Today is Mother's Day, our annual observation for all those people who are mothers or who act in a mothering capacity for the young people in our lives (including, I'm assuming, most of the people who read this blog). Being a mother is a joy and a privilege, a challenge and a constant calling up of all of our wisdom and patience and all of other other best qualities. For most of us, it is the toughest job we will ever do--but there is nothing more important, and ultimately, more satisfying (at least, on the good days) in our lives.
It is the job of love. It is the work of heroes.
So for all you heroes out there, I share this song by Jamie O'Neal to remind you how important you truly are:
I honor your contributions, and hope you have a wonderful day!
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Celebrate National Pay It Forward Day!
Just a reminder--today is National Pay It Forward Day. On this day, people are encouraged to do some random act of kindness, usually for a stranger, preferably anonymously. The idea is that they aren't supposed to "pay you back"--they pay it forward, but doing something unexpected for someone else. It's a lovely concept, it can be cheap and easy to do, and it is something that I'm sure all of our middle schoolers could participate in. I'm all for our middle schoolers looking for ways to give to others!
What random act(s) of kindness can your family do today?
What random act(s) of kindness can your family do today?
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Spring and Gratitude
Today is Easter in North Carolina, so Happy Easter for those who celebrate this day! Of course, the Jewish holiday of Passover has just occurred, so a belated Happy Passover to those readers. And it wasn't too long ago that the Pagan holiday of Ostara took place, so good thoughts towards any of you who might be Wiccan or other variations of Paganism. And there are probably some Spring celebrations in Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism that I just don't know about; if so, happy thoughts in your direction as well.
I'm sure that it is no coincidence that so many of these religious celebrations take place in Spring. You don't have to follow any religious practice at all to be uplifted and inspired by the rebirth that takes place in Nature at this time of the year. I'm noting that even though our past winter was so mild that it seems like turning into Spring wouldn't be that big of a deal, but the flowers and such seem even more intense this year, as if knowing they had to put on an extra special show in order to show off the contrast between the seasons in a year of temperate temperatures.
There are two non-religious Spring-related occasions that we particularly celebrate in our household, or at least we have for the past few years. One is the opening of our local Farmers' Market in Cary. While we do have access to fresh vegetables all year round at other Farmers' Markets in the area, the Cary market is shut down from December through March. So by the time the first Saturday in April rolls around, I can't wait to see all my farmer friends and start buying fresh, local produce again directly from the producers. And this year was extra special because, after a hiatus of a couple of years, the Cary Farmers' Market has once again move to downtown Cary, and is in even closer walking distance from my house than it was previously! That means a lot to me in my ongoing efforts to reduce our family's carbon footprint.
Another event of great note in our home is the first fresh local strawberries of the year. Every since reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (yes, that book AGAIN, for my regular readers....what can I say, it changed my life), I no longer buy fresh strawberries except locally during our relatively short growing season in North Carolina (read the book to find out why). But I seriously love strawberries, so it is a big deal when they return to our diet, albiet for only a few, short, precious weeks. So only buying local strawberries in season has really raised my appreciation for this wonderful fruit that is gone all too soon.
But this year, for the first time since I've been shopping at the Farmers' Market, Market Opening Day and First Strawberry Day coincided! Apparently the mild winter has coaxed the local strawberries into blooming early. So, joy of joy, I bought a mess of them, and they will be part of our Easter celebration at our spiritual center (we are having an egg hunt for the children, but the eggs will contain fruit instead of candy) and our Easter dinner table. But I have already welcomed the strawberries by opening a bottle of champagne with a friend and drinking the sparkling wine with our first strawberries in the glass as well.
So pick what inspires you--your religious or spiritual tradition, Nature's beauty, the longer days, the warmer weather, or the return of the seasonal crops. Spring is great time to be thankful for all the wonderful things that this planet continues to provide us, despite our often not-too-great stewardship of its resources.
I'll end with a lovely video on Nature and gratitude that my friend Lorna shared with me. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did.
Enjoy!
I'm sure that it is no coincidence that so many of these religious celebrations take place in Spring. You don't have to follow any religious practice at all to be uplifted and inspired by the rebirth that takes place in Nature at this time of the year. I'm noting that even though our past winter was so mild that it seems like turning into Spring wouldn't be that big of a deal, but the flowers and such seem even more intense this year, as if knowing they had to put on an extra special show in order to show off the contrast between the seasons in a year of temperate temperatures.
There are two non-religious Spring-related occasions that we particularly celebrate in our household, or at least we have for the past few years. One is the opening of our local Farmers' Market in Cary. While we do have access to fresh vegetables all year round at other Farmers' Markets in the area, the Cary market is shut down from December through March. So by the time the first Saturday in April rolls around, I can't wait to see all my farmer friends and start buying fresh, local produce again directly from the producers. And this year was extra special because, after a hiatus of a couple of years, the Cary Farmers' Market has once again move to downtown Cary, and is in even closer walking distance from my house than it was previously! That means a lot to me in my ongoing efforts to reduce our family's carbon footprint.
Another event of great note in our home is the first fresh local strawberries of the year. Every since reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (yes, that book AGAIN, for my regular readers....what can I say, it changed my life), I no longer buy fresh strawberries except locally during our relatively short growing season in North Carolina (read the book to find out why). But I seriously love strawberries, so it is a big deal when they return to our diet, albiet for only a few, short, precious weeks. So only buying local strawberries in season has really raised my appreciation for this wonderful fruit that is gone all too soon.
But this year, for the first time since I've been shopping at the Farmers' Market, Market Opening Day and First Strawberry Day coincided! Apparently the mild winter has coaxed the local strawberries into blooming early. So, joy of joy, I bought a mess of them, and they will be part of our Easter celebration at our spiritual center (we are having an egg hunt for the children, but the eggs will contain fruit instead of candy) and our Easter dinner table. But I have already welcomed the strawberries by opening a bottle of champagne with a friend and drinking the sparkling wine with our first strawberries in the glass as well.
So pick what inspires you--your religious or spiritual tradition, Nature's beauty, the longer days, the warmer weather, or the return of the seasonal crops. Spring is great time to be thankful for all the wonderful things that this planet continues to provide us, despite our often not-too-great stewardship of its resources.
I'll end with a lovely video on Nature and gratitude that my friend Lorna shared with me. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did.
Enjoy!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Lesson Plan: Celtic Christian Prayers
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I hope the Leprechauns were kind to you. They visit us every year, but didn't cause too much mayhen this time... And my son and I did a great Green activity, which was to visit the beautiful gardens at the Arboretum at NC State, where all the flowering trees are blooming beautifully, before coming home to our new tradition of eating Bangers and Mash for St. Patrick's Day Dinner.
