Earth Day Prayer

"May there only be peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life."--United Nations Secretary-General U ThantMarch 21, 1971.Listen to the wise words of … [Read more...]

Wooden Stencils from Hearthsong

As an art teacher, I have never been a big fan of stencils. I have seen students become quite dependent upon them and resistant to draw freehand. As an early childhood educator, I love stencils for developing fine motor skills. Children love the experience of filling in the … [Read more...]

Symbolic Play in a War Zone

Symbolic play is an important developmental stage children go through, in which they demonstrate cognitive skills. Symbolic play begins with children engaging in highly familiar activities from their world. My daughter used to get our on her wooden Radio Flyer Classic Tiny … [Read more...]

Great Children's Literature: The Tin Forest

Written by Helen Ward and illustrated by Wayne Anderson, The Tin Forest is a beautiful story. An elderly man lives in a small house on property surrounded by garbage. The man is depressed by the lack of life around him. "Every day he tried to clear away the garbage, sifting and … [Read more...]

Green Family Values: Who Speaks For the Trees?

Dr. Seuss wrote The Lorax, the original children’s book on conservation, the same year that Greenpeace was formed. His message, cleverly told with rhymes and silly words, forewarned my generation of the consequences of overusing resources. I wish I could say we have learned from … [Read more...]