About nine years ago after the Living Wisdom Preschool began, I wanted to create an event at the school, just for the children to express their love for Divine Mother. Divine Mother is the feminine divine aspect of God.
In working with children, our earthy mother it is simpler way for children to open up to the Divine Mother. I like to start in baby steps for each child. As they feel the love deeply for their mother, they can feel it for their immediate family, their grandparents, their friends mothers, and then reach out to other mothers across the globe.
"The task of education is to attract children toward maturity- that is, toward including other's realities in their own."
The event at the Living Wisdom School is celebrated today by all the children. The children have the opportunity to cook, draw their mother's portrait for the hall of mothers, and by answering creative writing questions like:"What makes your mom perfect?" It is the direct experience by which our children can rise above their likes and dislikes thus allowing them to think of others first.
Each year I am given the precious moment of photographing this event. I am in awe of the intimacy of photographing mothers and their children. I am humbled by this experience. Their souls just seem to melt right together as one in front of my camera lens.
I am sure that you will agree from some of the photos below, the depth of divine love which pours through each family.
May this Mothers Day be our reminder in deep stillness of the"Infinite Mother"
Whenever the spring hits the Pacific Northwest, something happens to all of us. We get outside and begin to open up to the world all around us. So hence, it is with me too. I begin to expand outward and cherish natures beauty while slowly relinquishing my commitment in sharing the Education for Life principals. Therefore, I will do my best to catch you up on some of our key activities this spring.
This has been a very busy time in our classroom with so many cherished activities that I needed to share. I can only touch on them lightly thus not to bore you with long lengthy lesson plans.
The month of March the children and all our teachers were busy with our Annual Living Wisdom Art Show. This year at the school for our main exhibit we all created a Monet's garden. The children in our class made the art sculpture with one of our fathers. This was the bridge in the garden, surrounded by a pond, a large willow tree, fish, birds, and lily pads. Each student in the school created something for the garden. It was spectacular!
The month of April the children were able to explore the human body. We spent several days on exploring the physical body. The children made their own bodies along with exploring how our hearts, lungs and brains function.
The third week into the program we spent time exploring our spiritual body. We began a more advanced yoga program for calming our spirits.
The third week into the program was also about keeping our bodies well and healthy.
Vibration and healing in our hands
What parts of the hand can heal our bodies?
Healing music and dance
Healing love and empathy. Here is our Pre-kindergarten baby. This is our french teacher, who now has a new baby to share with us in our classroom.
Tibetan sound healing concert
Here we are making "\Aum" juice from all the spiritual fruits that we had all week. Yum!!
During the last week in April we celebrated " Earth day".
Next week is Mothers Day so we will have to share all our fun activities after our annual Mothers Day tea celebration.
May this spring bring you closer to the children in your life and fill our souls with many heartwarming memories.
Soon we reach to the pinnacle of every mountain peak
we travel as one,
We lift our hands to welcome the sun. Song by: Swami Kriyananda (J.Donald Walters)
The Living Wisdom School is celebrating our annual all school art show this weekend.
It is always a labor of love in planning, teaching, and exhibiting all the artwork collectively. This year especially the teachers have really collaborated to present art in many diverse ways.
Each class choose a different Modern or Contemporary artist to focus their inspiration.
We also came up with the idea of combining all the children towards making an all school Monet garden. This will display the art together from each classroom.
This is one of the special outreach events we do at Living Wisdom School. Eight years ago we came up with the idea to expand and share our school with the greater community. This event gives such a joyful expression of our children and a glimpse into their lives at the Living Wisdom School.
This past month, one of my students was not present in my classroom on the day we painted our major focal piece for the show. I had talked with her father and asked if she could stay after class, so I
might guide her through the art lesson.
She did an amazing job that I wanted it to be a surprise for her parents.
Well low and behold, her art was featured in the local Shoreline News this week, so I had to tell them.
This was done by one of the pre-kindergartners in our classroom.
This was the second piece painted by one of our students in the 4th grade class.
We have an amazing staff this year at the Living Wisdom School and I an extremely honored to be working with these inspiring woman. Many of our teachers are also full time mothers and grandmothers. So it is not just at work that they are serving our children unceasingly, but they head home and have to put on their "moms and grandmother hats too."
The song written above really finishes out the whole theme:
Soon we reach to the pinnacle, of every mountain peak
we travel as one.
We life our hands to welcome the sun and a wonderful accomplishment.
Thank you Living Wisdom Staff for sharing so much of yourself while
serving all our students and families .
Today at the Living Wisdom School the whole student body, participated in yet another of our festivals of the light celebrations. We wanted an celebration to bring all the students together and something that would connect all our children in a more dynamic way. Today at the Living Wisdom School the older students were the role models for the younger children.
New Year’s Eve is traditionally a
time for thinking about the year that has passed and the year that lies ahead. It is a time to dream, imagine and to wonder what the new year can bring. All of these rituals need to become a natural part of children's daily life. All the teachers wanted a ritual to acknowledge the New
Year and this activity allowed plenty of room for gentle
fantasy and beauty.