But last week in our World Religion class, where we have just started studying Christianity, we prepared for Saint Patrick's Day by studying Celtic Christian Prayers. Ireland is an interesting place in terms of Christianity because it retained its Pagan religion longer than many other places that are now Christian, and I believe the Irish Christianity has more of an Earth-based-religious flavor than many other strands of Christianity.
For this lesson, I gave the students several pages of Celtic Chrisian Prayers (there are also current Celtic Prayers that are more Pagan, but the ones we used were all directed to the Christian concept of one God, along with Jesus as his special Son/Helper/Teacher). We read them and then the students journaled about what they had in common and/or what seemed different to them from traditional Christian prayers they knew. The list we came up with were:
1. A concentration on concrete, rather than abstract, things or themes
2. A focus on everyday life and/or common items
3. More emphasis on gratitude for simple things than asking for "miracles" or personal goals
4. Much attention to natural items
After that, I had the students write their own prayers or blessings, as influenced by Celtic Christian prayer philosophy. As always, what they came up with was very different, but very beautiful. Here are some examples:
May the rain nourish the plants
May the plants nourish the people
May the people nourish the Earth,
Let the earth provide for its providers.
May friends assist and bless you
And may beds aspire to rest you
And may you live under a roof
And may some dogs always woof
And may you earn substantial dough
And may you wear a wig Afro
And may your soup always taste good
And may your forest always have wood
And other stuff to be taken care
And may you have a rhyming prayer.
Let God be upon you when you are going through hard times.
Let God help you through your struggles and let him help you get out of the struggle.
May the sky always be blue
May the grass always be green
May the Earth always be saved
And may the people always want to save it.
To wake up looking at the trees
With the birds' songs in the air,
To break the fast
With healthy, nourishing food,
To fill the day
With creative, productive work,
To end the day
With loving family and good friends,
And to look forward to the next day filled with the same,
For this, God, I thank you.
They were all lovely and heartfelt reflections of the personality of each student, and I really appreciated each one. So it was one of the best Saint Patrick's-related activities that I have ever done, as well as I great way to look at a different Christian tradition than most may be exposed to, at least here in North Carolina.
But last week in our World Religion class, where we have just started studying Christianity, we prepared for Saint Patrick's Day by studying Celtic Christian Prayers. Ireland is an interesting place in terms of Christianity because it retained its Pagan religion longer than many other places that are now Christian, and I believe the Irish Christianity has more of an Earth-based-religious flavor than many other strands of Christianity.
For this lesson, I gave the students several pages of Celtic Chrisian Prayers (there are also current Celtic Prayers that are more Pagan, but the ones we used were all directed to the Christian concept of one God, along with Jesus as his special Son/Helper/Teacher). We read them and then the students journaled about what they had in common and/or what seemed different to them from traditional Christian prayers they knew. The list we came up with were:
1. A concentration on concrete, rather than abstract, things or themes
2. A focus on everyday life and/or common items
3. More emphasis on gratitude for simple things than asking for "miracles" or personal goals
4. Much attention to natural items
After that, I had the students write their own prayers or blessings, as influenced by Celtic Christian prayer philosophy. As always, what they came up with was very different, but very beautiful. Here are some examples:
May the rain nourish the plants
May the plants nourish the people
May the people nourish the Earth,
Let the earth provide for its providers.
May friends assist and bless you
And may beds aspire to rest you
And may you live under a roof
And may some dogs always woof
And may you earn substantial dough
And may you wear a wig Afro
And may your soup always taste good
And may your forest always have wood
And other stuff to be taken care
And may you have a rhyming prayer.
Let God be upon you when you are going through hard times.
Let God help you through your struggles and let him help you get out of the struggle.
May the sky always be blue
May the grass always be green
May the Earth always be saved
And may the people always want to save it.
To wake up looking at the trees
With the birds' songs in the air,
To break the fast
With healthy, nourishing food,
To fill the day
With creative, productive work,
To end the day
With loving family and good friends,
And to look forward to the next day filled with the same,
For this, God, I thank you.
They were all lovely and heartfelt reflections of the personality of each student, and I really appreciated each one. So it was one of the best Saint Patrick's-related activities that I have ever done, as well as I great way to look at a different Christian tradition than most may be exposed to, at least here in North Carolina.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Curriculum Resource: The Most Underrated President
Wow, it has been a week and a half packed with holidays and special activities--Valentines Day, the announcement of the winner of The Great Sea Slug Beauty Contest, The Great Backyard Bird Count (our best year ever in terms of number of different birds we spotted), Presidents Day, the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's orbit, and Mardi Gras (not to mention a sprinkling of snow in there). Most of these included some science or history components along with cooking special dishes (Whiskey Shrimp and Apple Dowdy for Presidents Day and Chicken Bonne Femme and a new dish I invented, Mardi Slaw, for Fat Tuesday). It's been a lot of fun, but a good bit of work to add to our normal homeschooling schedule.
But before we abandoned our Festive February events, I wanted to share an assignment I gave my son this week in regards to Presidents Day. The Washington Post was having an online discussion with its readers about which presidents were the most underrated. They eliminated from consideration nine presidents they considered to be the most frequently praised: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. Besides those nine, they asked, which presidents haven't gotten the amount of praise and respect that they deserve?
I found both the question itself and the online discussion to be really interesting. For example, some argued that Lyndon Johnson's domestic achievements were remarkable--but does his mistakes in Vietnam outweigh the good he did in terms of civil rights? Did Harry Truman's approval to use the atomic bomb on the Japanese people make him a courageous hero or a Western-centered murderer? Was James Madison's sheparding of the US Constitution one of the most overlooked, but fundamentally important, contributions of all presidents? Are we too focused on recent events and presidencies and forget the developments of the past?
I thougth this was a great discussion to be having on Presidents Day. Plus, it has particular relevence in our family, since my brother spent the summer visiting all the presidential libraries and is writing a book on the question of presidential legacies and the role presidential libraries play in how we remember our former leaders (read more about it on his blog, Across the Country with the Presidents).
So I gave my son a Presidents Day assignment to write a persuasive essay (another skill we're working this year) about the former President that we as a country should appreaciate more. We talked about the Washington Post discussion, we looked at Wikipedia's collection of ratings of US Presidents, then told him to write a polished essay without telling me who his selection was until I read it.
Meanwhile, I was trying to come up with my answer. I would probably end up with James Madison, because I think the country would have fallen apart way before the Civil War had it not been for his work on skillfully crafting a Constitution that all the original states could live with; however, I am somewhat predisposed in favor of Madison for some personal reasons. The Washington Post didn't have an actual vote, but gave the following list, based on the number of comments and recommendations of comments by other people:
1. George H.W. Bush
2. Lyndon Johnson
3. Jimmy Carter
4. Harry Truman
5. Calvin Coolidge
6. Barack Obama (I excluded him from our considerations--we were only doing former presidents)
7. Gerald Ford
8. James Polk
9. Chester Arthur
10.Andrew Johnson
(To learn more about the arguments in favor of these presidents, read the Post's article here.)
