Welcome to Kaleidoscope for the year! We gathered on a very hot summer’s afternoon but were fortunate to have cooling to rest and relax in. We began with refreshing our memory of the story of Stillwater the panda (Jon J Muth) and the way this story character reminds us how it still our books and listen to the wisdom of stories.
We talked about the ways we like to be still – times when we are awake but still. Perhaps up a tree, looking at nature through a window, resting on our beds, enjoying a book, cuddling a favourite toy or lying quietly on the couch.
We shared two books today.
The first ‘I am Peace’ is a beautiful reflection on how to self regulate, how to ground ourselves and be present in the here and now. The book has lovely ideas about using our five senses to help us feel calm. When we use our sense to closely pay attention to our surroundings, we can find a sense of inner peace and calm, we be still within ourselves, whatever is happening around us.
Every child chose a small fabric bag. Over the afternoon they could collect or make things to put in the bag that matched each of their senses.
First every one was given two tiny sweets of different flavours. They had to silently taste them and put a thumb up when they knew each flavour. We talked about the value of mindful eating – slowing down the process of eating something to really appreciate the flavours and to be present to the experience.
Next, everyone chose two pebbles – one stone and one glass. We held one in each hand and closed our eyes. We swapped hands and focussed on what was the same about each pebble and what was different. We noted that we could pay attention even more when we closed our eyes to do this.
Over afternoon tea we read our second story ‘My love for you is everywhere’ which poignantly describes the feelings of both missing being with others whilst also experiencing the light and love of their care for us, whether near or far.
The craft activities enabled children to make items to match their other three senses. They made glasses with cellophane lenses to use their sense of sight o see the world differently. They had a little sachet of lavender which they could hang on a string with beads and squish gently to enjoy smelling the fragrance. They could also make a decorative bell hanger and hear the tiny sound of a bell each time they jingled it.
There was also a painting activity where children could cut out a picture of Stillwater and paint a scene for the panda to be part of.
In our final gathering circle we read through two reflections about how to be still and hold on and how to be still and let go. Both can help us with our sense of calm and wellbeing.
We also did a meditation together where we focused on each of the senses – slowly we identified one thing we could taste, two things we could smell, three things we could hear, four things we could see and five things we could touch. Our senses are a simple yet powerful way to remind ourselves that we are here in the present moment and all is well.
Welcome to 2023! We look forward to sharing many special times together…
November 5th – Blending in AND Standing out
It was a delight to gather today with such an open hearted and happy group of children. Their response to our theme was beautiful. As we went around our Gathering Circle commenting on whether we felt we preferred to blend in or stand out or both, children were very thoughtful. Many opted for being blending in types of people though a few shared that they liked to stand out when with friends or family and especially if being funny enough to make others laugh.
After our story and a chat, children then completed a picture sheet about blending in and standing out. I loved the honesty of their further responses. Many children now acknowledged times when they liked to stand out – like when they were the best at something or doing a concert or sharing with their class about something they knew a lot about. Aren’t we all a bit this way? But maybe not brave to say so? The honest reflection of children is refreshing for sure.
These are the books that book-ended our gathering. Both highlighted in different ways how being human has many aspects to it and that opposite qualities can integrate within us to help us be fully ourselves.
Our theme continued with craft activities about the animal kingdom and how some creatures can camouflage themselves and some can choose to stand out. As one child said; “Both can be important at different times.”
Children did camouflage colouring, made nature scenes, and decorated wooden butterflies in bold or subtle colours. They also had the option to make cards for others that said “I notice you when…” as a way of sharing our appreciation for the subtler ways those around us might be showing up in our lives.
September 10th – Spring and Happiness!
Hello readers! It’s been a while since I posted as I missed a couple. It it has also been a little while since we gathered… and now here we are in Spring! We regathered happily in sunshine…and that Canberra thing of a nippy breeze!! But we still enjoyed some of our favourite Spring activities such as planting seedlings and making cereal threaded bird feeders.
As well as the change of season, our inspiration today came from two lovely books that explored the shapes in nature and the importance of a little greenery in our lives. We were also inspired by the art of Lisa Houck – we worked together to put together a puzzle of one of her pictures and then made our own collages.
We had a lovely time reconnecting… we began by sharing something that had made us a happy recently… and then we concluded by sharing an idea for how we could spread happiness to others in the coming week… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 7 – Stillness
We have been enjoying the presence of pandas at Kaleidoscope and hearing all the stories with the panda character ‘Stillwater’. Today two new panda friends joined us and we had much fun deciding on possible names… still to be finalised! Jon J Muth’s stories are delightful, and rich in meaning and wisdom.
Based on of today’s stories, we thought about ‘Stillness’. Everyone shared a response to the question ‘When is a time when you are still?’. There were many lovely thoughts… I am still when: I’m snuggled under a blanket, I’m listening to something quiet, I’m tempting an animal to come close, I want a bird to land on my hand for seed, I’m waiting for sleep to come, when I’m hiding…
We made yoga pebble towers, trying to select pebbles and balance three or four in a stack. The sound of the pebbles, the feel of them and the joy of decorating them made for a peaceful time.
Our craft activities included making colourful figurines that could be posed in various still positions, including yoga poses! Some children made scenes inspired the slow, cheery pictures in the story ‘Slow Down World.’
We had a lot of fun playing a statues game at the end of our session and concentrating very hard on being very still!
