" Blowing in the Wind", a year of crafts in review.

This is the time of year when teachers begin to look back, reflect and gather their experiences together through out this past year.   

Just as a dandelion germinates from a tiny seed, the dandelion forms a long hollow stalk with its flower on top. The dandelion flowers change and develop into tiny seeds. The seeds are attached to structures that are shaped like parachutes called pappuses. When the wind blows the pappuses carry the seeds for miles. Then the seeds land and the cycle begins all over again under the right conditions.  

Thus too, are the children in our classrooms. As tiny seeds they begin to form beautiful flowers and then as the winds of the spring approach, the children like seeds float into the their new schools and classrooms. 

As I have grown accustomed to saying good bye each year, I know these little seeds will be nourished in their new garden classrooms by the deep foundations that were planted at the Living Wisdom School.

This entry today is about remembering all the many great projects, and crafts over this past year.

I am not sure who all my readers are on this blog, but I can only guess that you are early childhood educators, parents, and grandparents. 

There are so many great activities it was hard to edit, but I will do my best to share the most meaningful.

We start every year with the "All the World is my Friend Unit."

These are our very first self portraits that hang above their cubbies in the hallway. 

These are globes that are made with form, tape and then art plaster added to each round ball. These are  then dried and painted. The process above is the first stage before plastering.  The children take them home for their home altars or nature tables. 

I wish I could take the credit, but this came from our Kindergarten/1st grade class. I love it.  So great for birthday displays in the classroom setting.

This was the world and our hands. I love murals and how they immediately invite all to work cooperatively. These are their hands that were traced and displayed for our first curriculum night. The children loved this. 

This was our community map. The children worked  together mapping the direction of their homes to the school.  I have found  it is a very usual tool for the parents . This allows the parents to see where their classmates live. Small houses were attached to their 3-D structure. It was displayed flat on a table in the main hallway

We began our fall tree unit.This is our 3-D forest in the hallway.

 Each child painted their version of a fall tree from looking outside our classroom window.
What beautiful memories in Nature.


From the apples we picked we made fun fruit pies for a birthday party. I love to cook in my classroom. Each child selects a card and that is their contribution to the day's cooking project.

These were our alphabet  pretzels. We made these several times. Yum.



This was one of the simplest projects but to a young child so fascinating. This was a very simple paper plate folded into four parts. Small dots of paint were added to one side/ or around the plate. The children then folded them and what a surprise it was when they re- opened their plate. These simple mandalas were decorations for our all school fundraiser.

These were our Thanksgiving gratitude pots.

The holidays were upon us.

 We started the journey of the"Tomten" to all the far away counties and farms.

Each day we traveled to a new country which was our theme for the day. We enjoyed many celebrations.

The children reflected on the deeper meaning of the holidays. 

Craft from Italy 

Celebration of Saint Lucia day 

 Our  New Years boats and setting off our wishes for the New Year. 

Making our boats

Wishing stones from our blessing New Year's cake. Each rock is wrapped individually and baked in a cake. 

I paint rocks in the classroom frequently for teaching all types of  inner qualities. 

Queen of Tarts day on Valentines Day. What a fun game this is. Giving tarts to all the students at Living Wisdom School. The queen never knew what happened. 

100 day activities were a highlight in our classroom. 

Getting ready for our art show. Georgia O'Keeffe. These were made by making a petals from cardboard. The children then added their petals around the paper by tracing. Then black sharpie was used. The next stage was water-coloring in the background, then the foreground. These will be memorable for our families.  

Our watercolor portraits added to jewels with ModPodge. 

Our Monet garden bridge for our art show. One of our fathers gave us a hand with making this beautiful structure for our art show. 

 Here it is at the Art Show, with the pond, willow tree, fish and lily pads. This was the all school project. Each class added to the exhibit at Monet's Garden. 

More flowers for the art show garden. I wrote about this on a previous blog post. 

What would our class be without celebrating the full moon each month. This is from our Equinox celebration. Sun and Moon are equal, happy spring. 

 Equinox Cards made for their bedrooms.

We make crowns for all our celebrations or something for our heads. 

All the children made their own birthday crowns to wear on their special day. 

This was a wonderful week on healing. 

This year our children made Mother's Day statues of their favorite thing they like to do with their mom. 

 I know I got this from Pinterst so I cant take credit for it. Each paper was water-colored with the moon shaded with another piece of cardboard. When the picture was dry the cardboard was removed.  In order for children to get the stars very small I had an idea to take a small piece of cardboard and hole punch a small hole in it. Several holes were actually cut in the cardboard. Then the children could draw through the hole a small star onto their picture. The ladders were made from small sticks from Starbucks. I took a picture of each child climbing a small ladder. I  printed the picture and cut them small to fit the ladder. 

They love their "Moms" to the moon and back. 

This has been a very meaningful year and I am filled with the seeds of gratitude as these little ones float to their new homes. 

Nature's infinite path

I have just returned from a trip to Nevada City, California at Ananda Village. The drive is just about 2 hours outside of Sacramento. Ananda Village is the home to the Expanding Light Yoga and Meditation Retreat. Ananda Village is one of our sister communities from where I live in Lynnwood, Washington. It was the first of the Ananda spiritual communities and was founded in 1968 by Swami Kriyananda. The community is situated on 850 acres of private land including meadows, forest lands,and valleys in the Sierra Mountains. Over 250 adults and children live harmoniously on this land.

