—
image credit: courage works
Jan23
transformation.
—
image credit: courage works
Tag Archives: children
Jan12
enchanted.
today we found a beautiful flower that survived
under the snow and ice and rain and arctic temperatures of january.
were very surprised.
it must be enchanted.
“the only words that ever satisfied me as describing nature
are the terms used in fairy books, charm, spell, enchantment.
they express the arbitrariness of the fact and its mystery.”
-g. k. chesterton
Jan11
magnets.
after much trial and error and an ‘aha’ moment,
the kinders figured out what magnets do and found a place to put them.
—
“a teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in the pupils.”
~ever garrison
Jan10
trolls.
i’ve now seen this movie 3 times
couldn’t get the grandies viewing schedules to mesh
so we went in groups
it was colorful, happy, and musical
all felt and sparkles and big hair and eccentric characters
and i have to say
it is a totally fun and trippy, dreamy movie
that asks and answers the question:
“what is the nature of happiness?”
and really, it is quite impossible
not to be happy when you watch this film.
—
“it is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.”
-charles spurgeon
—
credits: dreamworks animation, 20th century fox
Jan8
omsorg.
our latest ikea experience
was spent looking for a few cool things
we didn’t even know we needed or what they were exactly
but
it was really all just an excuse to spend the afternoon
finding secret shortcuts
through this blue and yellow warehouse of good stuff
by using the trial and error approach,
good guesses, maps, fancy footwork
and leaps of faith
what a grand adventure it turned out to be
(and we even ended up with the omsorg of our dreams as an unexpected bonus.)
—
“what romantic terminology called genius or talent or inspiration is nothing other than
finding the right road empirically, following one’s nose, taking shortcuts.”
-italo calvino
Jan6
big things i learned from my tiny kinders today while creating with them.
“this color smells like love.”
“if i put this red piece of tape here it might keep all of this stuff from falling off my plate.”
—
“the good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”
-bertrand russell
Dec23
“how many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.” ― coco chanel
my class was interested in learning about snow
they knew that it:
comes from up there
falls down to the ground
is cold
tastes like peppermint
and
you can make stuff out of it.
they wanted to learn about snowplows
so we invited our school’s snowplow driver
over for a visit
everyone put on their winter gear
headed outside
where he
showed them his truck
put on the lights
moved the plow up and down
and
pushed the snow around the circle
then
we invited him into our room
to ask him questions
and learn more about him
he told the kids
to call him roger
he was very gentle and kind
he has been here for 28 years
this is his last snowplow winter
he answered every single question
listened to every single comment about snow
they asked him what he does
when he’s not plowing
they were surprised
he lives on 20 acres
has fainting goats, black swans and an aviary of 500 exotic finches
decorates peoples houses for the holidays
is a father and grandfather
and
a horticulturist
who helped to create the children’s garden at our school
he is more than what they saw
when they saw him plowing the snow
now they know him as a person
now they will wave to each other
now they know how he helps our community
now they know how much more there is to his story
when he was finished
and it was time
for him to go back to his work
the children gathered around him and gave him hugs
they know a good person when they meet one.
—
“i hope I didn’t bore you too much with my life story.” – elvis presley
Dec16
closer.
pre-kinder decides to see what’s in front of her.
—
“sometimes the most beautiful things are in front of our eyes,
and we don’t even notice because we’re either too busy or too afraid to take a closer look.”
― katja michael
Dec14
birds.
kinders watch
to see when the birds will come
to eat the treats
they’ve made for them
and hung up high in the trees
so they don’t go hungry in the winter’s snow.
—
“be grateful for luck. pay the thunder no mind – listen to the birds. and don’t hate nobody.
-eubie blake
Dec12
lookout.
grandies wake up in the cottage
and run downstairs
to take in all the magic
of the new morning snow
and
perched atop piles of books
eagerly await the arrival
of their cousins
who will soon help them bake
a team of sweet gingerbread reindeer.
—
“always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.”
― e.b. white
I didn't have my glasses on.... 