Oak and Moon

waning gibbous moon through autumn oak leaves

The cool autumn days were a much needed relief and my compass is finally finding north again, I think.  I must have been in the honeymoon phase of death during the first few months after Julien was born.  When that wore off in late September, things got dark.  Really dark.  

But autumn has a way of un-sticking our stuck places.  Sitting under this big oak tree season after season, watching her leaves change colors and her form change shape has certainly taught me that nothing lasts forever.

I've been practicing letting go -- again and again and again -- and I'm back to working with the moon cycles.  This is my second waning moon and, as I sit here right now, I cannot find the right words to describe the peace that has washed through me since giving my grief to autumn and to the waning moon.  I've been working with a meditation I wrote for A. --- visualizing each emotion, each thought, blowing away with the falling leaves.  My great oak tree is resting now, her leaves - whose birth we witnessed in spring - now cover the sweet, earthy ground below.  Her barren branches reach into the pale sunlight like arms stretching during the deep yawn that comes before sleep.  

I'm ready for the long rest of winter too.  I'm ready to nourish my body with roots and soups and home-baked bread and to welcome the stillness that only comes when we enter the dark half of the year. 

After breaking my cup in September, I've been filling it up again with some beautiful literature.  I've been sitting outside under my old, oak tree re-reading Thoreau's Walden, enjoying Noam Chomsky's Profit Over People: Neoliberalism & Global Order, falling in love with Jack Petrash's  Understanding Waldorf Education: Teaching from the Inside Out, and I'm just diving into Rhythms of Learning : What Waldorf Education Offers Children, Parents, and Teachers  -- a wonderful collection of essays by Rudolf Steiner edited by Robert Trostli.

Through the turning of the seasons and the pages of these books, I seem to be remembering that what matters most about education - and life - is not the pedagogy to which we subscribe, but the reverence we are able to nurture in our children.  I feel that this must be the thing most central to education.  By honoring one another, the earth, and the very sacredness of our own lives, we create a soft place to fall when things fall apart.  I think that when we listen very closely, we can hear the moon and the old oak trees whispering this wisdom. 

The Goddess Thing

Recently, while discussing our spiritual paths, a friend of mine admitted that she just didn't get "the goddess thing."  I understand that her path is not my path... and I love and honor our differences.  Still, I'd like to shed a little more light on the subject by sharing a few questions here...

What would happen if, instead of growing up with popular male images of divinity such as these dominating our mental landscape,

we were also given just as many images of divinity that looked like this...

 and this...

 

and this...

 and this...

 and this...

 

Would we see ourselves in the same light? 

What if creation didn't look like this...

but looked like this instead...

How might our consciousness be transformed?

Those patriarchal images take root in our mind.  They effect how we view ourselves, how we treat one another, and how we treat our planet.  When we see that all things are sacred, when we honor both the feminine and the masculine and see that the life in us is the same life that causes trees to grow, the sun to shine, and the earth to spin on her axis, we liberate ourselves from dualistic thinking and become free.

Sue Monk Kidd writes in The Dance of the Dissident Daughter:

"Walking into the sacredness of the female body will cause a woman to "enter into" her body in a new way, be at home in it, honor it, nurture it, listen to it, delight in its sensual music.  She will experience her female flesh as beautiful and holy, as a vessel of the sacred.  She will live from her gut and feet and hands and instincts and not entirely in her head. The bodies of such women, instead of being groomed to some external standard, are penetrated with soul, quickened from the inside."

When this new consciousness takes root within us, we also begin to experience every blade of grass, every drop or dew, as infused with divinity.  Kidd writes:

"Divine feminine imagery opens us up to the notion that the earth is the body of the Divine, and when that happens, the Divine cannot be contained solely in a book, church, dogma, liturgy, theological system, or transcendent spirituality.  The earth is no longer a mere backdrop until we get into heaven, something secondary and expendable.  Matter becomes inspirited; it breathes divinity.  Earth becomes alive and sacred.  And we find ourselves alive in the midst of her and forever altered."

Would we treat Mama Earth differently if we felt that she was a living, sacred, thing?  Would we still spray our strawberries with poison?  Would we still fill our oceans with plastic?  Would we still genetically modify our crops so they were "pestiside ready" or support the corporations who did by buying their products?  Would we still value material wealth over spiritual abundance or wage war against one another?   

Would we treat ourselves differently if we honored the sacred in feminine form?  Would we dance and play and honor our bodies regardless of their shape?  Would staying home with our kids be as valued as pursuing career goals?  Would our little girls grow up believing they were just as strong as their brothers?  Would we see ourselves in a different light?  I certainly think so... and for reasons like these, this mama is loving every minute of her journey into the collective feminine soul.

