
“for the things we have to learn before we can do them,
we learn by doing them.”
― aristotle
bee whisperer’s mom,
my daughter,
on our late summer walk
by the river.
bee whisperer,
my grandson/ her son,
on our early summer trip
by the lake.
—-
genetics, gentle compassion, curiosity and nature at play.
—
“it is in our genes to understand the universe if we can,
to keep trying even if we cannot,
and to be enchanted by the act of learning all the way.”
― lewis thomas

f visits the garden
by the lake
kneels down
to talk to the bumblebees
to see them up close
then befriends them
as they
learn more about each other
full of calm and peace
without fear
and after they make
a short visit to his place
gently
puts them back
where he found them
and says
goodbye for now.
the garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway.
Michael Pollan
ready for round two
today
of
parent teacher conferences
last night
when
we shared our stories
and
they shared their stories
we really
learned a lot
about their children
and
they really
learned a lot
about their children
and
it all fit together
and
we all shared
some great laughs
hope
we
learn just as much today
and
laugh just as much today
—-
every truth has four corners:
as a teacher i give you one corner,
and it is for you to find the other three.
– confucius
—
image credit: scott norton taylor
and parents
shared their science
with the children
who were
in awe
of
all of it
and loved
the discovery
and
hands-on
exploration
and
so many
questions
and
trying to make some sense
of the world
around them
carbon dioxide
dry ice
liquids
solids
gas
molecules
scottish highland longhair cows with horns
horses
computers
circuits
eyes
matter
changing form
and turning into
cotton candy
right before their eyes
molecular biology
and
oils and flowers and salts
to soothe them in the bath
when they are tired or hurt
and
then
so much excitement
when
realizing
the world is filled
with endless possibilities
—
most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist.
they are wrong: it is character.
– albert einstein
the first year that i became a teacher
i challenged
my multi-age third-fifth grade class
to find
the longest word in the english language
antidisestablishmentarianism
to learn
how to spell it
to discover
its meaning
to be
excited
about the power of words
then
i received
the above note
from one of those students
challenging me back
at a higher level
and
i was
excited
about the power
of his words
and
understood
their meaning
and
discovered
that
i loved
being a teacher
and
learning
every single day
it was camping day.
we went outside
and hiked
and looked at lots of stuff
and touched it
and found all sorts of things.
we tried to catch a frog to see him up close.
and if we did we promised we would put him back in his home after.
and we got in the mud.
even those of us who usually don’t like to get dirty.
and we learned so much stuff.
—
Must we always teach our children with books? Let them look at the stars and the mountains above. Let them look at the waters and the trees and flowers on Earth. Then they will begin to think, and to think is the beginning of a real education. – David Polis