Our panda friend named Stillwater, gave cuddly comfort to many children this afternoon… and his story book inspired our activities. ‘Zen Ties’ is all about apples and haiku poetry and how showing kindness can lead to surprising kindnesses being received. We used all of our senses to experience an apple…slowly…before munching them!
Our other story reminded us that a slow day (or afternoon) is nurturing for us…and that is what we enjoyed today…
We had a very relaxed afternoon making felt apple tree bookmarks and fun apple characters. As well as eating apples we had applesauce on pancakes!
The most wonderful part of the afternoon was writing Haiku poems. Children enjoyed the poems in the story and had lots of fun counting syllables to work out how to make a haiku poem. Here is a selection of the poems created…WOW!
Through the stories we shared today, children were invited to reflect on their special memories and how we feel when we remember things that are important to us. Memories can be such a gift to us, anchoring us, comforting us and making us smile. Memories help us to retell stories that shape our lives by linking our past with our present and guiding us into our future.
The two books are well worth borrowing from the library for another read!
The art and craft activities for responding to these stories included:
Bunting with things we want to remember… Lift-the-flap pictures of things we remember when we are doing one thing we enjoy whilst recalling another experience… Necklaces and bracelets with beads to represent memories…
Revisiting good memories helps us feel positive. Taking time to recall how one experience reminds us of another can help us feel connected to our own stories and to people we hold in our mind. Sometimes we have memories we need to let go… and this is important of…. But focusing on our life giving experiences enables us hold on to our sense love and belonging.
It is easy to react to life and describe things that occur in terms of good luck and bad luck. But what if, instead, we stayed grounded in those things which are sources of constant goodness, those things that rarely change, or change very little, and stabilise us. When grounded we can respond to life with openness and recognise that all things can work together for goodness if we look at life through eyes of loving hope. Even events that could be seen as unlucky might surprise us!
Stillwater the Panda told us a story today about a farmer who had caring neighbours who liked to exclaim about things that occurred by saying ‘what bad luck’ or ‘what good luck’ and yet he always said ‘maybe’. The story showed that sometimes a misfortune led to good fortune…or one event changed another event and how we responded was what mattered.
Children made little message bags for themselves – inside each bag they put bits of paper with words that described constants in their lives. Here are some of their idea of things that they can count on:
trees, birds singing, love of family, being a big sister, our breath, the ocean, air, my friend, songs I like, my Aunty, flowers, a yummy snack, stories…
Our next story ‘Frog Finds a Place’ (by Sally Morgan & Ezekiel Kwaymullina) was the delightful tale of a young frog who saw a moonbeam in its pond and decided he longed to live up with the moon and stars. After many attempts to get to the moon – and failing of course – he sought the advice of the wise owl. Owl told frog to look closely at the water and sure enough there was the reflection of the starts and the moon. Frog jumped happily into the water and swam amongst the light, realising that what he had sought was right there, with him all along.
Children also made mobiles of stars and the moon in different phases. We talked about we can look up into the night sky and remember the constancy of the heavens above us. (To be finished at home!)
To end our session we quietly coloured to the sound of peaceful music – warm and cool colourings of the moon and sun. We committed to paying attention to the places of constant goodness in our lives.
With holidays coming to an end and our school term about to resume, our focus this afternoon was what a calm and kind start might look like.
We began in our gathering circle by thinking back over the holidays to a moment when we felt fully relaxed and calm, peaceful and happy. We pictured this moment in our imaginations and committed it to memory. Then we went around our circle and shared our picture with words. Some described beach times, gardens, trees, being with a pet, river swims, enjoying books and other such moments. We talked about how reliving these moments in our minds and through sharing, we release happy chemicals into our brains and that doing this can help us. When we feel worried about something, we can bring these special memories to mind and feel calmer.
Reflecting on our days can help us share good moments and find our way through tricky times. We made placemats to put at our tables with ideas for ways to talk about our days.
Our first story today is the poignant tale of a little dog who thinks his name is Sad because he feels so unloved. (‘Sad, the dog’ by Sally Fussell). Luckily, a new family move into his house where he has been left behind and he is the best thing to happen to the little boy who adores him and names him Lucky. We talked about why it is important to be named to help us belong and why it matters for us to say each other’s names with warmth. To help us remember this, one of the craft activities was making origami puppies…
Our other activities included decorating wooden hands to be coasters and making one for a friend who might enjoy the joke ‘Would you like a hand?’ 😉
Some children wrote letters of welcome to new friends. Other children enjoyed relaxation activities such as playing with kinetic sand and reading books.
A new character has joins Kaleidoscope this year – a panda named Stillwater who comes to us with a wonderful series of books by Jon Muth. Stillwater arrives in the home of some children and tells them special stories children. These stories are based on wisdom stories from ancient traditions, and offer insights for our lives. The story suggests that Stillwater could turn up your door any time! Perhaps a metaphor that wisdom can be available to us when we are still enough to listen for it. Everyone enjoyed taking turns hugging the cuddly panda. Today’s story helped us think about surprising kindness and how the simplest, beautiful things are free.
We finished our time together with a Kaleidoscope tradition called ‘Turning worries to hope’. To do this we think of the coming days and instead of expressing what we are worried about we express it as a hope. Children’s shred that they hoped they had kind teachers, familiar friends, happy days and a good time at school. We acknowledged that together we hold each other’s hopes.
A balmy afternoon at long last for us here in Canberra! Everyone enjoyed our traditional spring planting. Children decorated cups for planting interesting flowers seedling. They also planted sunflower seeds in compostable pots to nurture until big enough to go into the ground. They made some delightful tags for their pots, including some of the words from stories about how plants make us feel hopeful.