A New Beginning

We've been on a pretty long hiatus, haven't we?  But Om School is not closing its doors.  We're making room for a new student, actually.  

I've been absent from the blogosphere because we've been sitting on some exciting news for about a month now.  I wasn't ready to share with the entire universe until after that first sonogram... and having a little life growing inside me has been just about the only thing I can think of -- so the blogging had to take a back seat.  Until now.

We're due in late May and happy to report that Baby Om is growing strong and healthy right on schedule.  I'm focusing more on the magical, natural, and spiritual aspects of childbearing this time around.  I put down "What to Expect" after the first few pages and instead read Deepak's, Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives from cover to cover in just a few days.  Instead of buying into the medicalization of childbearing, I'm emptying my mind and embracing my inner-wisdom.  Our bodies know how to do this.  Like with so many other things in life, often all we really need is to get out of our own way.

Our schooling has already taken on a new shape... with first trimester challenges like morning sickness and pregnancy fatigue cutting into our usual program, we're learning to be more flexible with our schedule -- a skill we'll certainly need to have mastered by the baby's arrival.  We've been embracing our creative energies and looking at impermanence for our October mindfulness unit.  Am's added the soprano recorder to her musical repertoire, continues to enjoy piano, and has advanced a belt in karate.  We've been painting, counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s, and invented a new character, the Can Can Fairy, to help us with the four functions (of math).  We've read some amazing books lately -- our favorite being, Old Turtle and the Broken Truth which I hope to give a full review to here soon.   

I had all but forgotten what a magical time pregnancy is -- it's a time when our connection to Mama Universe is even more evident... a wondrous time when we're smack dab in the middle of the universe creating itself.  In Magical Beginnings, Chopra writes, "With the birth of every child, the universe chooses to look at itself with fresh eyes."  I hope you'll enjoy sharing this new beginning with us.  Many blessings to all.

A Blog with Substance Award!

Well, I'm just tickled to announce that I've won a blog award!  This is my first award since starting Om School in January.  Sharing our adventures here has been a real joy.  

Much gratitude to all of the friends and family who make it possible.

Here are the Award Rules:

• Thank the blogger who awarded it to you.
• Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, or experience using ten (10) words.  
• Pass it on to 10 other blogs which you feel have real substance. 

Many thanks to Angelina at Homegrown Naturally for sharing this honor with me and giving me the chance to pass it along.  

My ten word blogging mantra?  "Unite the mind and heart, breathe, and touch every moment."  

And the ten Blogs with Substance awards go to:

1.) Heather at Shivaya Naturals.  A natural family living blog.  Creative, artistic and beautiful.  (http://www.shivayanaturals.com)  

2.) Sarah at Moonchild.  A blog about childhood, parenting, creative play, and operating her eco-friendly toy store, Bella Luna Toys. (http://blog.bellalunatoys.com)
 
3.) Courtney at Easton Locavore.  One mama's quest to eat local, organic, wholesome goodness while working full time and raising a family. (eastonlocavore.blogspot.com)

4.) Grace at My Year In Haiku.  Original photography.  Original poetry.  Breathtaking, refreshing and insightful. (http://myyearinhaiku.blogspot.com)
 
5.) Heather at Zen & The Art Of Creativity.  Insights and wisdom from a certified Reiki Master, massage therapist, friend, and mama. (http://theempress78.blogspot.com)

6.) Julia at Adirondack Mama.   Life, family, and a creative perspective.  Beautiful photography and amazing handcrafted goodies. (http://www.adirondack-mama.com)

7.) Laurette Lynn at The Unplugged Mom.  One audacious mama helping parents identify ways to engage in their children’s development. (http://theunpluggedmom.blogspot.com)

8.) Hannah at A Handmade Childhood. An inside look at one mama's adventure in handcrafting a beautiful life for her children.  (http://ahandmadechildhood.blogspot.com)

9.) Mandy at Chasing My Bliss.  A mother and wife learning as she goes... loving the roller coaster we call life.  (http://embracingsimpleserenity.blogspot.com)
 
10.) Jennifer at Idiosyncratic Discoveries of Rose. Musings of a mother-wife-daughter-sister-teacher-friend-tree hugger-lover-poet-budding activist-romantic.  (http://idiosyncraticdiscoveriesofrose.blogspot.com)

AND... I can't help but make it eleven and give special props to Karyl at Mommies Who Love Fitness who has been an inspiration to so many of us through the years.  Keep your eyes open for updates at her blog including a new e-book that's coming soon! 