Personally, I'm not sure about Calvin Coolidge and Andrew Johnson, and I have mixed feeling about James Polk (I think he only got this high on the list of underrated due to the song below by They Might Be Giants):
AND, of course, I thought James Madison should be on the list.
But, in general, those were the presidents who came to my mind for being underappreciated.
However, when I got the finished essay from my son, he had not chosen any of the presidents mentioned above. Instead, he chose to write about......
James Buchanon
JAMES BUCHANON? He of the pro-slavery Dred Scott decision and Kansas constitution? The president that, in the Wikipedia presidential rating system, was rated as one of the top five WORST presidents by 15 out of the 18 polls, and the very worst president by four of them. Well, at least he definitely falls into the unappreciated category....
But I loved my son's take on his presidency. He reviewed his actions and talked about how bad they had been for the country. But he summed it up by saying that his goal was "desparately delaying the war," and then concluded:
I recommend this as a great assignment to give your students for Presidents Day. It certainly made ours more thoughtful and meaningful.
Who would you choose as the most underrated US President? Share your choices below in the comments section.
But before we abandoned our Festive February events, I wanted to share an assignment I gave my son this week in regards to Presidents Day. The Washington Post was having an online discussion with its readers about which presidents were the most underrated. They eliminated from consideration nine presidents they considered to be the most frequently praised: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. Besides those nine, they asked, which presidents haven't gotten the amount of praise and respect that they deserve?
I found both the question itself and the online discussion to be really interesting. For example, some argued that Lyndon Johnson's domestic achievements were remarkable--but does his mistakes in Vietnam outweigh the good he did in terms of civil rights? Did Harry Truman's approval to use the atomic bomb on the Japanese people make him a courageous hero or a Western-centered murderer? Was James Madison's sheparding of the US Constitution one of the most overlooked, but fundamentally important, contributions of all presidents? Are we too focused on recent events and presidencies and forget the developments of the past?
I thougth this was a great discussion to be having on Presidents Day. Plus, it has particular relevence in our family, since my brother spent the summer visiting all the presidential libraries and is writing a book on the question of presidential legacies and the role presidential libraries play in how we remember our former leaders (read more about it on his blog, Across the Country with the Presidents).
So I gave my son a Presidents Day assignment to write a persuasive essay (another skill we're working this year) about the former President that we as a country should appreaciate more. We talked about the Washington Post discussion, we looked at Wikipedia's collection of ratings of US Presidents, then told him to write a polished essay without telling me who his selection was until I read it.
Meanwhile, I was trying to come up with my answer. I would probably end up with James Madison, because I think the country would have fallen apart way before the Civil War had it not been for his work on skillfully crafting a Constitution that all the original states could live with; however, I am somewhat predisposed in favor of Madison for some personal reasons. The Washington Post didn't have an actual vote, but gave the following list, based on the number of comments and recommendations of comments by other people:
1. George H.W. Bush
2. Lyndon Johnson
3. Jimmy Carter
4. Harry Truman
5. Calvin Coolidge
6. Barack Obama (I excluded him from our considerations--we were only doing former presidents)
7. Gerald Ford
8. James Polk
9. Chester Arthur
10.Andrew Johnson
(To learn more about the arguments in favor of these presidents, read the Post's article here.)
Personally, I'm not sure about Calvin Coolidge and Andrew Johnson, and I have mixed feeling about James Polk (I think he only got this high on the list of underrated due to the song below by They Might Be Giants):
AND, of course, I thought James Madison should be on the list.
But, in general, those were the presidents who came to my mind for being underappreciated.
However, when I got the finished essay from my son, he had not chosen any of the presidents mentioned above. Instead, he chose to write about......
James Buchanon
JAMES BUCHANON? He of the pro-slavery Dred Scott decision and Kansas constitution? The president that, in the Wikipedia presidential rating system, was rated as one of the top five WORST presidents by 15 out of the 18 polls, and the very worst president by four of them. Well, at least he definitely falls into the unappreciated category....
But I loved my son's take on his presidency. He reviewed his actions and talked about how bad they had been for the country. But he summed it up by saying that his goal was "desparately delaying the war," and then concluded:
It was quite a good thing that he delayed the issue of secession until Lincoln, the right man for the job,was elected. Putting the issue into the hands of the right person was an invaluably beneficial act...I really loved his perspective. What a great way to view those presidencies (or other leaders, or even people or events in our own lives) that we consider to be "failures"--that they were placeholders, or part of the process of getting the right people and resources in place for our latter successes! He gave me some great perspective on the entire issue, as well as writing quite a good essay.
I recommend this as a great assignment to give your students for Presidents Day. It certainly made ours more thoughtful and meaningful.
Who would you choose as the most underrated US President? Share your choices below in the comments section.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Curriculum Resource: Mardi Gras 2012
Laissez les bons temps rouler! Or Happy Mardi Gras! Of course, the entire Mardi Gras season began a month ago in New Orleans, but today is the biggest day of the entire period, culminating in the most prestigious parade, the appearance of the krewe of Rex, King of Carnival.
As homeschoolers, we are used to not only squeezing blood out of a stone, but the educational tidbits from the most anti-intellectual of experiences, and Mardi Gras is no exception. And, actually, it turns out that many of the parades do have themes with educational possibilities.
So it is with the big Rex parade that happens today. The theme of the 2012 procession is "Lore of the Ancient Americas," so many of the floats will depict myths and folk tales from a wide variety of Northern and Southern American native people. In fact, the krewe of Rex has even created a document that explains the topic of each float, along with links to versions of the story or other information that will help give the facts related to the subject. It's really quite a lovely list of different native American tales. And I suppose the floats are a unique approach to storytelling.
So to see the explanation for each of the floats (should you be watching the parade), or just to read about some traditional legends, check out the 2012 Rex Parade Notes.
As homeschoolers, we are used to not only squeezing blood out of a stone, but the educational tidbits from the most anti-intellectual of experiences, and Mardi Gras is no exception. And, actually, it turns out that many of the parades do have themes with educational possibilities.
So it is with the big Rex parade that happens today. The theme of the 2012 procession is "Lore of the Ancient Americas," so many of the floats will depict myths and folk tales from a wide variety of Northern and Southern American native people. In fact, the krewe of Rex has even created a document that explains the topic of each float, along with links to versions of the story or other information that will help give the facts related to the subject. It's really quite a lovely list of different native American tales. And I suppose the floats are a unique approach to storytelling.
So to see the explanation for each of the floats (should you be watching the parade), or just to read about some traditional legends, check out the 2012 Rex Parade Notes.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy ValenSLIMES DAY 2012!
It's been a lovely Valentines Day this year.