These are the lovely stories we read today. We talked about the gift of one seed to grow into a tree and then create a whole habitat for other plants and creatures. We talked about the way gardens can help us to feel calm if we are anxious, hopeful if we are worried, and happier when we are sad. Green, growing things inspire us and lift our spirits and remind us of goodness.
Children also enjoyed doing lots of other garden inspired crafts… they made outdoor mobiles with seeds and bells and leaves… they made garden collages with colourful pictures… they explored watercolour pencils to create garden scenes…
We finished our time together with a rainbow bird activity. We shared our final blessing and honoured one another with heartfelt greetings of Namaste. Off we went to enjoy the gardens and greenery all around us.
Our natural world has an abundance of birds this Spring! Everyone could tell a story about a bird encounter, a favourite bird or a special moment enjoying bird life. Our many colourful parrots featured as favourites for many of us as well as the wonderful kookaburra. Over the afternoon we shared three stories about birds and chatted about the things we learnt from the bird characters.
The birds in these stories had a some really good lessons to share… Magpie showed us that it is important to be an honest, kind friend and not to let jealousy overtake us. She reminded us that tricks aren’t fun when they are done in a mean spirit. Magpie had a loyal friend who was forgiving and helpful.
Seagull was patient and grateful. She allowed others to help her and together they rescued Seagull from her tangles.
Kookaburra had to learn that laughing with friends, not at friends, is what builds happy friendships. Kookaburra listened to the wisdom of her elders who taught him that with two eyes and two ears but only one mouth we need to listen and look twice as much as we speak!
Children made paper and feather birds of every variety, including baby birds in nests…
Children loved making models of birds and wooden bases to sit them on…
We finished our time together by decorating wooden feathers…
In the days ahead we hope to see lots of beautiful birds in our neighbourhoods and remember all that we learnt together.
To celebrate Spring is to notice and celebrate myriad tiny, little things…the activity of insects, the first buds, unfurling leaves, buzzing bees, wiggly worms and fluttering butterflies. It is easy to forget how these little living things matter, how they are essential to the ecosystem and the wellbeing of us all. So, today, we remembered! Our outside time was limited due to rain, rain, rain but children still had fun looking through bee-eye-glasses and magnifying glasses. We shared stories and did lots of crafty activities… We especially acknowledged the importance of honey bees in helping food grow… 🐝 🐝🐝
Children shared some lovely stories about helping or noticing small living things. Some children love snails, or ladybeetles or butterflies. Some children rescue worms or ducks or echidnas. Others talked about helping prop up saplings that had fallen over or enjoying all kinds of creatures in our world. We chatted about insects and their importance as well as their beauty. Children decorated butterflies symmetrically…
We had a little chuckle at the story ‘Am I Small?’ (Winterberg & Wichmann). The quirky character is asking her animal and imaginary friends if she is small… and the answers are variable of course depending on who she asks…so she is considered both microscopic and humongous, teeny and enormous! After chatting about this, it was an afternoon full of fabulous crafts, with tshirt decorating being the favourite!
Children were very keen to share their creations with each other and tell of their favourite activity. It was a very happy afternoon! We concluded our time together with the ‘Fist-hand-heart’ meditation which helps with regulating our emotions and taking the time to let go feelings and focus on our breath. There is nothing like the fresh air of Springtime to remind us to pause a moment in our days.
Finding Colour – September 27th
It was a day with the exact conditions needed for the appearance of rainbows – moments of bright sun, squalls of rain, patches of blue, scudding clouds and sudden greyness. Finding a rainbow was easy! 🌈
In our Gathering Circle we chatted about the times when it is hard to find rainbows…or colours…literally and metaphorically. We talked about how it is important to look for the bright things in a day when we are feeling a bit low or sad or overwhelmed. Children shared their thoughts about this… some of us look for beautiful things in nature, some of us ask for hugs, some of us snuggle under a blanket or in bed, some of us listen to music or read a good book. We also share our favourite co,our fun things to spot – rainbow lorikeets, flowers, rainbows, blossoms and leaves.
‘The Girl Who Made Rainbows’ (by Warrington, Williams and Chiles) is a colourful little book that describes all the ways a young girl made rainbows to bring colour to her neighbourhood, especially in the absence of rain and real rainbows. She did simple things like drawing chalk rainbows, collecting coloured objects and eating rainbow icecream! The story inspired us to create our own splashes of colour on black paper…
Our main craft activity for the afternoon was tie dyeing. This is always very popular! Children chose a tshirt, sourced from opshops, and twisted and tied them ready for adding dye. The bright, vibrant colours look amazing!
Other activities also focused on colours…
To conclude our time together we listened to the Dreamtime story ‘How the Birds got their Colours’. Then everyone learnt how to weave paper to create colourful mats.
As everyone drove away, they were confident they’d see a rainbow in the sky. I did. So I think their hopes would have been fulfilled. We are also looking out for colours and hopeful signs throughout the coming days, to share next time we gather.
Spring has come (though some chilly winds still whistled about us!) What a perfect time to pay extra attention to trees and to consider what it means to HONOUR TREES. We had a beautiful discussion about the meaning of the word honour…concluding that to honour trees is to look closely at them, to enjoy them and love them and hug them, to be grateful for them, to protect them and care about them. We talked about how when you truly honour something you are respecting it and being with it and letting it be itself. In our garden today we celebrated the new garden landscaping that is emerging, including a rocky creekbed with a waterfall. And we worked out how many children it took to encircle the very old oak tree with our arms… about 4, depending on the size of the kids!!