Looking at this list of women makes my heart absolutely sing.  I am so grateful for each and every one of you... and constantly reminded of the healing, transformative energy that we, as mothers, possess.  Motherhood -- a sacred responsibility indeed. 

A Wise Heart

We've been infusing our studies with the dharma since preschool.  Along with trips to Green Gulch Farm Zen Center and Spirit Rock Meditation Center we incorporate gathas, mantras, mindfulness exercises, the Eightfold path, the Brahma Viharas, and the Pāramitās into our studies.  We've worked out a pretty elaborate system over the years and it's been a real joy.  A. will be six on Thursday and she seems to truly enjoy this aspect of our home studies.  

At present, I'm writing a curriculum (based on our home studies) that follows the changing seasons and invites parents to engage in their child's inner-world.  Each month, we look at a virtue (compassion, loving-kindness, joy in others, equanimity, patience, generosity, wisdom, etc) and explore how nature is the best teacher.  I thought I'd share a bit of our routine here for all of you who are considering homeschooling or wondering how to incorporate your spiritual path into your daily schedule.

We start each day by lighting a candle and making an offering of incense in the kitchen. Then we listen to mantras and cook together.  A. sets the table and we eat quietly to set a focused tone for the school-day.  She either draws or plays while I clean up -- but not with anything noisy, digital, or electric.  I encourage stillness in the morning and have found that the less riled up she is before we start our day, the better.

Next it's Circle Time.  We sit on our zafus facing one another in the classroom and start our day with this gatha:

We are the leaves of one tree

We are the waves of one sea

The time has come for us to live as one

After the morning verse, I say a cheery little prayer such as, "Mother Nature, Universe, gods and goddesses, buddhas and bodhisatvas, ancestors, and fairies -- we're calling on all of the energies of the earth to be present in our classroom today... help our hearts grow wise so that we may know peace within and create peace here on the earth.  Blessed be, so be it, and let it be so!"

Then I say, "let us enjoy breathing together," ring our little gong, and we sit for a few breaths to focus and really arrive in the classroom.  I encourage A. to listen to all of the sounds, feel her breath in her nostrils, and notice all of her feelings.   Sometimes we'll lay on our backs with stones on our bellies and watch the stones rise and fall with our breath.  Other mornings, I ask her to listen to the gong and raise her hand when the sound has completely vanished.

Next, I invite A. to go to her "Creative Infinity"  -- the creative center of our being where the universe comes from.  Here, we look for a virtue in the form of an animal totem to "bring back" to the classroom and keep with us all day.  Some of A.'s favorites are the Cheetah of Loving-kindness and the Deer of Compassion.

After Creative Infinity comes Sharing Time.  We pass a basket of sticks and stones between us - each selecting one as a "talking stick" or a "stillness stone."  I invite A. to share anything she wants -- a difficult feeling, a story, or a favorite toy.  I usually share the calender and then use the rest of my share to introduce, review, or expand on a dharma or mindfulness unit.

Then it's time for the Main Lesson.  For Kindergarten we alternated between Language Arts and Math and I usually used an archetypal story to introduce new letters, words, phonics, numbers, or math concepts (i.e. King Plus and Queen Minus).  After drawing the story in her Main Lesson Book, singing the spelling of new words, or marching out the math facts, it's time for a little movement.

One of our favorites is a chant that we've added asanas (yoga poses) to:

Earth my body (mountain pose)

Water my blood (five pointed star pose)

Air my breath (standing prayer/pranam)

And fire my spirit (clap hands and wave them above your head)

Then it's lunch time.  While I prepare our food, she has playtime inside.  We usually set the table and recently started a new ritual of setting our food down by the kitchen alter for blessings before we eat (that's Saraswati, the goddess of creativity and learning, in the picture frame).  

Here's a great little gatha to make lunch more mindful:

Earth who gives to us this food

Sun who makes it ripe and good

Dear Earth, dear Sun

By you we live,

Our loving thanks

To you we give.

After lunch it's outside time.  I try to incorporate some Earth Science into our outside time but sometimes A. just plays.  After an hour or so, it's back in for an afternoon lesson.  I use this time for art, music, dance, yoga, science, or social studies. We alternate through these subjects throughout the week and I'm always amazed at how they integrate so naturally with the morning lesson.