We woke up to the announcement of the winner of the Great Sea Slug Beauty Contest, which just happened to be the nominee from my son--that is, Chromodoris kuniei!
Photography by Steve Childs used under Creative Commons license, via Healing Oceans Together.
Admission--The "Happy Valenslimes Day" was created by my son in honor of the aforementioned nudibranchs this year.
Then there was such a sweet Google Doodle in honor of Valentines Day:
The buzz in the blogosphere was over the scene at the end that showed two tuxedoed men as Valentines, but with our undersea orientation, we were more enraptured withe the spaceman and the octopus (I think it was supposed to be an alien, but we LOVE our cephapods):
Then tonight, my son and I fixed a special Valentines meal. He made the dessert--sea slug-inspired chocolate truffles (do you think the whole sea slug thing has gone to our heads?)--and helped me make some homemade reddish tomato pasta. I made some beef stroganoff to serve over it, along with sauteed asparagus and fresh red peppers (with olive and garlic antipasto to begin the meal).
All in all, perhaps not a traditional Valentines Day, but a lovely one.
We woke up to the announcement of the winner of the Great Sea Slug Beauty Contest, which just happened to be the nominee from my son--that is, Chromodoris kuniei!
Photography by Steve Childs used under Creative Commons license, via Healing Oceans Together.
Admission--The "Happy Valenslimes Day" was created by my son in honor of the aforementioned nudibranchs this year.
Then there was such a sweet Google Doodle in honor of Valentines Day:
The buzz in the blogosphere was over the scene at the end that showed two tuxedoed men as Valentines, but with our undersea orientation, we were more enraptured withe the spaceman and the octopus (I think it was supposed to be an alien, but we LOVE our cephapods):
Then tonight, my son and I fixed a special Valentines meal. He made the dessert--sea slug-inspired chocolate truffles (do you think the whole sea slug thing has gone to our heads?)--and helped me make some homemade reddish tomato pasta. I made some beef stroganoff to serve over it, along with sauteed asparagus and fresh red peppers (with olive and garlic antipasto to begin the meal).
All in all, perhaps not a traditional Valentines Day, but a lovely one.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Happy Chinese New Year 2012
Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, and this year happens to be the year of the dragon. So, of course, we had to have a meal to celebrate this august occasion.
In honor of this event, I fixed my version of a traditional Chinese dish called Phoenix and Dragon. One thing to know about this dish is while it might be called Phoenix around here, it is very different from the phoenix that most American's think of. In Chinese, it is called Fenghuang, and it is a mixture of different birds--roosters, sparrow, peacocks, etc.--none of whom necessarily re-generate after a fire.
However, the dish itself is a lovely stir fry of several ingredients, including chicken (to represent phoenix), shrimp (to represent dragon), vegetables (to represent health), and spices (to represent taste and sensation).
The meal refers to ancient Chinese beliefs, in which the dragon and phoenix or fenghuang are two of the four most revered animals. While both animals are supposed to have male and female aspects, the dragon came to represent the male leader, or emperor of China, and the phoenix the female, or emperor's wive or emperoress.
The year of the dragon is supposed to be an especially auspicious period, so let's hope that is true for us all!
In honor of this event, I fixed my version of a traditional Chinese dish called Phoenix and Dragon. One thing to know about this dish is while it might be called Phoenix around here, it is very different from the phoenix that most American's think of. In Chinese, it is called Fenghuang, and it is a mixture of different birds--roosters, sparrow, peacocks, etc.--none of whom necessarily re-generate after a fire.
However, the dish itself is a lovely stir fry of several ingredients, including chicken (to represent phoenix), shrimp (to represent dragon), vegetables (to represent health), and spices (to represent taste and sensation).
The meal refers to ancient Chinese beliefs, in which the dragon and phoenix or fenghuang are two of the four most revered animals. While both animals are supposed to have male and female aspects, the dragon came to represent the male leader, or emperor of China, and the phoenix the female, or emperor's wive or emperoress.
The year of the dragon is supposed to be an especially auspicious period, so let's hope that is true for us all!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year's Day 2012 Blog: Welcoming the New Year
Welcome to 2012!
That was what I wrote on the white board for the Sunday School class I taught this morning. We had a really great discussion about "outside of the class" things they enjoyed last year and wanted to do this year. We're going to try for our first-ever "lock-in" for this class, some fun and interesting fundraisers, and some experiential spiritual workshops. I don't want to give away all of our secrets, but let's just say that have some real "out of the box" ideas that I think our entire spiritual community will enjoy.
In addition to some brainstorming and planning, we did a nice Buddhist meditation that is called "Transcending Karma" that helps us detach from our past, and participated in our annual New Year's Burning Bowl and White Stone Ceremony, which I describe last year in this post.
It was a gorgeous day, so our family had a nature walk to enjoys the great outdoors. Then we came home and ate our traditional "nuevo-Southern" New Years Dish of white chicken chili (made with black-eyed beans, which we feel compelled to eat on New Years but don't really like on their own, but are delicious in chili) and green salad (I can't cook collards, so we have fresh leafy greens instead).
All in all, a pretty fantastic way to spend the first day of the year. If the next 364 days go anything like this, we're in for a wonderful year!
This will be the last of my holiday posts. However, starting tomorrow, I will be running a time-related series of posts. What could they be? Check back tomorrow evening to find out......
That was what I wrote on the white board for the Sunday School class I taught this morning. We had a really great discussion about "outside of the class" things they enjoyed last year and wanted to do this year. We're going to try for our first-ever "lock-in" for this class, some fun and interesting fundraisers, and some experiential spiritual workshops. I don't want to give away all of our secrets, but let's just say that have some real "out of the box" ideas that I think our entire spiritual community will enjoy.
In addition to some brainstorming and planning, we did a nice Buddhist meditation that is called "Transcending Karma" that helps us detach from our past, and participated in our annual New Year's Burning Bowl and White Stone Ceremony, which I describe last year in this post.
It was a gorgeous day, so our family had a nature walk to enjoys the great outdoors. Then we came home and ate our traditional "nuevo-Southern" New Years Dish of white chicken chili (made with black-eyed beans, which we feel compelled to eat on New Years but don't really like on their own, but are delicious in chili) and green salad (I can't cook collards, so we have fresh leafy greens instead).
All in all, a pretty fantastic way to spend the first day of the year. If the next 364 days go anything like this, we're in for a wonderful year!
This will be the last of my holiday posts. However, starting tomorrow, I will be running a time-related series of posts. What could they be? Check back tomorrow evening to find out......
Saturday, December 31, 2011
New Year's Eve 2011 Blog: Highlights of 2011
It's the last day of the year--a time for looking back and appreciating what has been a pretty great year. One of the things that I love about having a blog is that it captures much of what we've done, which makes it much easier when trying to recall the highlights of the year. If I didn't write about it in my blog, then it probably wasn't that important to me.
