Project Reflections
| Date | Place | Reflections |
| Oct 1 05 | Harvest Festival | The day was rainy, but the people did'nt seem to mind and certainly not the children, for they found the weather to be fun and the fact they got to carve pumpkins and make other crafts turned out to be a fun filled day for them. The energy level on that day was full and filled with light |
| Special guest on Midwifery | As I sat and watched the film on giving birth the memories came back from when I gave birth to my 2 sons. Although I was unable to do a natural birth, it was still a wonderful experience one that will stay with me throughout my whole life. I felt a sense of sadness and happiness at the same time as I watched the film and thought about how life recycles itself throughout time and space and how we ourselves are effected by what goes on around us. | |
| Guest on Child Development | I have this thought on child development, how children see and respond to the world around them, how they grow at different speeds and how each child is unique in themselves. Our guest speaker as she talked, things became more appearant to me and as a parent I discovered areas that I did rather well in and areas that I could have improved on. For the most part my children have grown up to be fine young men, but sadly there are alot of children in this world that do not receive what they need for their development, which causes a chain reaction that effects everything and everyone around them. People I feel really need to take a good look at what is happening in the world today, to begin to make a difference for the world tomorrow and we need to begin with our children and let them become who they need to be not whom we want them to become. | |
| Oct 15, 05 | Mt Rainer | What a great day this trip turned out to be, the Mountainis a very holy place for some, for some its a way to connect to mother nature. The ride up was enjoyable, met my classmates on a different level and enjoyed the Anne Rice audio book we listend to on the way up and back. Although it rained most of the day it didn't stop people from getting out and hiking up the trail. I tried my best but with my bad leg and hip was only able to go so far, but I did manage to get some great pictures of Mount. Rainers colorfull bounty. |
| Oct 23,05 | First day of outreach program | This was the first day of our outreach program; we had four young students show up but what a wonderful day. We first talked about what we would be learning in the class of art and nature. Then we read from a book that described Northwest Pacific wild life and plants. We started with the animals that are found in the area, then we moved on to mushrooms found in the area. It was exciting then to go out for a nature walk and have the children look for and discover what we had just learned. To look at the world through the eyes of child is like discovering it all over again, seeing the wonderment of life. Afterwards we came back and created our journals to keep track of what we see and do in class. |
| Oct 30,05 | Second class of outreach program | Today we had time for our nature walk early, it was cold and brisk and the sun was shining brightly over the fall afternoon. The children came in costume, which was a wonderful thing to see their imaginations at work. We gathered up leaves and even jumped in a pile of them, it was fun to see they laughter and smiles. We then went back to class to talk about different cultures and how they celebrated the passing of their loved ones on Samhain or the Day of the Dead, while we discussed this the children colored on the small pumpkins they had. Afterwards they made clay pots in order for them at a later date plant their seeds. Then we had a feast of goodies that everyone had brought to share. The children are full of life and they contribute to our learning community. |
| Nov 6,05 | Third class of outreach program | Today was our was our planting day, the children got to pick from four different kinds of herbs; basil, thyme, tarragon, and fennel. I beleive they each picked a different one so they could see how different they grew. Its excitign to see how children react to having the chance to plant and watch something grow into an adult plant. Each of their pots were unique and seemed to have a life of their own with the designs and shapes. We then made music shakers made from simple things brought from home and rice. It was a wonderous thing to sit and watch the children create their music shakers, they began to take on personalities all of their own with arms, legs, hair and even faces on them. I noticed the young ladies of the group made their into girls shakers with necklaces, I have to admit that I wouldnt even have thought of that one. Working with these children gives me the chance to see the world anew and allows me to open up more of my imagination and realize that the sky is the limit in what we can do. |
| Nov 13, 05 | Fourth class of outreach program Painted word |
Today we took our class to the painted work shop, the kids were excited in trying something new; we had decided to spend our whole class time in the work shop. Children with the imaginations that they have came up with some incrediable art work. The youngest of the group actually decided to work on his letters, I find it amazing that each time he would get a letter done he would go back to the beginning say all the letters and then create the letter he needed next and then back to the begging. The way each child learns is so different from the next one, children actually remind me of snowflakes, which a wonder in their own right, special and unique. I am hoping that perhaps a few of the pieces will be included in the art show we will be doing at the end of the quarter. |
| Nov 27, 05 | Fifth class of outreach program | We started our day off with a nature walk towards the Organic Farm, to see what they could gather up for their special art project that they were going to be doing later that afternoon. They were in for a treat today, a couple of our TESC students developed a wonderful lesson plan of taking recycled items from home and creating scluptures with it. The children let their imagination run free again and came up with incrediable pieces, mostly centered around holiday decorations, but they made several pieces each. They had flour water and glue everywhere, even in their hair. But the enoyment in the class room you could feel the rest of the day. |
| Nov 30 and Dec 3 | Presentations for class | I have to say I was very moved by everyone's presentations and how much work everyone put into their projects. Its nice to see that there are people in this world that are willing to share the most inner part of who they are with the rest of the world. Its not always easy to open up knowing that others are watching and perhaps judging what has been done. I want say thank you for allowing us to share our journey with everyone else that is reading our web sites. |