The theme of honouring trees really captured the children’s imagination. Everyone had lots of comments to make about trees they loved, trees they climbed, favourite types of trees, why trees matter and how trees were cared for by Australia’s Aboriginal peoples. Some comments included:
I love all the blossom trees at my school
My favourite trees are gum trees
Whenever I pass a tree with very white bark I like to touch it
We have trees at school that we call V trees and we can sit in the V
I love the willows that hang over the creek near my house
I was sad when trees burnt in the fires
I like sitting up high in a tree and looking out
Sometime I hug trees
It was a rich conversation… and then we read the book ‘Tree, a little story about big things’ (by Danny Parker & Matt Ottley). It tells of the resilience of trees to keep growing in the face of storms and encroaching cities. Hope comes and goes as the story unfolds but the final illustrations show humans growing and valuing trees again. Everyone decorated a tiny wooden tree…
After enjoying some time outside in the gardens, we shared another story that moved from despair to hope, ‘The Last Tree in the City (by Peter Carnavas). A small child loved a tree, the last tree in his city, and when he played in it each day he would happily think only of tree. When it is cut down he is devastated… but very slowly he finds hope and trees again as little by little he inspires others to plant small trees and care for seedlings – planted in his tricycle tray, in an upturned umbrella, in all kinds of places even inside a guitar!
Our art and craft activities celebrated trees! There was weaving using frames made from sticks and wool…
There were prayer flags to decorate and hang between branches at home. The ancient wisdom of prayer flags is that when the wind and weather blows them, the hopes and wishes written on them spread across the land.
Children could also decorate little cardboard trees and make collage pictures of trees and the creatures that depend on them…
We concluded our time together with another poignant story called ‘A Child’s Garden, a story of hope’ (by Michael Foreman). Again, the story moved from hope to despair to hope again as a child tended a tiny vine seedling in the face of a ruined, rubble filled, hostile environment. The illustrations cleverly move from grey tones to colour, inspiring the reader’s own sense of hope and possibility.
May we daily honour the trees that colour our world, clean our air, bring us joy…
Skies were grey, clouds were drizzling, air was cold…but we had a fun, colourful, heartwarming afternoon! Our theme of ‘Home is where the heart is’ led us into conversations about places we feel at home, people we feel at home with and places when we feel loved in our hearts.
Lots of people mentioned special places in nature such as the beach…
There were many references to the homes of our grandmothers…
Others mentioned their own room, their school, their friend’s place…
‘Adopted in Love’ is a bilingual story written in the English language (Rachel Herweynen) and the Indigenous language Warramiri (Daymanu Bukulatipi & Garal’wuy Gurruwiwi). This book describes what it means to be adopted, to be welcomed into a family group, accepted and loved. It goes on to describe how we are all adopted into God’s family, welcomed in love and offered kinship with each other. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, full of colour and warmth. (Salome & Katinki Moes).
Using chenille sticks, children made words that represented our theme and conversations…(tsp to see full photo).
If you’ve never read the book ‘Room on our Rock’ (by Kate & Joel Temple and Terri Rose Baynton), then do, if you get the chance. It is a clever story that when read forwards shows lack of welcome, lack of empathy and deliberate exclusion BUT when read backwards shows the opposite – welcome, warmth and inclusion. It is so thoughtfully created, and powerfully conveys the significance of words and how they can be used to welcome or exclude. We linked this story into our theme of welcome and the importance of a sense of home.
As well as some relaxing activities such as weaving, magnetic blocks and winter snowflake making, children enjoyed two activities related to our theme:
Children made bird feeders to welcome birds to our winter gardens (though I think children may have fed themselves the cereal rings more than they took home for the birds!!)
Children used colours and patterns to paint wonderful house frames…the wooden house looks home like when colourful and when pictures are added. Some children plan to put photos in them when they get them home…
We finished our time together with a reflection on how each of us, and the family and friends around us, have different strengths that we use to help each other. Children chose strength cards about themselves and some to describe others. They then received matching stickers to take home to encourage themselves and to give to others to affirm them.
Our homes are often places of shelter and love but can also be places of challenge and misunderstanding. Looking for the goodness in each other and affirming the strengths we offer, brings a loving perspective to the places we call home.
July 14th – Things that Comfort Us
We had a warm and woolly afternoon on a beautifully sunlit winter afternoon. So many happy children joined in one of our biggest gathering circles ever! We began by sharing our names and welcoming lots of new friends. There was much agreement for the idea that as we went around to share our thoughts on the theme, we would all think of an idea that was only two or three words long! It’s too hard to sit and listen to longer stories! Everyone did very well at thinking of how to say what brought them comfort using few words.
Ideas shared included:
* reading books
* snuggling in bed
* snoozing
* hugging my dog
* cuddling my mum
* swimming
* being with friends
* yummy things
Children made wonderful posters about things that comfort them and make them happy. They began with woolly borders and then decorated with words and pictures.
You, Me & the Rainbow 🌈 (By Petrea King) uses the image of a rainbow beautifully. Each of its colours is described and children are encourage to gently imagine themselves surrounded by the feeling of every colour. The whole rainbow is used as an image for how we might send love and hopes to others – we can send rainbows of love from our heart to others we know or anyone in the world. Sending rainbows beings love and peace to us and world.