So here is my assessment of my personal and blog-related top items for the year 2011:
#1 Personal Achievement of the Year:
Participating in NaNoWriMo and finally writing a 62,384 word book
Runner Up:
Leading my first online/distance education class on The Psychology of Math Education
These are both things that I've been saying for years that I wanted to do, so I'm really glad that I finally did them instead of just talking about them. So I'm very grateful to my son for talking me into doing the former, and to my friend Maria Droujkova for talking me into doing the latter.
#1 Major Art Exhibit of the Year:
American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell at the North Carolina Museum of Art
Runner Up:
Rembrandt in America at the North Carolina Museum of Art
I think these two exhibits beat out all the great art we get to see in DC galleries when we go up there to visit my father because we took guided tours for both these exhibits, whereas we are just looking at the art on our own when we are viewing art in Washington. Both the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Nasher Gallergy at Duke University do an excellent job on their educational tours, and we try to schedule a group trip for all the major exhibits, because it is well worth the effort.
What is particularly special about both these exhibits, however, is the fact that I didn't particular appreciate either of those two artists prior to these exhibits. After taking the tours, however, I had to wonder about how I could have been so blind to their artistic abilities. I have especially changed my mind about Norman Rockwell. I used to think his work was simplistic and commercial; now I see it as simple and iconic. It now reminds me of something I learned recently in researching the Buddhism unit I am currently teaching in World Religions. The Buddhists say we look, but we do not see, because if we truly saw, we would be blown away by every leaf, every flower, every stone, and every face we ever viewed. But that was kind of how Norman Rockwell lived--seeing the extraordinary in what people like me dismissed as ordinary. So that exhibit was a great lesson for me, not only about art, but about life.
#1 Local Gallery Exhibit of the Year:
Carbon Load by Jenny Eggleston at Artspace
Runner Up:
ARTQUILTSrepurposed by Professional Art Quilters of America-South at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center
This is a tough category, because we've seen a lot of great art at our local galleries, fans that we are of First Friday in downtown Raleigh and Final Friday in downtown Cary. But Jenny Eggleston's exhibit, who also happens to be my son's best art teacher ever, was so creative, so inventive, so beautiful, and with such an important message that even just remembering it brings tears to my eyes. And we always look forward to the annual ARTQUILTS exhibit, which are not only beautiful, but make us rethink what it is to be a quilt.
Best New Addition to the Local Arts Scene:
The Cary Arts Center
Runner Up:
Chambers Art
Two fantastic new venues for all sorts of arts, and both within walking distance from our house!
So here is my assessment of my personal and blog-related top items for the year 2011:
#1 Personal Achievement of the Year:
Participating in NaNoWriMo and finally writing a 62,384 word book
Runner Up:
Leading my first online/distance education class on The Psychology of Math Education
These are both things that I've been saying for years that I wanted to do, so I'm really glad that I finally did them instead of just talking about them. So I'm very grateful to my son for talking me into doing the former, and to my friend Maria Droujkova for talking me into doing the latter.
#1 Major Art Exhibit of the Year:
American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell at the North Carolina Museum of Art
Runner Up:
Rembrandt in America at the North Carolina Museum of Art
I think these two exhibits beat out all the great art we get to see in DC galleries when we go up there to visit my father because we took guided tours for both these exhibits, whereas we are just looking at the art on our own when we are viewing art in Washington. Both the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Nasher Gallergy at Duke University do an excellent job on their educational tours, and we try to schedule a group trip for all the major exhibits, because it is well worth the effort.
What is particularly special about both these exhibits, however, is the fact that I didn't particular appreciate either of those two artists prior to these exhibits. After taking the tours, however, I had to wonder about how I could have been so blind to their artistic abilities. I have especially changed my mind about Norman Rockwell. I used to think his work was simplistic and commercial; now I see it as simple and iconic. It now reminds me of something I learned recently in researching the Buddhism unit I am currently teaching in World Religions. The Buddhists say we look, but we do not see, because if we truly saw, we would be blown away by every leaf, every flower, every stone, and every face we ever viewed. But that was kind of how Norman Rockwell lived--seeing the extraordinary in what people like me dismissed as ordinary. So that exhibit was a great lesson for me, not only about art, but about life.
#1 Local Gallery Exhibit of the Year:
Carbon Load by Jenny Eggleston at Artspace
Runner Up:
ARTQUILTSrepurposed by Professional Art Quilters of America-South at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center
This is a tough category, because we've seen a lot of great art at our local galleries, fans that we are of First Friday in downtown Raleigh and Final Friday in downtown Cary. But Jenny Eggleston's exhibit, who also happens to be my son's best art teacher ever, was so creative, so inventive, so beautiful, and with such an important message that even just remembering it brings tears to my eyes. And we always look forward to the annual ARTQUILTS exhibit, which are not only beautiful, but make us rethink what it is to be a quilt.
Best New Addition to the Local Arts Scene:
The Cary Arts Center
Runner Up:
Chambers Art
Two fantastic new venues for all sorts of arts, and both within walking distance from our house!
#1 Museum Exhibit of the Year:
The Crochet Coral Reef at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Runner Up:
State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum
I can't believe I didn't post about the Crochet Coral Reef, since it was the inspiration for the Ocean Studies Coop we are doing this year and will be a major focus of next year's activities--stay tuned for more details soon. But the State of Deception exhibit was the best thing I've ever seen in terms of explaining how Hitler managed to do all that he did. It's an incredible exhibit.
#1 Blog Post of the Year (by number of views):
Runner Ups (tied for number of views):
Other than that, as I look back, there have been so many great books, so many great classes, so many great friends, and so many great times that I just can't go into them all. But many thanks to all of you who have helped to make 2011 such a wonderful year for me and my family and our communities, whether physical or virtual.
And I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store!
Happy New Year's Eve to all!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Christmas 2011 Blog: Writing Thank You Notes
Writing thank you notes after Christmas was one of those things that my mother forced me to do, and I hated it.
And now I'm so thankful that she did, because it is a habit that she ingrained in me, and that I, in turn, am trying to ingrain upon my son. I try to get our thank you notes completed and mailed before New Years Eve, and I believe that we've done it this year!
This year I am also doing something new. While my son draws original pictures for each card, I have copied one of his drawings, called Deep Sea Hats, and used that on the front of my thank you cards:
As much as I love Christmas, I think it is equally important to emphasize the appreciation aspect afterwards. Several years ago, I read a shocking statistic about how few chilren send Santa thank you cards compared to their letters requesting presents. I wasn't able to find any statistics, but the ones I remember (but could be wrong), was that one town in Alaska that responds to North Pole letters receives 120,000 letter before Christmas asking for presents, but only 4,000 letter after Christmas thanking Santa for the gifts received.