We end each school day with a verse that I found in the Oak Meadow Kindergarten Syllabus.  I've expanded it and added yoga poses:

I can be as small as a small, small seed (child's pose)

I can be as tall as a tall, tall tree (tree pose)

As strong as a mountain (mountain pose)

As brave as can be (warrior III)

Because I'm a Goddess (goddess pose)

Can't you see!

One of the greatest things about educating at home is making it personal.  Incorporating our spiritual path into our studies with gathas, mantras, and mindfulness exercises has helped us strengthen our connection with one another (and with the earth) and deepened our awareness about the larger context from which our lives emerge.  What's more, this holistic method of incorporating core subjects with our spiritual path sets a framework for keeping our minds and hearts integrated.  I believe this is a path to cultivating more than intellect... it is a path to a wise heart.  

Wisdom Teachings in the Internet Age

The first ever Wisdom 2.0 conference, held April 30th-May 2nd in Silicon Valley, brought together staff from Google, Twitter, Facebook and other technology companies, along with Zen teachers and neuroscientists to explore living with wisdom in our technology age.

The list of speakers is here.  Be sure to sign up for their e-newsletter, join their Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter to learn about more Wisdom 2.0 events.

In this thought provoking panel discussion, Malika Chopra (Intent.com), Alana Kornfeld (Huffington Post Living), Susan Kaiser Greenland (The Mindful Child and Mindfulness Together), Mary Ann Brusset (Spirituality & Practice.com), and moderator by Tami Simon (Sounds True) discuss how can we use the tools that are now available to us in the twenty-first century for maximum raising of consciousness and responsible dissemination of the wisdom teachings.

It's well worth the hour to watch through the end where the panel discusses the challenges and opportunities that online communities face in creating meaningful experiences and how the wisdom and light discovered online might translate into our three-dimensional lives.

Wisdom, Waves, and Water Sprites

We began our W week with twenty-four new words: with, will, which, when, what, where, we, was, walk, warm, write, woman, way, wish, white, where, way, want, would, work, went, womb, waves, and water.  

Rather than memorizing the correct spelling through written repetitions, we've been combining skills by writing complete sentences using our W words.  Our goal is to have A. writing paragraphs by the first day of summer with 3-5 coherent, meaningful sentences that stay on topic, make sense, and use natural vocabulary.  I think she's well on her way to reaching that goal.

We've also been enjoying word problems and found this great resource for first and second grade math games and worksheets.  While I'm not a big fan of worksheets, I have to admit that since implementing a new house rule of at least one per day, A.'s math skills are showing marked improvement.  She actually enjoys the three-minute timed drills; however, I have a rule that, in my classroom, there are no mistakes -- only learning -- and I've banished all red pens in favor of erasers.

Yesterday we enjoyed a mindfulness practice and brought a bowl of water to our morning circle.  We wet our hands, turned our palms up, closed our eyes, and tried to feel when the water was dry by focusing our attention just on the bodily sensation of having wet hands.  Then we made ripples by tapping the center of the water and discussed how people are like waves of the same sea and how, when we have peace within, we create peace on earth through our relationships and interconnectedness.  I asked A. to recall the morning not too long ago when the lake was calm and reflecting the sky.  Then I asked, "How is the water like our mind?"  She answered, "When our mind is calm, it reflects how things really are... just like the lake reflects the whole sky. When they're rough, everything looks wonky."

Then we named some of the things we can do to help keep our mind reflecting what is real.  While I suggested eating healthy, organic foods and exercising, A.'s answers surprised me.  Her first answer was, "By doing things where we concentrate."  I couldn't agree more.  Engaging our mind in an activities like music or art requires mindful awareness.  Through practice, we can develop an abiding clarity of mind.  

Her second answer was, "By trusting ourselves."  She went on to explain how she's been learning to make sharp turns on her bike without training wheels.  When she worries, she misses the turn.  When she trusts herself, she succeeds.  I think this is quite an insight for a Kindergartner.

Today we read a Jataka Tale, The Prince and the Water Sprite.  Jataka Tales are folklore-like literature, much like Aesop's Fables, only native to India and relating to the adventures of the Buddha in his former existences.  Today's story was filled with W words and features a mischievous water sprite who captures all who enter his pond except those who give the right answer to one question: "What are the good fairies like?"

The youngest princes answer incorrectly and are carried off to the the water sprite's lair.  The eldest brother, who is wise of heart, answers correctly saying, "The good fairies are like the pure in heart who do no wrong, the good and kindly in word and deed."  His wisdom saves his brothers and the three princes go on to rule their kingdom together in kindness. 

