Summer spaces available

We have 3-4 spaces for school agers to join our program this summer. If you have a young one that enjoys the outdoors, good food and good friends- please join us!
Activities include:

Basket making
Knot tying
Shelter building
Geo- caching
Drama
Plant and animal studies
Science arts and crafting

But most importantly- drinking up as much summer as possible!

Dandelions

This is one of our favorites to sing as we collect dandelions all summer. but- i always need a refresher in the spring.

Dandelion
~ Author Unknown ~

There was a dandelion,
With lovely, fluffy hair,
That glistened in the sunshine,
And in the summer air.
And oh! This pretty dandelion
Soon grew old and grey,
And, sad to tell! Her charming hair,
Blew many miles away.

In the late of winter

In the late of winter, it's cold and it does snow,
In the late of winter, how the wind does blow,
But just beneath the earth, the seeds do start to glow,
For in the late of winter- they await the spring so they may grow.

Sherenes chocolate chip cookies

My chocolate chip cookie recipe makes enough for a crowd with a few left over. Ninety some cookies have been counted to come out of the oven. Often we will half or quarter the recipe for a chocolate chip
Cookie emergency. I'm a firm believer in the ability of these little cookies to boost spirits, bring siblings together, make guests feel welcome- and, ahem, make friends. I know my daycare mamas and papas are never unhappy to see we have warm cookies at pick up. And now you have the recipe.

2 cups best butter you can find
1.5 cups brown sugar
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1T vanilla
4 eggs
1.5t baking powder
1.5t baking soda
Pinch of salt
4 cups flour
4 cups chocolate chips
I recommend using organic ingredients in their whole and most raw form. Chocolate chip cookies are simple, and yes, you'll probably want two or three no matter what they are made from. But, if you want these cookies to also carry a bit of magic and the ability to heal up a broken or bruised spirit- you need a wholesome base, real chocolate, and a little something to make them your own.

Yoga for Motherhood, home study January 2013

http://feeds.feedburner.com/YogaToday/ipod
I found this pod cast about two weeks ago. Since then, I have watched it several times. While chopping vegetables for dinner, while the children watched a movie near by, while the baby nursed. I have not done it once. Not even rolled out the mat. I have managed to do 5 sun salutations on most mornings. I have noticed them strengthening, my body moving more like fluid from one place to another. I have noticed my breath, even off the mat. I have noticed my place, my time, my space.
Because, here, in the thick of full motherhood- the strength of my body and mind are the only tools I need. Here, in this time and place- Asana practice is not to increase flexibility, or give me a firmer body. Never, is asana about what I can do on the mat- it's about what I can take with me when I leave the still, quite rectangle and move into the great wide open.
So practice here, is about finding that balance between what is needed-and what can wait. Wait till babies do not cry when they are left, wait till big girls don't need grown ups at brownies, wait until after the only time two tired parents can find each other. I do indeed need my asana practice, and my meditation, and my reading, writing, breathing, and art. But, if the main objective of all them is to bring me clarity and balance- then I need not lust after time for these as long as I find myself in a place of clarity and balance.
There will be time, time to study more, practice more, explore more- but there will never be more of this. I will never get more of these precious beings as they are today. And I will never get more time to practice being here, in full motherhood. What there is to learn here- cannot be learned from someone else, only from showing up here, present and mindful.

Yoga for Motherhood, home study January 2013

http://feeds.feedburner.com/YogaToday/ipod

Peace be with us all.

Beside me a very small young man is dreaming. Like every loving parent in America, today when I look upon him, I am flooded with more then the usual river of emotion. Most of us as parents try not to let our minds wander to the darkness of what it would be like to have them suddenly no longer with us. But on days like today- we do. Like a flag in our souls for those parents whose bodies and minds are screaming for their babies, we allow ourselves to fleetingly imagine the torture. For we can't allow it in for more then a moment-even the thought is paralyzing. Having a little five ( going on 6) year-old kindergartner in my home- I could not even let myself go there at first. It is only this morning I can bring our nation's tragedy home. The girls are spending the night out. As I woke I was thoughtful that it is Hazel, who takes up the most space in our home. Both physically, and emotionally, she at 5 is, what 5 is. For a moment- in honor of all parents whose children won't come home- I allow myself the darkness. I allow myself to cry.
The most startling and surprising moment of this tragedy for me has been that I am neither startled or surprised. I did not have a moment where I wondered how this could be true. I actually live in a world where I am not shocked to hear kindergartners where massacred in their classroom. It is not only because shootings have become common on the news. It is not only because of our "gun culture" that I am not surprised. It is because of our culture. I am not surprised or shocked that children were murdered, or that we have murders among us.
We evaluate our lives, our routines and try to protect our children from being harmed. But maybe we should be looking from the other direction. My greatest tragedy would not be harm coming to my children. My greatest tragedy would be harm coming from them. If we want to live in peace- we must live in peace. That means being less concerned with what is done to us then what we do. It means laying down our presumptive defenses, and allowing vulnerability. It means being concerned for the welfare of all, especially children. Being an example of peace. Holding something sacred. Collectively. We have dozens of problems in our culture and not one, not one, could not be solved within one generation of collectively holding our children as sacred.
Let us not simply light candles, but acknowledge the flame already burning. Please join me in offering this blessing, and offering it often, so we may embody this blessing and pass it amongst us until the sun rises on a world of peace.

i honor the light within you, and the light within each of your children. those who have come, but could not be with us today. those who have climbed our laps and backs all day, and those who are still coming. blessings on you and your children. namaste.