So while the exact numbers may be off, I don't think the scale is. The point of the article was that only a handful of children write to thank Santa compared to the numbers who write asking for presents.
Every family has to create their own expectations and traditions around this kind of thing. But I try, even after the exhaustion typically engendered by the holiday activities and frivolities, to emphasis that gratitude for what we've received is as important as the excitement over what we are expecting.
And, yes, to me, it deserves a written note, not just a verbal thanks or a phone call or even an email. But I'm old fashioned like that...
Of course, I include it as one of our homeschooling activities for that day.
And now I'm so thankful that she did, because it is a habit that she ingrained in me, and that I, in turn, am trying to ingrain upon my son. I try to get our thank you notes completed and mailed before New Years Eve, and I believe that we've done it this year!
This year I am also doing something new. While my son draws original pictures for each card, I have copied one of his drawings, called Deep Sea Hats, and used that on the front of my thank you cards:
As much as I love Christmas, I think it is equally important to emphasize the appreciation aspect afterwards. Several years ago, I read a shocking statistic about how few chilren send Santa thank you cards compared to their letters requesting presents. I wasn't able to find any statistics, but the ones I remember (but could be wrong), was that one town in Alaska that responds to North Pole letters receives 120,000 letter before Christmas asking for presents, but only 4,000 letter after Christmas thanking Santa for the gifts received.
So while the exact numbers may be off, I don't think the scale is. The point of the article was that only a handful of children write to thank Santa compared to the numbers who write asking for presents.
Every family has to create their own expectations and traditions around this kind of thing. But I try, even after the exhaustion typically engendered by the holiday activities and frivolities, to emphasis that gratitude for what we've received is as important as the excitement over what we are expecting.
And, yes, to me, it deserves a written note, not just a verbal thanks or a phone call or even an email. But I'm old fashioned like that...
Of course, I include it as one of our homeschooling activities for that day.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Kawanzaa 2011 Blog: Cary Kawanzaa Celebration
In our attempts to include all the seasonal holidays in our celebrations, today my son and I went to a portion of the 17th annual Cary Kawanzaa celebration. This was held in our new Arts Center, and included African dancing, a marketplace of African American arts and related goods, and craft activities for the children:
They were also selling plates of African food, so we bought some Chicken Karenga, an aromatic dish of chicken and seasonal vegetables in a slightly curryish-tasting sauce, served over yellow rice:
While it is not aimed at us, it was nice to have a taste of a holiday that seeks to remind people of such values as Unity, Self-Determination, Creativity, and Cooperative Economics. Looking back at all the fighting and political battles over this past year, it seems like we would all be better off if we paid more attention to Kawanzaa, whether we are African Americans or not.
They were also selling plates of African food, so we bought some Chicken Karenga, an aromatic dish of chicken and seasonal vegetables in a slightly curryish-tasting sauce, served over yellow rice:
While it is not aimed at us, it was nice to have a taste of a holiday that seeks to remind people of such values as Unity, Self-Determination, Creativity, and Cooperative Economics. Looking back at all the fighting and political battles over this past year, it seems like we would all be better off if we paid more attention to Kawanzaa, whether we are African Americans or not.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas 2011 Blog: Happy Boxing Day
When it comes to the day after Christmas, we prefer the English tradition of Boxing Day to the American tradition of going out and spending more money on after-Christmas sales. We like to lounge around, enjoying our gifts, and then cooking and eating a British Christmas meal of roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding and such. This year, one of my sister-in-laws gave us a mincemeat pie she made, and we made some English shortbread, so we're set for desserts!
I always thought the name came from the boxes of leftovers that English aristocracy gave their servants for their day off to celebrate Christmas with their own families a day late, but according to this article from Time, there is disagreement about where the term boxing day came from. But it is a nice description of both the history and present-day permutations of Boxing Day around the world, so click here to read more.
I hope you are enjoying however it is that you spend the day. Here in the Cary/Raleigh area, it looks like it is going to be a sunny, cool day, perfect for walking off some of those Christmas calories.
I always thought the name came from the boxes of leftovers that English aristocracy gave their servants for their day off to celebrate Christmas with their own families a day late, but according to this article from Time, there is disagreement about where the term boxing day came from. But it is a nice description of both the history and present-day permutations of Boxing Day around the world, so click here to read more.
I hope you are enjoying however it is that you spend the day. Here in the Cary/Raleigh area, it looks like it is going to be a sunny, cool day, perfect for walking off some of those Christmas calories.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Christmas 2011 Blog: Merry Christmas from the Talking Porcupine
Merry Christmas to all! I hope everyone is getting to spend the day with friends and family with love and peace all around.
And for a little joy--watch this Christmas message from Teddy Bear, the "talking" porcupine from Zooniversity:
Teddy is, as far as I know, the first porcupine whose videos have gone viral on the Internet. He is most famous for his unwillingness to share his corn in a video released last month that has been viewed by over a million Internet users and aired on numerous national TV shows, such as The Today Show and Good Morning America.
The clip is popular because people watching it insist that Teddy protests the removal of his corn with such human phrases as "It's my corn," "Mine," "Stop," or "Get back." The funny thing is that people hearing the words speak all sorts of different languages! The majority speak English, but Zooniversity has also gotten claims of hearing such phrases in German, Dutch, and Russian.
It's a great example of how we hear what we are expecting and see what we are looking for.
Here is the original Teddy video so you can judge for yourself:
I join Teddy in wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!
PS--In the first video, what looks like a gingerbread man is actually a low-sugar dog biscuit decorated for a holiday treat. So no animal health was endangered so that we could enjoy this cute video. Also, Teddy apparently liked the Santa hat, because he kept it on for about an hour even after the video was shot. Teddy has been hand raised from a baby and is one of the animal ambassadors for Zooniversity that goes to visit schools and conduct educational programs. He seems to be one social porcupine!
And for a little joy--watch this Christmas message from Teddy Bear, the "talking" porcupine from Zooniversity:
Teddy is, as far as I know, the first porcupine whose videos have gone viral on the Internet. He is most famous for his unwillingness to share his corn in a video released last month that has been viewed by over a million Internet users and aired on numerous national TV shows, such as The Today Show and Good Morning America.
The clip is popular because people watching it insist that Teddy protests the removal of his corn with such human phrases as "It's my corn," "Mine," "Stop," or "Get back." The funny thing is that people hearing the words speak all sorts of different languages! The majority speak English, but Zooniversity has also gotten claims of hearing such phrases in German, Dutch, and Russian.
It's a great example of how we hear what we are expecting and see what we are looking for.
Here is the original Teddy video so you can judge for yourself:
I join Teddy in wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!