Wisdom is a recurring theme in our home studies.  It's what happens when we learn to send our intellect down into our heart and allow our actions to flow from compassion.  Sadly, it's missing from Fry's 300 Instant Sight Word list  because it doesn't fall into the category of seventy-five percent of the words children are most likely to encounter in literature.  Today we added it to our vocabulary list as word number twenty-five.

May: Flowers of Lovingkindness

May is the month of flowers.  It’s that time when all is in full bloom and the world is alive and thriving.  It is a time for celebrating mothers and honoring the life giving energies of the earth.

May Day is the half-way point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice and has been celebrated for ages as the holiday Beltane with crowns of flowers and dancing around the Maypole.  The month itself may have been named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. (from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May) 

This week we're launching a new mindfulness unit, May: Flowers of Loving-kindness.  Loving-kindness, or mettā in Pali, is the cultivation of the kind of love a mother has for her children.  It’s a gentle love -- a love without attachment and with an active interest in others.  

Giving loving-kindness to ourselves and then radiating it to others is a tender practice that encourages awareness of our inner world.  It’s a form of mindfulness practice that increases our capacity for compassion, can calm a distraught mind, quell anger, and even help us sleep better.  Loving-kindness is a state of the mind and heart acting in concert for the altruistic benefit of the whole.   Acharya Buddharakkhita gives this definition: 

“Essentially metta is an altruistic attitude of love and friendliness as distinguished from mere amiability based on self-interest. Through metta one refuses to be offensive and renounces bitterness, resentment and animosity of every kind, developing instead a mind of friendliness, accommodativeness and benevolence which seeks the well-being and happiness of others. True metta is devoid of self-interest. It evokes within a warm-hearted feeling of fellowship, sympathy and love, which grows boundless with practice and overcomes all social, religious, racial, political and economic barriers. Metta is indeed a universal, unselfish and all-embracing love.” (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/buddharakkhita/wheel365.html)

While the term, “metta” may be unfamiliar, the actual feeling is one that every parent knows.  Knowing this feeling ourselves gives us greater strength in teaching it to our children and helping them cultivate in their hearts this type of unconditional love for the world. 

To begin our month of loving-kindness, we’re hanging a blank sheet of butcher paper on our classroom wall.  At the top, in big, bold letters, I’ve written “Loving-kindness is…”  As the month progresses, we’ll draw pictures and write phrases that represent our understanding of metta.  I'll ask A. to think of people she loves and people that love her.  Then, I'll have her hold a flower in the palm of her hand and imagine how a mommy loves her baby.  That's metta.

Next, we’ll make a list of things – of noises and distractions that would usually illicit in us a reaction of annoyance or frustration... such as the phone ringing during school or the cat crying in the wee hours of the morning.  For the entire month of May, we’ll use these things as our bells of loving-kindness and practice transforming our unconscious reactions into conscious responses.  

When we hear the cat cry or the phone ring, we'll stop, take one deep breath, and picture a flower in our mind.  Before proceeding as usual, we'll say, "I love you cat," or "I love you telephone."  It’s here in this space that we can cultivate metta.  Our awareness itself is the first seed in the soil.  

We'll be sure to take plenty of mindful metta wildflower walks -- collecting wildflowers, tuning into the natural world as it blossoms and grows, learning about what's native to our area, and practicing experiencing the world around us with kindhearted interest.  We'll make bouquets and let each flower represent someone we know, tying a ribbon on each and saying their name while sending them metta.  When the bouquet is finished, it represents the whole universe wrapped in our loving-kindness.  

Stay tuned for more exercises, stories, and ideas for sharing the practice of loving-kindness with your children. In the meantime...


A heart of loving-kindness is also one of gratitude.  As a special thank you to Om School readers, Bella Luna Toys is offering 10% off though the end of May on "the highest quality Waldorf-inspired toys and playthings to nourish the senses and inspire the imagination."  Just enter the code IMAGINE10 at checkout at http://www.bellalunatoys.com.


With gratitude, deep peace, and metta to all, C.

The Earth in Us

Our Earth Week began with a day-trip to the ocean on the Thursday before Earth Day.  In the days prior, my morning meditation had been infused with a new sense of devotion, of love for the feminine, life giving, creative energies of Earth.  At the same time, a dear friend from out-of-state came for a visit, and we met at The Ren Brown Collection Gallery in Bodega Bay for Mayumi Oda's Feminine Buddhas exhibit.  It wasn't until we returned home that night that I realized the Sanskrit word for goddess is "devi" and it was probably no coincidence that I'd been feeling an opening in my heart, a sense of dev-otion to the feminine, leading up to our trip to the ocean.  