Another symbol for how love is present in the world are the wool and wooden ‘God’s Eyes’ that were traditionally made to remind people that they were watched over by a loving presence. A few children enjoyed making these…
A favourite source of comfort for many children is a soft toy. ,any children at heart enjoy them too! Lots of people remember their first teddy and the toys of their early years. Today children chose a soft toy to keep them company throughout the afternoon. They loved making decorations, accessories and clothes for these toys…
Children also had fun decorating eggs with faces and learning how to make woolly hats to go on them…
It was a joyful afternoon with children doing what they do best – playing together, being creative and enjoying hot chocolates in the sunshine!
We finished our afternoon with the book ’Peace is an Offering’ (by Annette LeBox & Stepanie Graegin). This book offers many beautifully illustrated images for what peace looks like, for what comforts and cheers us… from a listening friend to a fresh cookie, from finding sunshine behind the clouds to a warm hug. It concludes with the simple blessing: “May peace walk beside you wherever you are.”
What a wonderful afternoon! The theme of ‘Telling out Stories’ captured the children’s imaginations and they shared many thoughtful, creative and funny stories with the group.
In our initial Gathering Circle, children told us their favourite stories – whether books or family oral story traditions. We then played a storytelling game. Lots of pictures were face down in the centre. Everyone had to choose one and respond. It was lovely to hear everyone share an idea, make us smile, help us imagine, enable us to connect.
Children were then given a little box to decorate and make into story boxes. They coloured the outside, labeled them and then put little pieces of paper inside with ideas for storytelling. They planned to take these home for family dinner times where people take out a slip of paper and share what the idea makes them think about… children were very excited to try their ideas out on others and share some fun storytelling!
Our story today was called ‘Becoming Me’ (by Martin Boroson & C Givan- Cartwright). It is an artistic and imaginative way of telling how Creator God brought God’s self into being in all of nature, all living things, each human. It tells of how God celebrates the story of each of our lives and how it unfolds. This led us beautifully into all the sharing of our own life stories and imaginative ideas during the afternoon.
Part of celebrating stories was to choose some books to take home. Children love the free book stall idea and had a lovely time reading and selecting books.
We had a special afternoon tea where children made characters with biscuits…
Our art and craft activities involved making delightful puppets with very interesting features and names!
Children did some magic painting to create scenes for telling stories…
Children wrote their own books, on a wide range of topics and tales…
We ended our time together with children introducing their puppets to us and reading the books that they had made. It was lovely to hear their tales, see their great titles, and learn who they had dedicated their books to. It was an engaging afternoon of hearing new things about one another through telling so many wonderful stories! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 5th – All feelings welcome
A helpful way to regard our feelings is to think of them as feelings we enjoy and feelings we might need help with. This helps us move away from thinking some feelings are good or bad. Feelings are important and give us information about what is going on for us. What is also important is how we manage our feelings, what we do them, how we learn to respond rather than react.
In our Gathering Circle today, we talked about our favourite feelings. Here are some of the comments:
I like feeling proud when people I love do good things.
I like feeling happy and excited.
I like being calm.
I like feeling powerful about all the emotions I feel.
I like feeling sad because it gives me some time by myself.
I like feeling confident.
A young friend of mine come along today as our guest author. This beautiful 10 year old wrote a book called ‘It’s normal to be nervous’ which describes her experiences of nervousness as well as strategies for responding well to this feeling. Everyone related to her book and shared their experiences. Later in the afternoon her good friend presented some of the key book ideas in a puppet show which everyone enjoyed.
Whilst still in our circle everyone made a bracelet, necklace or hanging decoration with a feelings word and some smiley beads. These act as reminders that we are ok and all is well.
A wonderful author-illustrator duo, Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina have created a beautiful book called ‘The Two-Hearted Numbat’. In this colourfully illustrated tale, a young numbat can’t decide if his strong, brave heat of stone is important or his soft, gentle feather heart matters more. His adventures lead him to understand that our one heart needs all these qualities to life well.
We also looked closely at the collage style illustrations in Tai Snaith’s book called ‘Slow down,World’. This book reminds us that when we slow down we can settle ourselves, feel calmer, enjoy life’s simple delights and feel more content and creative.
This book inspired our main art activity this afternoon – canvases with watercolour backgrounds and collaged scenes…
Children also made face puppets showing different emotions and squishy balloon ideas with different expressions…
We finished the afternoon by reflecting on the ways we had explored feelings. We each made an Ojo de Dios or God’s Eye, a traditional craft from far flung places such as Mexico and Peru. Made for young children, they symbolised the loving eye of God being upon us always.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ May 15th – Oceans of Love
My grandmother used to sign her letters to me with ’oceans of love’ and I always liked this. I shared this with the children today and invited them to think of someone who loves them with oceans of love and who they like the idea of sending oceans of love to. Everyone thought of special people, especially the elders of their families – great aunties and grandmothers and grandfathers. Such important people in the lives of young children. Inspired by the phrase ‘oceans of love’ lots of children made letters and cards to send to people they love, signing off with the same loving image.
We also talked about the sheer size and magnificence of the ocean – it’s depth and width and mysteries. The love of God is sometimes described as being as deep and wide as the ocean. That’s a lot of love!
A shell is a tiny symbol of the ocean and many of us like collecting them. They sometimes evoke memories of happy times at the beach. Children were given a shell to look at and feel, and some paper clay with which to mould their own shells.
As they did this they listened to the story called The Sound of the Sea (by Jacqueline Harvey & Warren Crossett). It describes a precious relationship and the grief a child feels when the person dies. It describes how the sea, and all its smells and sounds and sights, became a comforting place for remembering the shared times together.