PS--In the first video, what looks like a gingerbread man is actually a low-sugar dog biscuit decorated for a holiday treat. So no animal health was endangered so that we could enjoy this cute video. Also, Teddy apparently liked the Santa hat, because he kept it on for about an hour even after the video was shot. Teddy has been hand raised from a baby and is one of the animal ambassadors for Zooniversity that goes to visit schools and conduct educational programs. He seems to be one social porcupine!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Christmas 2011 Blog: Waiting for Santa
It's the night before the big day, so in addition to food and family and holiday cheer, we'll be checking on on Santa's progress on the NORAD Tracks Santa website. As I write this post, around dinner time in North Carolina, he is working his way through Scandanavia. We typically go out for Mexican food on Christmas eve, so maybe by the time we get back, Santa will have started on the United States.
Merry Christmas Eve to all!
Merry Christmas Eve to all!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Lesson Plan: Bodhi Day, or Rohatsu in Buddhism
Happy Bodhi Day, or Rohatsu in more traditional Buddhist language. Rohatsu is the celebration of the day that the Buddha achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. The day is recorded as the 8th day of the 12th month, which makes it December 8 for us in the US, but it may be celebrated other days in the Asian or indigenous culture.
At least one of the celebrations of Bodhi Day involves decorating a Bhodhi tree (which is a type of fig tree, or related to the ficus tree) in bright, electric lights, and colorful decorations. This is yet another of the basic religions that is geared to protecting the immediate spa
So when we opened our study of Buddhism in our World Religion class, we began with practices such as Bodhi Day. We created trees for students to decorate, either as Rohatsu trees or in their more original format. You can see the trees below:
Thursday, November 24, 2011
A Winning Thanksgiving
It's Thanksgiving here in America, and there are so many things that I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for all the technology that connects me to those of you out there who are reading this. I'm thankful for my computers in particular, which reminds me that I'm thankful for a light that left us this year, the inimitable Steve Jobs. I'm thankful for my family, I'm thankful for my friends, I'm thankful that I get to homeschool, and I'm thankful that we live in such an abundant country and get to eat a wonderful meal of turkey (and ham, in our case) and mashed potatoes and vegetables and dessert (chocolate, yay!) and such.
I'm also thankful for things that have gone well for my friends and that remind me all the things I take for granted. So this year, I'm grateful for working refrigerators, dry floors...or just floors in general in another case, catalytic converters, and oven burners. I'm also grateful that my friend, whose father is about to pass on to whatever it is that happens after this life, gets to be up there with him and her entire family and to mark this transition with the meaning and connection that it deserves.
But one thing that really makes this Thanksgiving special, compared to all of them, is that today I wrote over 3,000 words on my novel, which takes me over the 50,000 word mark of words written since November 1. That also means that, in the eyes of NaNoWritMo, that I am an official "Winner." It feels very special to pass that particular milestone on Thanksgiving itself. That wasn't what I was planning, but it's the way things worked out.
The downside to this august occasion is that I'm still not close to actually finishing the book, which is my real goal for my writing for November. But I don't have a lot of commitments outside the house this long weekend, so maybe I can churn out a lot of the end in the next few days.
But whatever, I've earned that NaNoWriMo winner badge! As has my son, who has far exceeded his goal already (and his goal was double the word count goal recommended by the organizers) !
So I'm thankful that I'm a winner. I hope you can spend some time this weekend thinking about the ways that you and your family are winners, too!
I'm also thankful for things that have gone well for my friends and that remind me all the things I take for granted. So this year, I'm grateful for working refrigerators, dry floors...or just floors in general in another case, catalytic converters, and oven burners. I'm also grateful that my friend, whose father is about to pass on to whatever it is that happens after this life, gets to be up there with him and her entire family and to mark this transition with the meaning and connection that it deserves.
But one thing that really makes this Thanksgiving special, compared to all of them, is that today I wrote over 3,000 words on my novel, which takes me over the 50,000 word mark of words written since November 1. That also means that, in the eyes of NaNoWritMo, that I am an official "Winner." It feels very special to pass that particular milestone on Thanksgiving itself. That wasn't what I was planning, but it's the way things worked out.
The downside to this august occasion is that I'm still not close to actually finishing the book, which is my real goal for my writing for November. But I don't have a lot of commitments outside the house this long weekend, so maybe I can churn out a lot of the end in the next few days.
But whatever, I've earned that NaNoWriMo winner badge! As has my son, who has far exceeded his goal already (and his goal was double the word count goal recommended by the organizers) !
So I'm thankful that I'm a winner. I hope you can spend some time this weekend thinking about the ways that you and your family are winners, too!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Happy Halloween
We are back from tromping through the rain and mist with some friends in what is the closest that most of our children will get to participating in a true harvest festival--the "trick or treat" tradition of Halloween. My son's goodie bag is sufficiently loaded with loot that it will probably take him a week or more to eat it all or to decide to dispose of it.
So the weather wasn't the most cooperative this year, since it was rainy and cold tonight. Something that did warm my heart, though, was the Doodle that Google displayed on its home page today.
Google had a time-lapse video of some staff carving GIGANTIC (I think they were half-ton) pumpkins into what eventually became a Google logo. But in between carving, various other staff came and hung out, sometimes in costume. You can watch the video below:
It is a cute, creative, and original tribute to this autumnal holiday, and one that you can enjoy without any calories, which is rare this time of year. It also adds to the impression that it must be a real kick to work at Google (for more on that, see this post).
For even more fun, you can watch this video in which the pumpkin artists explain their process and what it is like to carve a half-ton pumpkin:
Happy Halloween 2011 to all!
So the weather wasn't the most cooperative this year, since it was rainy and cold tonight. Something that did warm my heart, though, was the Doodle that Google displayed on its home page today.
Google had a time-lapse video of some staff carving GIGANTIC (I think they were half-ton) pumpkins into what eventually became a Google logo. But in between carving, various other staff came and hung out, sometimes in costume. You can watch the video below:
It is a cute, creative, and original tribute to this autumnal holiday, and one that you can enjoy without any calories, which is rare this time of year. It also adds to the impression that it must be a real kick to work at Google (for more on that, see this post).
For even more fun, you can watch this video in which the pumpkin artists explain their process and what it is like to carve a half-ton pumpkin:
Happy Halloween 2011 to all!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
A Howling Halloween in Downtown Cary
The Town of Cary, NC, where we live, has a major push on to re-invigorate the old downtown area, which is walking distance from our house. One of the components in this campaign were some brand-new activities for children to celebrate Halloween. They took place this evening, so my son and I walked down to check them out.
The fun started at the Herb Young Community Center, where they had pumpkin painting crafts in one room, and the entire gym area covered with games and bouncy houses for younger children.
They were also running a hayride from the Community Center up Academy Street to the new Cary Arts Center, about which I have written before.
Note to the Town of Cary: I think the hayride is a much better idea than the horse-drawn carriages you have been running at Christmas. The Christmas idea is great, but the carriages are so small that they only hold a few families at a time, and the waiting time just gets to be too long. The hayride can hold a lot more people, so the lines aren't too bad.
