Garden Day 2

Our first garden day was such a success, we decided to have another one! Thanks to the generosity of the Erika and Travis, and the hard work of Tracy, Alan, Michelle, Kris, Neal, Lise, Claire, Tracy, Hendrik, and our 'little helpers' we were able to complete a wonderful landscaping project for the school!!


Before

 After

Can you believe this is the same Japanese Maple?!

 This little corner is my favorite part of the project - flagstones leading to an adorable squirrel bench and a weeping pussy willow tree, surrounded by lambs ear, butterfly shrubs, pansies and creeping thyme.

 I am filled with gratitude for everyone who helped make this beautiful project a reality. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Children Learn What They Live

Children Learn What They Live

By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condem

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive

If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves

If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy

If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty

but....

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence

 If children live with tolerance, they learn patience

 If children live with praise, they learn appreciation

 If children live with acceptance, they learn to love

 If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves

 If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal

 If children live with sharing, they learn generosity

 If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness

 If children live with fairness, they learn justice

 If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect

 If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and those around them

 If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

A Little Help...

In our Casa, help is never in short supply. The children will eagerly help a friend new to our environment learn how we do snack...

 clean a water spill...

 help a friend put on her socks and shoes...

pour water for an outdoor snack...

help fold the laundry...

 and maybe even re-fold some cloths to make sure that they fit on the shelf just right.

And most of the time, the children take care of these tasks without even being asked. These young ones saw a need and took care of it without an adult over their shoulder telling them what to do. Children--especially the youngest ones are often underestimated when it comes to how capable we, as adults, think that they are.

We each have an inherent desire to be able to feel needed and to feel as though we are a contributing member to our households, workplaces and when we visit friends and family. Think about ways you can allow your children to help at home. Maybe it's helping to prepare dinner--cutting vegetables for a salad, setting the table or combining ingredients for a delicious pasta dinner. Maybe it's helping to transfer wet laundry from the washer to the dryer and then from a dryer to the basket and then helping to fold it and put it away. Or even it could be helping to dust a table, feed the dog or make their lunch and lay out their choice of clothing for the next day.

Showing your child how to help and then un-doing what you showed them (like how to fold a cloth and then unfolding it) and allowing them to try gives them a feeling of ownership, of confidence and more importantly of joy. This creates a greater respect for the environment in which they live.

"How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."--Anne Frank

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd-- Faith Like a Child

We decided to try something new this week and move a few of the Catechesis materials into our Casa. It ended up working beautifully and it allowed the children the chance to choose Catechesis materials on which they have received presentations and use them at will throughout our morning work cycle.

Preparing the altar with the chalice, paten, candles and cross of the risen Christ.

We sang: "Lord Jesus come, Good Shepherd come, the Bread is on the table. Lead me to You."

The children also have the opportunity to care for the Atrium materials in the same way that they care for the materials in our Casa. Here, our altar is being polished.

 

In addition to the materials the children know how to use from our Atrium, the children received a presentation on the Parable of the Mustard Seed in small groups of two or three.

"He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

-- Matthew 13:31-32

 They held, with amazement, the absolutely tiny speck of the Mustard Seed in the palm of their hands. Imagine how tiny the seed is and how large the tree can become! The children compared the seed to the smallest children in our Casa and were amazed still yet, at how small the seed looked.

At the end of our morning, when we usually gather for a quick song, poem or story, we decided to have a prayer service. The children were delighted to each help to prepare the prayer table with our cloth, candle, bible, Good Shepherd statue, and prayer card. After our table was prepared, we sang our favorite Atrium songs and then shared a moment of prayerful silence. It's amazing to watch children of such a young age be so willing and eager to experience God's presence with joy. Spontaneously one child said, "I know why God remembers me. Because He's in my heart." What a gift it is to have faith like a child!