Friday was a beautiful morning so we hopped in the golf cart and headed out for breakfast.  Along the way, we noticed that the water at the lake was perfectly still; bright and blue glowing glass.  We pulled into the marina to watch the sky reflecting on the water.  Just then, six goslings came waddling to the edge of the lake with mama and papa close by their sides.

The morning was so still, so calm, that we came back and enjoyed breakfast picnic-style by the water.  By then the goslings had gone so we set up camp at a nearby lakeside park.  After breakfast, it was time for a little yoga with a sequence we call Earth-Body link.  The sun moved overhead and the morning gave way to afternoon.  It was time to hit the books.  We cruised back home but it was too late.  We'd been bit by the outside bug.  

"Mama, I want to go back to Little Beach."


I couldn't have agreed more.  So we packed up our school supplies and went back to the little lakeside park.  This was the beginning of a new Om School tradition that we're keeping alive: Outdoor Fridays.  

On Sunday, we continued our Earth Week with family a trip to the walking trails and botanical gardens at Skyline Wilderness Park.  After a little picnic lunch, we enjoyed learning about the trees and wildflowers native to our area.  Skyline is an amazing park with picnic grounds, a disc golf course, an archery range, a social center, tent, RV and horse camping, a barn and arena for equestrian use and, of course, the amazing native plant garden filled with beautiful old trees, redwoods, cottonwoods, oaks, and flowering jewels like wild lilac and dogwood.  Our favorite is a two-hundred year old Valley Oak... in her presence, time slows down and all worries fade.

Monday, we took school outside again for some sacred garden time and began our studies with Chapter 39, Protecting the Earth, from my favorite book, Thich Nhat Hanh's, Touching the Earth.  Here, the Zen Master asks us to let the mountains and the rivers be our witness as we promise to protect the earth and "transform garbage into flowers" and produce the energy of understanding and love.  We also read chapter 21, Earth, from Starhawk's, Circle Round and learned abot Gaia, the ancient Greek goddess whose name means, "Earth" and discussed the interdependence of all life.  Next, it was time for more traditional academics including writing complete sentences using proper punctuation and spelling.  Then, A. asked if we could hike around the land near our house pick up garbage.  It seems that all of our dirt loving and goddess worshiping is paying off! 

Tuesday the rain came and we stayed inside for our studies.  We put our new words on the board (up, us, under, until, upon, use, umbrella, unicorn, and unite), learned about the prefix "uni," and read chapter 39, Oneness with the Earth, from Thich Nhat Hanh's Touching the Earth in which Thay says, "I see everywhere the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air, and how they interrelate with everything and inter-are in me.  I shall touch the earth and remain close to the earth to see that I am one with Mother Earth; I am one with the sunlight, the rivers, the lakes, the ocean, and the clouds in the sky."  We also read "Growing: a Story" by Diane Baker and followed the life of a tomato seed from planting to blooming to becoming a living part of a little girl's body.

On Wednesday, we enjoyed a little extra mindfulness practice in our morning circle and sat, eyes closed, listening for outside sounds.  We heard the wind, the leaves in the trees, and a number of different birds.  Then, with our minds focused and still, we hit the books and the piano.  A. learned to play a new song (a difficult one with alternating hands and both melodic and harmonic intervals).  She read, The Maple Tree -- a story from the Oak Meadow Kindergarten syllabus (intended for the parent to read the child!), finished two new math worksheets with sums through 18 and rounding numbers to the nearest hundred, and made a pretty little Earth Collage.  

Later we read chapter 41 from Touching the Earth, The Earth as a Solid Place of Refuge and learned the story of Buddha facing the Mara under the Bodhi tree.  As Buddha sat in meditation reaching enlightenment, Mara appears as a demon and tells Buddha that he is declaring enlightenment for himself and earth as his realm. He points to his legions saying, "What I say is true. These are my witnesses. Who will believe that you speak the truth? Who will be your witness?" Undisturbed in his meditation, Buddha reached down and touched the earth.  I love this story and think it is a beautiful illustration of taking refuge in the earth -- and of earth as a place of solidity and acceptance.

Thursday was Earth Day proper and, after making offerings of wildflowers and seashells from our beach day to the earth goddess  Gaia, we rallied the local troops for a clean-up day at the creek.  Seeing these little smiling faces engaged in service made my heart sing.  When we get our kids involved young, they learn that honoring the earth is as essential as brushing their teeth.  (Ignore either and they'll go away.)  After the work was done, the kids splashed around a bit and we released rosemary, with wishes for the earth, downstream.  