We also shared the imaginative story ‘Magic Beach’ (by Alison Lester). This helped everyone have lots of beach and ocean images in the minds ready for our afternoon arts and crafts. Children made colourful sea creatures with blotting paper shapes and spray dyes…
They drew ocean scenes with oil pastels and finished them off with an ink wash…
And they made shell necklaces and decorative hangings, some with shells and beads and footprint messages…
We concluded our time together with the poignant and amusing story of ‘Wilfred Gordon MacDonald Partridge’ (by Mem Fox & Julie Vivas) which tells how a small boy helps an elderly lady find her memories. Around the circle, children shared a description of an object they have at home that is special to them and what memory it holds for them. So many beautiful symbols of love were shared – rugs knitted for them, teddies given at birth, toys crafted by a relative and simple things found or received over the years of their lives. We all have these treasures that help us remember the oceans of love we have experienced… and perhaps we have memories of special things we have made or gifted to show the oceans of love we have for others…
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April 21st – HOPE
Today was all about HOPE – what hope is, what help feels like, where hope is found and how we experience hope. Children spoke of it being a feeling that was good like kindness, an idea about wanting to do things well, a happy feeling, a wish, the colour and shape of a red heart, being in a special place, something surprising, believing in things, a wall that kept the worries from running round and round… and lots of other images. Some children acknowledged they weren’t sure how to describe hope. Fair enough! So we did some exploring…
When children arrived in the circle, they noticed a fresh, green pear at every place. This was a bit puzzling in a fun way… but then we shared the poignant and hopeful story ’Pear of Hope’ ( by Wendy Shurety & Deb Hudson) and the symbolism of pears became apparent – with every bite and every page turned! Anna’s story offers hope to anyone struggling along the way and reminds us all of the gift of nature to restore hope.
We also had a really interesting conversation about Easter and its message of hope. Jesus’s life showed us true love and light and goodness, and yet people did not understand which led to his death. But in rising to new life we are reminded that hope lives on and that all of us can can seek to live lives of love and light and goodness, as Jesus showed us… and because of his miraculous life, we can stay hopeful.
There were lots of a questions about life and death and Jesus and God…and all the words and stories that humans have for trying to explain things that are invisible and mysterious. It is possible that many variations of our discussions may have gone home!! Questions aside, it was a beautiful afternoon for an Easter egg hunt among the autumn leaves! Everyone enjoyed the fun of this, followed by celebratory pancakes for afternoon tea. We often mark the anniversary of Kaleidoscope with the story ’Mama Panya’s Pancakes’ (by Mary & Rich Chamberlin and Julia Cairns) which is about the joy and hope of sharing what we have in our own small communities. It is our 7th anniversary and thus a perfect opportunity to acknowledge the HOPE expressed by our gatherings.
Our craft activities continued to focus on the theme of Hope. Children made artworks showing mosaic pathways that led to places where they find hope…
Children did colourful printing using found objects such as seeds and seed pods – seeds are a beautiful symbol of hope, as shown in the story about pears…
Children very happily decorated glass or ceramic bowls. When water fills the bowl, leaves and flowers and candles can float making a beautiful centrepiece. Candles are another hopeful symbol. We are reminded that light shines in the darkness.
To conclude, we shared the book Hope is an Open Heart’ (by Lauren Thompson), a beautiful book that uses photographs and words to show different places and creative ways that we can find hope.
March 20th – Welcome and Belonging
It was so lovely to regather! For various reasons we’ve had a longer break over the summer than usual but today, on a very summery afternoon, we were able to be together again. Old friends and new happily settled into our gathering circle and we each thought of one thing we wanted to share with each other. Comments ranged from events of the past months and outings with friends to simply being happy to be at Kaleidoscope once again.
Our theme of Welcome and Belonging invited children to consider how we feel and offer welcome, what it means to be welcome in a group and in a place and how we offer welcome to each other and all living things.
In celebration of each other and in honour of our names that identify us as ourselves, we created shared name posters. Each child’s name was written on a page and the pages were passed around the circle so that everyone did a little decoration or message on each page. Children loved doing this and were very excited when their own page landed back with them in the circle, all colourful and full of welcome messages.
Nancy Tillman’s beautiful book ‘You’re Here for a Reason’ combines words and illustrations to show us that every person and their small acts of kindness are an essential part of the world. It is a book full of encouragement that reminds us to keep trusting in the hard times and enjoying the moments that are happy and fun. A kite features at the start and over the course of the story it is lost but also found many times and used in wonderful ways – a toboggan for tired animals, nesting material for birds, hat decorations, a lead for a reindeer! So we made kites! and had lots of fun whizzing around on the grass helping them become airborne on a rather still afternoon!
Another delightful story that we shared inspired further art. Anna Boucalt’s story ’The Faraway Seed’ tells of a perfect forest full of tress that are the same…until one day a bird drops a seed and a very different kind of tree starts to grow. At first the forest grumbles but eventually it accepts the colour and diversity of the trees and recognises that this new forest is full of life! Here are the twisty, exotic trees the children made…
Lots of children have enjoyed finding small rocks around Canberra that have pictures and messages on them. The idea is that when you find one, you take a picture or keep it for a while and then place it somewhere else for others to enjoy. Children decorated rocks with lovely pictures or words such as ‘welcome’ and took them home to place around their neighbourhood.