Below is the basic recipe of how we organized the day.
Coverings over the bathtub or pond’ with a dark
green/ dark blue covering
Pretty crystals’ pebbles and
shells
Herb/ greenery, anything with
winter berries
4 large glass vases to hold the
greenery and extra greenery for the sides. Individual themes on each vase with matching harmonious colors on each vase.
Candle in the middle needs to be
attached with clay or a candle stick
Walnut shell boats individually made by the children. Individual wicks and beeswax can be used or a small birthday candles that has been cut are melted into the bottom of the boat. The candles need to be lightweight and small.
New Years blessings for each child.
To prepare the bath:
Place the bath on the floor and
line carefully with the fabric. Place the pebbles, crystals and
shells on the fabric at the bottom of the bath, together with the vases.The vases are evenly spread
around the bottom of the bath. Fill the bath within six inches from of the rim.
Place four bunches of the greenery in the vases. It doesn’t matter if they are
submerged, in fact it can add to their beauty and mystery for the bunches now
become island in a magical sea.They can be called, the Isle of Peace, Isle of Happiness, Isle of Gratitude or the Isle of Love. Drape the cloth around the sides
of the bath, making it secured at the rim with pins or adhesive tape. We used a heavy felted fabric so there wasn't any need for extra pins.
Prepare a tray
of board with medium candle in a holder and few sprigs of greenery. Settle the
boats amount the greenery and light the candle.
To prepare the letters: or
messages
Each paper fortune should be
rolled and tied in the middle with a string. The blessings can be placed in baskets around the outside
rim of the basin. The baskets are color coordinated with each Isle. These can be random
blessings or can correspond with the Isle that they have landed on. This
depends how coordinated you want your themes to be.
Hand made verses are such
fun to compose and served as their New Years blessings. Write the lines on the inside of folded slips of colored, papers as you choose.I like to make up small blessings taken from the qualities of the "Little Secrets of Friendships" by J. Donald Walters. Each classroom made up and contributed their individual ideas.
Setting
sail!
The first person selects a candle
boat and lights the mast from the larger candle. The boat is then very carefully
set in the middle of the sea. A big wish is loaded on board. A tiny ripple
of the fingers at the edge of the bath is enough to see the boat gently moving
off on its journey into the New Year. Where will it harbor? This was so fun to watch and dream. Let’s hope that it visits
the Isle of Happiness or Love. One of our children launched her boat and within seconds it went directly to the Isle of Love. It was like her boat was pulled by a magnetic energy source to that island.
The spiritual aspects of this also can hold true. How often with our own energy do we push to make things happen, or do we let the stream of life carry us along with a gentle push of our personal magnetism?
There’s no hurry. The children also used straws to act as a wind gust to carry their boats away. We divided the pond of water into four parts.
All in good time the boats did come to
rest, some lodged firmly on an island or clinging to the edge of the pond.
However when the boat has once touched the edge of the pond it is seemed to
have landed. Each child took their blessing from the corresponding basket next to the pond. If time is limited, two or three boats could be set a sail together.
After all the children had finished with launching their boats and receiving their blessings, we placed dry ice in the pond for another mystical beautiful surprise. The children loved this aspect of the pond. Many conversations began with how the ice created the effect, how the candles blew out and what it reminded them of in nature?
Whatever the New year
holds for us, the idea was to spend a little time afloat in the world of magical beauty, that can capture our dreams and sprinkle the light of beauty, love, joy, gratitude and happiness for all we see. This is how we want our children at the Living Wisdom School to follow as leaders into the future by expanding their imaginations and preparing them spiritually to meet life challenges. Isn't this our spiritual dream already in the making?
Last December on "Inside Out" I wrote an entry to review the inspirational moments of my first six months of blogging. This past year I had so many beautiful photographs that uplifted my soul, I couldn't decide which ones to include or delete.
With a few late nights and several hours tweaking, I created this video of love and inspiration from 2012.
May the light and joy of this year, carry all of us forward into 2013 with a greater source of love, inspiration, peace and inner joy.
Christmas week is a time for inner reflection while recapping this past year's documentation on this blog, "Inside Out" and contemplating the beauty that lies before me for the coming year in 2013.
This past year I have added many new technical experiments to my blog including: YouTube videos, iPhone applications, linking up with new inspiring bloggers and I am thrilled to have upgraded to a new iPhone.
The iPhone has advanced my skills as a photographer, while enabling my ability to record information to my parents automatically in this new age of technology and energy.
"Inside Out" has reached almost 11,200 page views that expands the globe. That alone is truly inspiring to me. When I began this blog, I wasn't even sure, if or how anyone would find it. This is what you hear bloggers often say. It takes a level of detachment to write weekly, while putting your heart and your passion on the line. My motto has been: "Well just get over it." Either people will read it or they will pass it by. My blog isn't for everyone.
I personally would like to thank everyone who has read it this year and shared this blog. Simply passing it along to others is a blessing in disguise. I am deeply humbled and grateful.
I wanted to review this week, the most popular entries since I have started writing in August of 2011. I will start with the top six .