Rosemary is the herb of remembrance, birth, and rebirth.  The name rosemary, which comes from the Latin, meaning "dew of the sea," hails back to its ancient origins. For centuries, it has been a symbol of friendship and hundreds of years ago it was dipped in gold, tied with a ribbon, and given as a keepsake at weddings. (from: http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/columns/gilbert/parsley_sage.htm)   I hope the kids will remember this loving gesture.  We are the newcomers to this community and I feel honored that such wonderful mamas have welcomed us into their fold and shared this special day with us. 

On Friday, we came full circle -- back to our little lakeside spot for a spelling test and a math test.  A. spelled all of her words correctly and has learned a number of little tricks and clues for remembering math facts.  We read, The Magical Seed by Lawrence Williams from the Oak Meadow Kindergarten syllabus.  This is a sweet short story that illustrates the cyclical journey of a seed, from earth to apple tree, and back to earth again... the same journey each of us makes in our lifetime.  

The great Zen Master Dogen wrote, "The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass."  They're also reflected in the still morning waters of lakes and streams and in the wide, bright eyes of our children.  When we see that the four elements of the cosmos are the same elements in our body, we learn to honor both.  

By taking time to notice the little things, to see the hidden connections, to see the whole earth and the entire cosmos in ourselves, we create space in our heart for devotion... for real reverence for this beautiful blue and green earth that is our mother and our home... that is the one thing we all have in common.  By connecting with the earth, we see where we come from and to where we are going.  By touching the earth, we can release our fears and worries, take refuge in her solidity, and discover a lightness of our spirit that affords real freedom.  

Deep peace to all.

Kindergarten Ecology

We are on spring vacation... so our lessons have been informal, our goals have been to relax and restore, and our days have been full of sunlight and friendship.  

Learning comes in infinite forms... and breaks from our regular schedule always remind me that, even without formal schooling, kids are always learning.  Sometimes, it's the lessons we don't plan for that have the most meaning.

In other words, Om School never really takes a break.  When your heart's compass is set strongly towards the ocean, everything you do, intended or not, flows down that river.  Something I desire deeply for my girl is for her to feel her connection with the earth, to know that she is connected to every other living thing, and to see that each drop of dew, every blade of grass, and all the creatures who walk upon it are sacred.  I think that the deepest peace a human heart can feel comes from loving and being loved in return.  Learning to feel to feel love from the natural world might just ensure that that deep peace.  It's there, always loving us, always providing for us... no matter what -- every day the sun shines down on us and the earth beams back.  We stand in the middle often too asleep to know that we are being held in that embrace.

When we awaken to this love, to our hidden connections with all things, we realize that it is up to us to care for the earth as we care for our children, our closest friends, and our families.  The earth truly is our mother and we should cherish her -- not just so we can use up her resources at some later date in time -- but because she is sacred.  

With Earth Day coming up on April 22nd (and turning forty this year) it's a perfect time to turn our attention to the environment.  I'm working to develop a thematic unit on ecology and will post resources here as I find them.  A great starter reading list can be found here: Children's Nature & Ecology Books and Elementary Education Resources: Kindergarten is a great site for developing your own lesson plans, games, and activities to get your kids involved and caring about the environment.  

Still, I think stories and picture books speak to a young child's heart more than scientific information... and I've been meaning to get this book for months now:  The Last Wild Witch by Starhawk.  You can support an independent book store by purchasing it at 100Fires.com: Extraordinary Books (and More!) for a Healthy Planet.  

This PDF, "The Last Wild Witch Teaching and Discussion Guide", is a fantastic guide -- full with discussion questions, language skill-builders, art projects, music circles, and science projects.   

The following video, a promo for the book, is a treasure by itself and a lesson in global responsibility.  Listen for the last lines, as the children realize, "Maybe we're supposed to do something... Maybe we're supposed to save the forest..."

Deep peace to all.

Music, Math, & a Wise Heart

Today was a math and music day so I set my mind to seeing numbers everywhere this morning.  In the process, a Social Studies lesson cropped up organically and reminded me that real wisdom is greater than knowledge.  

This week our Riverdog Farm veggie box contained about ten mandarin oranges. I noticed this morning that they were beginning to look mushy so we started the day with math.  First we counted the oranges -- ten.  Then I sliced them each in half -- twenty.  Only six halves fit on our cutting board and this created a great illustration of the number six as 3+3 and 3x2.  I juiced and Amelie handed the halves to me... this is subtraction.  Six pieces minus one piece equals five pieces. 