Animals are welcome here too! Children enjoyed making some colourful sand art…
It was a wonderful, happy time together again. We concluded our afternoon by sharing ideas in our circle about ways we could each offer a sense of welcome to those we meet. Children suggested including people in games, asking others if they are ok, smiling, offering friendship, bravely sticking up for people who need a hand and looking out for people who are left out. So many kind and loving intentions. Welcome all!
We came out of our bubbles! With lockdown restrictions lifting, Kaleidoscope could gather again. We made our theme BUBBLES. As soon as I asked about children’s experiences of bubbles, there was lots of conversation. Everyone had all kinds of experiences of bubbles, especially at this time when schools are creating covid-safe bubbles throughout each campus. ‘I’m in the kindy bubble!’ or ’I’m in the year 3 bubble on the oval at lunch!’ were among the remarks.
We talked about these school bubbles being a way we were kept safe. We talked about feeling safe in our home bubbles during lockdown, the cosiness of bedroom or doona bubbles to hide in, garden and treehouse spaces we like to sit in, as well as bubble baths, blowing bubbles and fizzy drink bubbles. We also talked about imaginary bubbles that we can put ourselves into, to help us feel safe and peaceful even when things around us are loud or confusing. Safety bubbles…celebration bubbles… imaginary bubbles… there are all kinds of bubbles!
Children made pictures of bubbles, drawing themselves into bubbles, their homes, or words that they think of when they think about bubbles. Everyone also had pictures from a shared story that was all about companionship and the way friendships can form a bubble of kindness around us. The book was one we shared in depth last gathering, ‘The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse’ (by Charlie Mackesy). We had a chat about it and remembered the messages of kindness and the funny focus on cake! (And yes, the promised cake did appear for afternoon tea!)
Here are some of their wonderful pictures:
After cake and conversation, children enjoyed lots of craft and gardening activities. There was fun, colourful bubble painting…
Our first gathering in Spring is always when we decorate pots and plant seedlings. It was later than usual this year and strangely freezing! But everyone made lovely pots with succulents and colourful cups with marigold seedlings. A little bit of greenery and growth is so wonderful – just like in the story ’Emily Green’s Garden’ (by Penny Harrison), which everyone enjoyed listening to.
Children also made colourful butterflies and little flowers to stick in their pots…
The book ‘I am Peace’ (by Susan Verde) is a beautiful book about mindfulness. It helped us to end our time peacefully, aware of the here and now, aware of our thoughts, taking calm breaths, remembering that we can make imaginary bubbles around ourselves to help us feel held and secure.
We had a lovely gathering this afternoon, cosy inside whilst the grey clouds scudded across the sky. The highlight for most attendees was the visit of three month old puppy – Rosie, the toy cavoodle! This cute little ball of fluffy energy entertained and delighted young and older! She was a reminder of the joy of simply enjoying another creature and it’s non-humanness. Puppies have that wonderful gift of loving and licking everyone equally, bouncing about with joy at the simplest of things, being playful in the moment and snuggling in to cuddle those who needed a little affection and comfort. Many animals offer us experiences to enjoy…
Children shared lots of stories of their moments shared with animals: *remembering times with their pet cat *being licked and sat on by their dog who wanted to comfort them *emus and kookaburras stealing picnic foods *encounters with kangaroos * watching echidnas scurrying along *colourful birds flying by
Linked with a wonderful book, puppies and other animals became the theme for our afternoon, helping us to reflect on the comfort and companionship of many creatures in our world. The book we shared is called ‘The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse’ (by Charlie Mackesy.) Full of whimsy and wisdom, the book tells of the boy and these animals as they journey together. They ask questions of each other and receive gentle responses. There are threads of hope, of holding onto goodness and kindness, of trusting love, and, thanks to Mole, enjoying lots of cake! It is well worth a leisurely read. Children made scenes with the characters…
Children also made scenes of other animals and imagined what they might say…
They enjoyed colouring simple dog and cat puppets…
…and making clay scenes of colourful ideas…
And yes, here is the puppy!!
Our final gathering circle was an opportunity to see each other’s pictures and share some ideas inspired by the book. A clever participant had imagined a further conversation between the characters which she shared with us – delightful! We ended with the story ‘The Memory Tree’ (by Britta Teckentrupp) which tells of how the forest animals mourned the passing of their friend fox, how they companioned each other, the stories they shared and how a tree grew in honour of the friendship. So many creatures offer us wisdom, hope, a glimpse of beauty, a moment of laughter. May we notice the living things with whom we share our world and be thankful and protective.
The sun shone today after a freezing morning and many more days of lots of cloudy greyness. That same energy of the sun was in the joyful arrival of children, in their cheerfulness, warmth, glad presence together. Perfect! Our Gathering Circle is a holding space where all of us feel a sense of belonging and welcome – however we feel inside, whatever kind of day we have had, whatever our busy thoughts – we gather together and in the chatter and the quiet we connect with our inner selves and each other. Perfect!
We wondered together about the meaning of the word PERFECT… how it can sometimes be a word that carries pressure, rightness, no mistakes, no room to move. But then we talked about how we can all have our own understanding of what perfect really means, and the goodness of these other ways of seeing… ordinary moments when we feel content and happy, even though not everything in our world is ‘exactly right.’ Some of our ideas:
*a lovely tree that is our favourite because we enjoy it *family member we love even though they can be cranky or annoying sometimes! *our special friends *our pet cats and dogs who we like to cuddle with even if they jump on our books or sneak our snacks *signs of spring, tiny flowers growing *a lovely cup of tea, a yummy hot chocolate *a cosy bed to snuggle in
Meditation time with young children is very different to adult groups, but today it was perfect! Why? Because, as I explained to the children, a perfect meditation time isn’t about how still we managed to stay or how well we focused our minds on the mantra. Rather, it is about committing ourselves to having a go, to being there, as quiet and calm as we can be, even if that stillness was (for some) only a few seconds of the time. We are here, we are open, we are allowing. God is with us as always and perhaps for those few seconds or minutes we become more aware of this truth.
