Walking, Wandering and Wonder with the Children

We have been enjoying the warmth of the season and all of the wonderful sights of nature in the neighborhood.

 The children notice details, like the ants, the shape of a flower...

 the play of light and shadow on a wall...

 the worn nose of a neighborhood statue...

 the undulations of shadows as we walk in the sun...

and the smells and textures of the world coming to life.

 As we walk, we share the hearts with passers-by and leave gifts along the way.

A week in review

 Celebrating the warmth on Tuesday, the children and I enjoyed finger painting in the sun.

 The children are beautiful to watch in the back yard.  Play is contagious!

 As the temperature dropped the children got creative... here is an example... impromptu facial hair.

 We are back to sharing food together.  This week... rice.  Next week... pizza.

And the toddlers had a blast exploring the studio on Friday afternoon.

I have missed these folks so much!  They are such a gift to spend a day with!

Dreaming Hearts and Walking Tours

 The children and I are back to walking in the neighborhood, experiencing the sights, smells and sound of nature.

 The children make surprising discoveries everywhere.  Here they are noticing what they guessed might be "doors" in the tree.  Where did the door lead?  To owls?  To other worlds?  To wishes?  They had a other few ideas that involved tree hills and eyes but eventually the children decided to leave their first dreaming heart in the arms of this rooted friend.

 The dreaming hearts were created earlier in the year and imbued with the hopes and wishes of the children.  We have begun delivering them in the neighborhood as a touchstone of the children's hopes for a better world.

 Look for them on your walks, if you find one I hope you can feel a little hint of the love the children created them with.

Celebrating Connections: the CGMS Annual Art Show

Thank you to everyone who attended our annual celebration of child art!  What an amazing turn out!  And a huge thank you to all the families who contributed their time and resources in order to make this years show such a success!  We couldn't have done it without you!  If you didn't get a chance to see it please swing by sometime in the coming week.  The three-dimensional work will go home on Monday (look for your child's bag at drop off and pick up).  But the two-dimensional work will stay up until May 22nd.
Here are a few pictures (thanks to parent Alex Rojas) to commemorate the evening:

Art Show on the Horizon

The children had a pre-tour of their art show and are excited to share their work with all of you.  Please plan to attend the show with your children on Thursday, May 11th between 5:30-7:00.  We look forward to seeing you then!

Ubuntu!

Ubuntu is a Nguni word from Africa that roughly translates as, “I am because you are”.  This is the essence of community but can be a bit confusing for many of us.  As you know, I began the year with a research question about the value of community and cultivating connections through the creative arts. Is it any wonder that it is also the year I learned about Ubuntu?

Imagine if you will, a group of six young children seated in a circle with me on a large studio rug.  It is morning in mid September and the final days of summer beckon with their warmth. I tell them about my plan to take walking tours of the Cherry Creek North community.  I remind them that they are some of the best teachers I know. Naturally I believe they can teach other adults too. After our chat, we agree on a few basic walking rules: 1) Share the sidewalk, 2) Wait quietly at intersections, 3) Walk two by two, holding hands and 4) Offer a friendly “Hello” when you can. Thus prepared we set out. Of course I initially thought we’d walk a few blocks but quickly discovered that our pace would limit us to one.  To the young child everything is beautiful.   Their focus isn’t yet narrowed by judgments on what is worth attending to and what isn’t.  To them the weeds are just as captivating as the flowers and the ants scurrying across the sidewalk are every bit as interesting as the destination. Children notice a world far more generous than the one we, as adults, often recognize.  They point out insects on leaves, birds singing, flowers blooming, ants parading and dogs barking.  They show me spider webs that catch the morning dew and they listen to the wind as it blows through trees, grasses and down empty streets.  When people approach us, the children scoot over to share the sidewalk, primed and ready to offer a practiced ‘Hello’.  After that first meander, a four year old boy says, “Angelina, we saw lots of people but most of them didn’t look at us or were talking on their phone.  We didn’t get to say ‘Hello’.” And he was right. Children implicitly know that connection is where it’s at, even though many of us are so busy we overlook it.  They notice things that we, as adults, simply miss.  

As often happens, in my efforts to understand community I had neglected to account for my adult perspective.  I assumed community was as lacking for children as it appeared to be wanting for many adults.  But young children are naturally interdependent. They rely on others for many of their basic needs.  They don’t organize get togethers, they see a group of children playing with a ball or in the sand and they join in. For children raised in caring families, community is everywhere.  Why?  Because needing others is fundamental.  We need them for playing and getting stuff done (let’s face it an empty sand box isn’t all that inviting). We need them to help gather food and create shelter.  We need them for hugs and laughter and conversation. When I first read the Harvard-Grant Study that suggested the secret of happiness might just be supportive, loving relationships and community, I panicked.  I didn’t really know what community meant.  I wasn’t even sure if I had one and if I didn't then how best to build one.  So I walked with the children, week after week, knowing they would show me the way.  They did. But l was slow on the uptake.  It took illness and the amazing response of this supportive and loving community to really bring the lesson home.  

Here’s what I discovered.  

Community is right where we are but we often miss it. Our adult perception is distorted by a cultural, “I’ve got this!” motto.  It’s a little bit like walking down the street and missing the everyday beauty along the way because we've got somewhere to be.  We still get to the destination but the journey isn’t nearly as much fun. I didn’t really know that I had a community until I needed one.  It didn’t just appear.  It had been there all along but I didn’t see it… I was probably on my cell phone scurrying to some destination or some-such-thing.  Thankfully the children are always there to remind us where to look.  They show us that community is everywhere when we recognize our inter-connection and build on that. I didn’t realize I had community until I could no longer honestly declare, “I’ve got this!”  Could it be that simple?  If the secret of happiness lies in our fundamental connection then are mutual need and shared support our greatest allies to living a fulfilled life?  Authentic community and thus happiness appears to hinge on the simple fact that we need one another.  Ubuntu!  I am because of you.  Thankfully the children provide a fresh perspective and with them anything is possible.  

I am grateful to the amazing children and their inspiring families who have taught me so much this year.  I am grateful to be a part of such a remarkable community! 

Ubuntu.