To a young one, making juice by hand demonstrates the amount of labor that goes into bringing just one glass to the table.  As we were juicing, I was reminded of a passage from Touching the Earth by Thich Nhat Hanh and our Social Studies lesson began.

"Looking into my bowl of rice, I see clearly that this is the gift of the earth and the sky.  I see the rice field, the vegetable garden, the sunshine, rain, manure, and the hard work of the farmer.  I see the beautiful fields of golden wheat, the one who reaps the harvest, who threshes the grain, who makes the bread.  I see the beans sown in the earth becoming the beanstalk.  I see the apple orchard, the plum orchard, the tomato garden, and the workers who are cultivating the plants.  I see the bees and butterflies going from flower to flower collecting pollen to make sweet honey for me to eat.  I can see that every element of the cosmos has contributed to making this apple or this plum that I am holding in my hand or this leaf of steamed vegetable that I am dipping into the soy sauce.  My heart is full of gratitude and happiness."

I asked Amelie to think about all of the work that went into bringing these oranges to us and we talked while we squeezed.  "Looking deeply into our golden orange juice, what do you see?"  "I see the the seed that grew into a tree!"

The world is full of people who have accumulated information; however, a person who thinks with their mind and heart in alignment is a gem and often a real asset to our global community. Integrating core subjects helps develop a wise heart and honors the whole child. This encourages our kids to honor themselves and the world around them.  Since Kindergarten is a time for developmental play, awe and wonder, the last thing we want to do is override the senses, over-pressure a young mind, or put to much emphasis on the intellectual process.  If a child is directed into academic thinking too often and too soon, we risk getting them stuck up there in their head. 

One way we keep it fresh and fun is by making music.  Piano is a regular part of our curriculum and the benefits of music on the mind and body have been recognized since the days of the great Greek philosophers. Plato said music “gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything.” Visual and performing arts have a way of tapping into that part of us that is more than mind and, at the same time, music begins with math. 

According to the PBS Independent Lens documentary, Music from the Inside Out, A 1997 study by Rauscher and Shaw revealed that preschoolers who studied piano performed 34 percent better in spatial and temporal reasoning ability than preschoolers who spent the same amount of time learning to use computers. Preschoolers who took singing and keyboard lessons scored 80 percent higher on puzzle tests than students at the same preschool who did not have music lessons.

After Circle Time, we moved right into piano practice and got her mind working in sequences, repeating patterns, and thinking forwards and backwards.  Then it was time for her lesson and a little socialization with her music teacher.  The focus today was learning about intervals. Up and down the keys she went naming notes, repeating patterns, accessing both sides of her brain, and lighting up that part of us that is more than mind.

Back home, we reviewed the four processes of math with an art project and used watercolors to paint brightly colored sets of bugs.  This was great quality time together and we both enjoyed painting and then using colored markers to write out the math sentences. Three ladybugs plus three ladybugs plus three ladybugs equals nine ladybugs.  This emphasized what we'd done in the morning with our oranges.

After playtime and dinner it was time for cookie math.  Three rows of cookies with three cookies in each row equals nine cookies.  Add one more row and you've got three times four.  Our cookie math was another repetition of what we'd done this morning with oranges and before bed we added the finished product to her portfolio and reviewed the equations one more time. 

While the art supplies were out we returned to today's Social Studies lesson, Looking Deeply into the Orange Juice.  I asked Amelie to think back to this morning and draw all of the things she can see looking deeply.  She drew the tree with oranges, an orange falling from the tree, the veggie box they came in, the halved oranges, the compost bowl, a hand-squeezer, a half-full pitcher, and a glass with a straw.  She numbered the steps one through eight which told me that her math hat was still on and that she's still thinking in sequences.

Kids don't need to sit at a desk for hours memorizing math facts on a worksheet to become good at math.  Boring a child with written work isn't going to spark their curiosity in the subject and, from my experience, is likely to turn them away from it for good. Too often we praise dry academics and test scores over actual learning and overlook the inner-lives of our children.  When we include and integrate art and music with other core subjects, our kid's inner light turns on.  This nurtures both compassion and creativity rather than just intellect or memorization. 

I agree with Einstein.  Imagination is more important than knowledge... but greater than the imagination is the content of one's heart.  This can't be measured by standardized testing and it is the one thing most central to the continuation of a humane society.  Before we send our young learners out into the world, let's make sure they are ready.  The first step is honoring the whole child.