One brand-new feature this year was that some of the merchants in the downtown area stayed open for Trick and Treating--plus, many handed out special discount coupons as an incentive for the adults to buy something in the shops.
Note to the merchants: A lot of children these days have nuts and peanut allergies. So it is not a good idea to have a candy selection in which everything has nuts, which was the case in a couple of the places we went.
Chambers Arts really got into the spirit of the holiday, and Klara's Czechoslovakian restaurant had an appropriate outfit on its candy dispenser:
After stopping off at Ashworth's Village (where the downtown merchants are), the hayride continued up to the Cary Arts Center, which had all sorts of things going on.
There were classes where families carved clay pumpkins, blue grass music, scary (or not) Halloween stories, and even a Haunted House!
All in all, it was a fun evening of Halloween activities in Old Cary. To be honest, most of them were geared to the younger-than-middle-school crowd. The stuff at the Art Center was more for all ages, though, and it was nice, crisp evening to be walking around and enjoying the sights and the great holiday energy.
The fun started at the Herb Young Community Center, where they had pumpkin painting crafts in one room, and the entire gym area covered with games and bouncy houses for younger children.
They were also running a hayride from the Community Center up Academy Street to the new Cary Arts Center, about which I have written before.
 |
| The horses were beautiful, but this picture doesn't do them justice. |
Note to the Town of Cary: I think the hayride is a much better idea than the horse-drawn carriages you have been running at Christmas. The Christmas idea is great, but the carriages are so small that they only hold a few families at a time, and the waiting time just gets to be too long. The hayride can hold a lot more people, so the lines aren't too bad.
One brand-new feature this year was that some of the merchants in the downtown area stayed open for Trick and Treating--plus, many handed out special discount coupons as an incentive for the adults to buy something in the shops.
Note to the merchants: A lot of children these days have nuts and peanut allergies. So it is not a good idea to have a candy selection in which everything has nuts, which was the case in a couple of the places we went.
This was the day after Final Friday, so half of the studios didn't participate, which was a shame, because the owners all know my son and we wanted to show them his costume. But the most happening place in the whole downtown shopping area was Chambers Art, a multi-faceted artistic facility that not only gave away candy, but had a wonderful Halloween village display and was even running a craft activity for children to do:
Chambers Arts really got into the spirit of the holiday, and Klara's Czechoslovakian restaurant had an appropriate outfit on its candy dispenser:
After stopping off at Ashworth's Village (where the downtown merchants are), the hayride continued up to the Cary Arts Center, which had all sorts of things going on.
There were classes where families carved clay pumpkins, blue grass music, scary (or not) Halloween stories, and even a Haunted House!
All in all, it was a fun evening of Halloween activities in Old Cary. To be honest, most of them were geared to the younger-than-middle-school crowd. The stuff at the Art Center was more for all ages, though, and it was nice, crisp evening to be walking around and enjoying the sights and the great holiday energy.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Ramadan Mubarak, or Happy Ramadan
Today is the first day of Ramadan, the month-long spiritual observation that is the most sacred practice in the Islamic calendar. For the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until sunset, as well as spending more time in prayer and spiritual reflection, increase their good deeds for others, and pay a percentage of their income to support other Muslims in need.
Since we are studying Islam right now in our World Religion class, we spent last week's lesson on Ramadan. In our class, at least, it has been easier for the students to appreciate the spiritual power behind the often once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca that the annual observation of Ramadan. Maybe because the class was primarily boys--middle school boys who seem to be eating all the time--, they just couldn't seem to get why anyone would volunteer to give up eating during the day. We discussed the many spiritual reasons for fasting, and also talked about other religious practices around fasting or abstinence from certain foods or activities, but they were still dubious about the whole thing.
However, for Muslim children around this age, getting to fast is a really big deal. Children are not required to fast until around puberty. However, when they are officially ushered into the population who are supposed to fast, it represents their admittance into the full-fledged or adult community of Islam, sort of like a bar mitzvah does for Jewish adolescents. So as much as our students don't understand it, being required to fast is something that Muslim middle schoolers really look forward to.
We did do a couple of other things that they liked better than the idea of fasting. They tried some dates, which is the traditional food to eat first to end the daily fast during Ramadan, which some of them liked better than others. And because Ramadan is supposed to be a joyous and celebratory time, as well as a highly spiritual one (or maybe, because of being such a spiritual time), families often decorate their houses for the month.
One of the decorations often displayed is a special lantern named a Fanoos or Fanous. There seems to be lots of different stories behind this tradition that disagree pretty dramatically, so I'm not going to try to give a historical explanation for their connection to Ramadan. But homes display them during this season, so we made some paper versions and hung them up in our class room.
In a land where we have so much, and in a time where we are so driven to focus on the new and the material, I think it is great to expose our students to the idea that there might be value in voluntarily giving us some of what commands our attention the most in our everyday lives, at least for a little while. So I don't think you need to be Muslim to be able to learn a great lesson from Ramadan.
Since we are studying Islam right now in our World Religion class, we spent last week's lesson on Ramadan. In our class, at least, it has been easier for the students to appreciate the spiritual power behind the often once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca that the annual observation of Ramadan. Maybe because the class was primarily boys--middle school boys who seem to be eating all the time--, they just couldn't seem to get why anyone would volunteer to give up eating during the day. We discussed the many spiritual reasons for fasting, and also talked about other religious practices around fasting or abstinence from certain foods or activities, but they were still dubious about the whole thing.
However, for Muslim children around this age, getting to fast is a really big deal. Children are not required to fast until around puberty. However, when they are officially ushered into the population who are supposed to fast, it represents their admittance into the full-fledged or adult community of Islam, sort of like a bar mitzvah does for Jewish adolescents. So as much as our students don't understand it, being required to fast is something that Muslim middle schoolers really look forward to.
We did do a couple of other things that they liked better than the idea of fasting. They tried some dates, which is the traditional food to eat first to end the daily fast during Ramadan, which some of them liked better than others. And because Ramadan is supposed to be a joyous and celebratory time, as well as a highly spiritual one (or maybe, because of being such a spiritual time), families often decorate their houses for the month.
One of the decorations often displayed is a special lantern named a Fanoos or Fanous. There seems to be lots of different stories behind this tradition that disagree pretty dramatically, so I'm not going to try to give a historical explanation for their connection to Ramadan. But homes display them during this season, so we made some paper versions and hung them up in our class room.
In a land where we have so much, and in a time where we are so driven to focus on the new and the material, I think it is great to expose our students to the idea that there might be value in voluntarily giving us some of what commands our attention the most in our everyday lives, at least for a little while. So I don't think you need to be Muslim to be able to learn a great lesson from Ramadan.
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