show
that kids can help to change the world for the better
thank you to kid president for passing the torch
giving more kids the opportunity to bring good to the world
i couldn’t be prouder of these little people with gigantic hearts.
—
(if you have two minutes, use the link below to meet the new congress)
—
“children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.”
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States
—
credits: kidpresident.com, soul pancake
what an honor and a pleasure
it was
to have spent two days
with intelligent caring educators from many places
coming together
to
share, discuss, question, wonder, listen,
learn from each other
about leading
respectful, compassionate, joyful, creative, curious, playful, democratic classrooms
for young children
where they begin
to discover and grow a love of learning
about the world near and far
every experience
preparing them for what is beyond
this comforting place
they call school.
—
“the limit of your present understanding
is not the limit of your possibilities.”
-guy finley