I had the extreme fortune to be invited this year, to attend the "Sharing Nature with Children®

New healing activity: Forest Bathing
"Sky and Earth That Touched Me" Joseph Cornell

We spent five days with other participants from various backgrounds that spanned the globe. Many of us came together for the purpose of expanding our consciousness, while sharing our depth of connection in nature. I had to set my camera aside this week and became fully immersed in the vibration of the trees, forests and all life. It was a deeply rich and profound time for me. The pictures in this post are from: Barbara Bingham and Sara M.Skinner Photography. 

The reasons for my attending this training is to expand my work with children globally in the early childhood field, but to also listen to the inner guidance and resonance of my soul.

I love the two fold mirror that our soul reflects while in nature. 

"Silent Sharing Nature Walk"
Sharing Nature with Children®

@Dawn Publications 1998

"Silent Nature Sharing Walk on Lotus Lake"

How we can take nature's serenity inwardly and find it's peace consciously in any given moment but also how can we become a witness to our thoughts as this benign beauty unfolds as a spiritual communion before us? In nature, we feel a spirit of community with all life.

We gain a more positive state of mind as it guides us upward towards a deeper state of inner joy.

 During the workshop we were able to work directly with Joseph Cornell on two consecutive mornings, lunches, and during a celebratory banquet. He is currently writing his next book: "The Sky and Earth that Touched Me" and his "Sharing Nature Wellness Program." These will be published in 2014. We were able to sample the new activities.

Now as they say, after attending a workshop or training; the real work begins. How can I easily and effortlessly apply all that I have absorbed?What is my next step?

I'm convinced that I will be guided spiritually, as nature's path unfolds before me.

My first step on the ridge. 

  " Unendingly magnificent is Nature; yet we view only one of her billions of planets. Her splendor is spread across endless space and manifested on countless worlds;but for us, Her most wondrous gifts remains Her willingness to teach us about ourselves. And when we learn to see and understand ourselves and the world around us, we humans become the pinnacle of Nature's accomplishments; for through man, Nature is able to view and appreciate herself in the fullest, most vividly aware way of all.

      Quote: Sharing Nature with Children®, Joseph Cornell.

"Infinite Mother of us all"

A Mother's Love

Though the miles come between us

As we fumble our way along

The paths- we like to think we choose

And through the years grow shorter

Filled with memories-Some we hold to dearly

And some we'd like to lose,

Still, that first of life's many loves,

That of a mother for her child

Shines brightly from within- to remind us of the 

Infinite Mother of us all

Who dwells within and silently calls to us.....

Come home to Me now!

   Original poem by: Joel Holliman

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."

    Education for Life    J. Donald Walters

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"

 who dwells in all of us.

Happy Mothers Day!

In joy to you,

Chandi 

Move all ye mountains that stand in my way.

This past spring I have had the joyful opportunity to expand my service with children and explore outings in nature more tangibly. These outings are happening outside of the classroom on weekends.

I was able to organize small groups of children between the ages of four through 10 years of age. I prepared a four hour program designed for using the outdoors as our classroom.  In this process, I was not only the teacher, but the students were instructing me.  In all cases, we all had such a beautiful time together. Each group brought something forward in me, as a nature instructor.

On my last excursion this past weekend, I had a brand new set of students that would be accompanying me on a two and half mile hike. This was not an easy task for this age group. It was a new location for me, and for some of the families.  I had emailed all the parents about the steep paths and warned them to remind the children that we would be climbing a mountain. I was very anxious about what might await us.

From the minute the children met, it was like an instant karmic bonding of old friends reacquainted.

On this trip, I had one older sibling that was just the kindest, loving and spiritual leader in guiding the children's energy. His smile could charm your heart away. He also knew the trail very well, and seemed to guide all of us to the hidden crevices, dips and treasures. The children were actually experiencing "every moment", as we like to call it. I never heard one complaint, or in-deference. They were joyfully skipping and singing songs from our classroom as we hiked together.

We started back up the hill after a quick round of the SuperConscious Living Exercises that I teach in our classroom. A serge of energy ran through our bodies. We climbed up the steep hill with power, energy, and vitality.

When I arrived home from our day together I was in a state or divine gratitude, joy, and inner bliss. It was indeed a humbling experience to be in the company of these great little souls.
These children were the instruments today. What a wonderful reminder for all of us.

In the days that followed this trip I have been watching children's open ended love of nature and outdoor play. It amazes to watch under all circumstances the sheer joy that radiates from their beings.

Recently I just came across an article about some of the benefits of children and nature. Here are some  quotes from that article I would like to pass along:

• Children with views of and contact with nature score higher on tests of concentration and self-discipline. The greener, the better the scores (Wells 2000, Taylor et al. 2002).
• Children who play regularly in natural environments show more advanced motor fitness, including coordination, balance and agility, and they are sick less often (Grahn, et al. 1997, Fjortoft & Sageie 2001).
• When children play in natural environments, their play is more diverse with imaginative and creative play that fosters language and collaborative skills (Moore & Wong 1997, Taylor, et al. 1998, Fjortoft 2000).

But another important factor that most children experience is that God whispers through the trees, through the babbling brooks, and the sounds of the ocean. Through these experiences children tune into their higher spiritual natures. They easily experience the higher cosmic consciousness we all seek.

"Everything in Nature is God's Artwork." Joseph(Bharat) Cornell

I am profoundly grateful in being able to share nature with our children.

May this be one of many more nature programs while climbing mountains together.