Come Gather Round reading for this month

 It's time for a story.

Come gather round with a friend on the left and a friend on the right

Come gather round. 

This month I want to feature a book that has been given to our classroom by one of the parents at the Living Wisdom School of Seattle.

The title is Om Baby. I was excited to read the cover to find out that Schamet Horsfield lived in Seattle. But when I contacted her, she had moved to New Zealand to spread her vibration and teaching of Om 

Baby there. 

Here is a short video of her reading the story and sharing her inspiration about how she first wrote the book. 

We began reading this at the beginning of the school year. The children love this book and return to it again and again. 

 To extend the learning about communities that Schamet introduces from this book we created our own community maps to connect us all together. This book was instrumental in preparing the class for reaching out to all our friends and family and building community. 

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This is the first phase of our community map the children made. They are pasting on their homes to our map.

This is the '3' D map that we finished.  It was on display in the hallway for all our parents to see.

We also visited the local Ananda Community to share in the fall harvest of fruits and vegetables.

I have lived in an intentional community for over 18 years now and it is a way of life for me.

 I love this sweet book and the many conversations, concepts, and ideas that can be shared about communities with our children. They will be the stewards of our planet in this new age.

I hope you enjoy this book along with your family, students, and friends.

A tiny babe in a manger lay

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. 

One of my favorite songs written for the Christmas Season is one that J. Donald Walters wrote that we sing each Christmas in our temple and community. It is called the Christmas Mystery. 

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.

Silent Night from chandi holliman on Vimeo.


Joyful Blessings,
Chandi 

Listen, Listen, Listen

Have you heard that it has been snowing in Seattle,Washington since last Saturday, January14th?  The predictions were that this was going to be the worst storm in Seattle's history, and maybe if you are in cold home without power this evening, you may be thinking that the predication's were correct! I do hope this evening finds your family warm, safe and shielded from the natural elements.

Since all the local schools are closed,  I have been at home all week working on my student evaluations for our midterm at the Living Wisdom School. I have been missing my students this week, so I wrote to the parents for pictures of them in the snow.

How many joyful memories can you remember playing in the snow for days on end?  Do you remember possibly arriving home cold and wet? In the Northwest our snow consisted of mostly wet water and the clothing we had in the 60's, well it isn't anything like the children own now.  I have many memories of proceeding to hop in a hot bath and then my Mom would began to prepare hot tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Or how about hot chocolate with the small tiny marshmallows floating on the top? I know my mom made the best hot chocolate.

Then within an hour, I would change clothes that have been warmed up by the heater, and I was off out the door again. Children love the snow and the coldness doesn't seem to bother them. I wish, I could say that now about myself.

I love these memories of childhood. May all our children be blessed with rekindling memories of sledding with friends, sculpting snowmen, snowball gatherings and enjoying close family time in this truly magical moment with Divine Mother's snow.

Bath in her beauty and connect together with nature's divine rhythm that is calling us to listen to the deeper meaning of life in pure joy. 

Listen, Listen, Listen!

Let me know what you find out there?

Joy to you 

Happy New Year: 2012

In order to capture 2011, I wanted to share it in some of my photos. May the light and joy of this year, carry all of us into the new year with a greater source of determination, courage and joy.

I was able to spend Christmas with two of my dearest friends from our early years at the Living Wisdom School.  The picture on the left is in 2006. The boys were in their first year of Kindergarten and the picture on the right is now in fifth grade. The boys live in different states.  Until August of 2011, they were in different countries. This was a lovely reunion for us all.

This is an arrangements of highlights: I was able to take two healing vacations to Washington's lavender festival and to our special retreat home in Palm Springs,California. I started my blog this past summer and the other photo was taken in my class from early 2011.

My husband and I moved upstairs from our home after 17 years in the Ananda Community.

High tea with my students at the end of the school year!

                                                       Remembering our dear friends

Our fourth and six graders at the Honda dealer showing them their electric car they built.

Fall Basil Harvest. The best basil I have ever cooked with.

Our first Labyrinth walk at Yoga Camp

Swimming at Yoga Camp with new friends

May we all be connected in love as we enter into 2012 together.

Happy New Year .

New approach this holiday season

The other day I was chatting with a friend and she was asking about a couple of dates coming up and if I had them on my calendar. Now, I just blurted out:"I don't know, I'm only looking one day at a time this Christmas." I was a little surprised at myself when I actually said this. "How can you actually do this and still stay on top of all your the responsibilities?"  A teacher's life is extremely full at this time of year. What if I forget something? What if? There are many what if's we can get tangled up in. I just wanted to take the leap this year and try something new.

I am making a very conscious peaceful decision this month to enjoy even the simple moments that Christmas has to offer. Well, my word is my bond and I do have a Blackberry that keeps me connected to the world, but I am actually putting into action my new approach this holiday season. I have, of course entered in all my critical dates first. I am being more selective in the projects that I can accomplish and those that are more time consuming. 

 I only look at my calendar in the morning after meditation and before going to work. I only look at one day at a time and remind myself that I need to be totally present in this moment. I am finding that I am more alert, joyful and I have more energy to accomplish the little things ahead of schedule. If for any reason, I have forgotten something, then actually it wasn't that important in the larger scheme of things. This weekend was a beautiful and restful time for our family. We also accomplished more.

Eastwest Bookshop of Seattle. Independently owned bookstore. One of my favorite stores.

Another practice that I enjoy during the holiday season is to shop in small local gift stores. I want to honor their businesses. I plan my shopping around short trips and I am often driving the back roads to avoid major traffic. Seattle is known for it's traffic snarls. I also get to see more of the Christmas light displays and the decorating on the nearby homes. 

One woman said to me once: "Chandi you just drive the back-roads with such ease." Well, I am not sure about that, but I love the saying that my son said to me when he was about fifteen. "Mom, all roads lead to Ananda." Ananda Community is where I have lived for the past seventeen years. It is located on 5.5 acres in Lynnwood, Washington.

Anyway, I thought to share with you my new approach this holiday season and I will keep you informed on the sweet developments.

Please leave me a comment and let's share ideas together.

Many Blessings to all during this holiday season,
Chandi

Spirit and nature dancing together

My classes celebrated today our Fall Harvest Festival at my home in the Ananda Community. We live on almost 6 acres of land surrounded by many varieties of trees. Today's visit was to help harvest the apple trees. We cooked, sang, marched in a parade, played games and I told stories. Today was a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest. Divine Mother was shining her sunlight down on us.

We also had a very auspicious event happen. As we were picking our apples off the tree, we looked up and saw a bald eagle was flying over head. It soared above our heads for the whole time while the children were picking apples.

The children drew cards from the recipe. Her card was cutting the butter. The others are showing respect and patience as they wait for their turns.

Team work

Stirring the apples for mini pies

This needs a little more apples on top.

Look how many I found

I can get it

  Our spirits and nature really danced today. What a glorious day we had together dancing in thy light.

Boxes, boxes and more boxes

This past weekend my husband and I moved from our home unit #3, after 16 years. Entertaining with family and friends has been our delight at the Ananda Community. Things are settling down now and we have moved upstairs to another remodeled unit. Please excuse me for the lapse in my writing. Time and memories will remain with us always in this joyful home.

Summer path in our herb and rose garden

My husband painting in the evening. View out our small kitchen window

Many Ananda guests came for tea at our home

Our summer gardens

Customary dessert houses at the Ananda Community

The Winter of 2008 in our garden

The Dale Chihuly ice sculpture in our front garden. My poor hydrangeas.