I am thrilled this years entry made it into my top six. I am glad that my spiritual book list was so popular and actually had an author, Carin Berger contact me personally to thank me. I still will be featuring my, ComeGather Around Series, along with new added pages featuring spiritual books for children and families. New books will be added monthly, as I find them in my travels. Do you have a special spiritual favorite? Let me know about it and I will research the story, to see it can be added on my favorite lists.
Coming in at number 5 is: Accepting a moment in Divine Gratitude
This entry was life changing personally for me last Christmas and I have dedicated this year to actually practicing living one day of gratitude at a time. I actually participated in my own experiment this summer at taking a photo a day to document my gratitude.
This short entry features a mini short film by Louie Schwartzberg. I review this video often because it truly uplifts my spirit.
This is another entry that is dear to my heart. This particular entry is all about Education for Life and the Foundation years. I also love to watch how the children have grown in our classroom over the past year using these principals.
I am happy to announce this Valentine entry and the song highlighted was our "theme song" in our classroom last year. It was written by one of our parents, Eva Tree. Thank you for listening and reading about our valentine activities.
This entry has many memories shared in my classroom. The children love to feel their energy in their hearts and expand their love each day to others. Thank you for reading it and sharing in our joy.
This is my favorite entry, I have written to date and humbled that it is the most popular.
It came to me right
after a deep morning meditation. I don't take any credit for my writings
personally. These are messages from the divine.
I also would like to thank a few very special people who have helped share the message of "Inside Out."
My editor and writing professor Bekka Davis, and the Education for Life teachers who share ideas and inspirations together weekly.
I would also like to thank my spiritual guides, Joseph Cornell from Sharing Nature with Children and Nitai Deranja the founder of the Living Wisdom Schools. Both of these great souls have been a guiding light for inspiration and my service to children and families.
With Beauty before me and behind me as I walk,
The year ahead looks very exciting and promising.
Tonight's entry is the continuation of our festival of the lights ceremonies that we are currently celebrating in our classroom for Christmas. We have traveled to Italy to discover the mysteries surrounding the creche scene and the birth of Christ. Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene in 1223.
A few years ago, I added this tradition back into my classroom as a celebration of Christ's birth and the true meaning of Christmas. For the young child it is that joyful expectation of the birthday, that lies ahead.
These are the cards that the children select their parts from our play.
I wanted to share with you the words and the pictures that I took this week, as we acted out our sweet play to celebrate the birth of Christ. At the end of the play, we switched all the children around several times so they could experience different parts. We ended the day, working on our creche scene ornaments that the children will take home and hang on their Christmas trees.
Long ago there was a little shed,
There three mighty kings did bow their heads
To a gentle babe of low degree,
Whom men call the son of Mary.
Who tell to me this mystery?
How a tiny babe in a manager laid
Could so many hearts to love persuade
This holy son of Mary.
Shepherd's came and knelt in wonder there,
Seeing him in light beyond compare,
And his eyes that told them all love was he
Whom men called the son of Mary.
Wonderful it was that Christmas Day,
How from far and near they came to pray,
How far they glimpsed his majesty
Whom men called the son of Mary.
Could it be that in that little one,
Spirits universal love did shine?
If it's true, he lives in you and me
Whom men call the son of Mary.
We ended this special day creating our ornaments and singing.
The holidays are a magical time of year with many celebrations happening all around the globe. Our classroom is not an exception. We are celebrating our theme:" Festivals of the Light." This continues this year through December and part of January.
Last season I shared many holiday celebrations, but since this was my second year with my students, I have created a new format for December.
At the Living Wisdom School we only have two weeks to share the holiday traditions with our children before our Christmas vacation. I will share daily our festivals as we move through each country.
We began the week with one of my favorite children's stories. It is taken from the Swedish tradition, about a small elf who travels secretly around the farm, talking with the animals. He begins his evening with his secret rounds doing his caretakers duties in his gentle, loving way.
He whispers encouragement to all the sleeping animals and children. The book has such beautiful captivating illustrations and poems.
Today I was able to draw some of my own illustrations of the Tomten, and made copies for the children to practice their own pencil drawings. In Prekindergarten we begin to use our pencils for many small muscle coordination enhancement skills.
The children also drew small foot prints. We have a large world map that the footprints will be glued on as the children follow the Tomten's secret travels around the globe this Christmas. The children love the little Tomten.
In the spirit of the Tomten and Saint Nicolas we are playing a game with our stockings. As the children secretly do kind deeds for their friends, small stickers are placed in their stockings. The original stockings originated with these Nordic folklore traditions. At the end of the next week, the stickers from each stocking will be traded in and counted for special treats and gifts.
December 6th is Saint Nicolas day. The children all lined up there own shoes today and placed a small gift for Saint Nicolas and his horse inside each shoe .
True excitement will happen when the children check their shoes tomorrow morning and see the gifts that Saint Nicolas has left.
Tomorrow we will light the way for the "Tomten", as he journey's once again secretly to another country to explore. Our next destination:Italy.
Tune in tomorrow for what the children and the Tomten learn about Italy's Christmas celebrations.