‘PERFECT’ (by Freya Blackwood and Danny Parker) is a simply delightful book. It follows a day in the life of three young children and all the ordinary things they do together… and at the end of the day they conclude that it was perfect. As we read the story and enjoyed the beautiful illustrations we talked about how we would try to do all the things in the book, with just two exceptions – I couldn’t take them to the beach and I didn’t have any friendly cows to pet! (The children thought this quite hilarious!) These are the things we did:
We began with something to nibble….Children were invited to take a triangle of fairy bread and nibble…take a tiny bite at a time, feel the textures, taste the flavours, wonder if the coloured sprinkles taste different. A tiny nibble is harder than one might think…the temptation to bite, chomp, have a mouthful was very strong for some! But others were more patient. Luckily we had plenty so children could have a few attempts at mindful eating!
Children then chose something to cuddle… a selection of soft toys sat waiting to be chosen (courtesy of a great opshop expedition and a thorough washing!) After chatting about how we could resolve the tricky situation of people wanting the same toy… everyone was very considerate. I felt so proud of them and their kindness to each other. A very popular activity was making scarves, ponchos and blankets for their new favourite animals!
Afternoon tea was our something to mix/make, with everyone making funny face biscuits and enjoying hot chocolates on this cold winter day…
There was somewhere to scribble… (to make wrapping paper)…
There were kites to fly – having made them first… and thus sunshine and shade and fresh air to breathe, trees and gardens and nature to enjoy…
And finally there were secrets to share… our happy secrets were about making cards with kind messages and secretly giving them to others – slipping them into their bag, hiding under their pillow or putting into letter boxes…
Celebrating Winter, Hope in Simple Things – June 23th
It has been really chilly this winter, with the cold coming some weeks ago… so it was time for celebrating what we appreciate and enjoy about wintertime. It was also time to remember the joy and hope of simple things that we can do together of an afternoon and that keep us going on darker days. It was good that the sun shone today, bringing a little cheer and warmth.
The children had lots to say about winter and how much they enjoyed cosy beds, cuddling their dogs, frost on trees and grass, hot chocolates and soups, warm jumpers, breath patterns in the air, starry nights and snuggling on the couch. Everyone was very positive…although there was some admitting to having to be coaxed out of bed on cold mornings!!
We often notice the night sky in winter, because it’s dark earlier and we can look up through bare branches and wonder at all that is beyond us. Children drew their ideas about this, whilst listening to the story ‘When Dad Showed Me the Universe’ (by Ulf Stark & Eva Eriksson). The dad is keen to take his child to the top of a hill to look up at the stars away from lights…the boy is equally amazed by the snail, the grass, the thistles thinking these things the most beautiful things ever… he also loves looking up when prompted by his dad. Here are the decorative sketches by the children:
There was much excitement when children heard about the activities this afternoon – particularly the idea of making their own winter scarves! As soon as they made them, they wore them around necks, waists, heads all afternoon! They looked very cosy!
Children had a lot of laughs making owls, mostly called Hedwig, and telling stories with each other. The owls were quirky and full of character!
Sticks can make colourful decorations when a little creativity is used… wool, chenille sticks and felt balls turned ordinary sticks found in winter gardens into vases of lovely indoor bouquets! Glass jars were made into bright, cheery vases.
Our afternoon concluded by sharing the book HOPE (by Lauren Thompson), a book that reminds us of all the ways and places we can find hope… in secure hugs, candlelight, tears making room for laughter, helping hands extended, remembering we are not alone, linking arms and making a difference together in our world. Children shared many examples of times when a sad or tricky situation had been changed into something positive and happy because of the care and love of a friend or family member. They were very open about the ways they experienced hope and we talked about the importance of hope in helping us all to live well and positively.
Say YES to fairness! Say YES to friendship! Say YES to inclusion! Say YES to kindness! These are some of the slogans we made up today after sharing the book ‘SAY YES, A Story of Friendship, Fairness and a Vote for Hope’ (by Jennifer Castles). This wonderful book tells the story of what life felt like for two little friends who weren’t allowed to do some things together, before the 1967 Referendum, and how unfair it was that they were treated differently because of their skin colour. The vote for YES was a good beginning for bringing about a more just and fair Australia…though there are many more steps to be taken…
After our meditation time, children shared examples of when words really mattered in their lives. They gave examples of words of comfort, welcome, friendship, apology, forgiveness and love. Words really matter and powerful words, like voting words, can bring about change.
Children cut out paper chain friends and thought about who they cared about, who cared about them and who they could be inclusive towards, even when it can be tricky.
The book also inspired some great slogan posters about lots of different things that matter (as well as some jokes about saying yes to ice cream!) Children named some great things we need to say YES to!
Another powerful story that we shared is called ‘Desmond and the Very Mean Word’ (By Archbishop Desmond Tutu, D.C Adams & A.G Ford). In the thoughtful introduction by Desmond Tutu, we discover that this is a story of something that happened to him as a child, something that shaped him to be the incredible power for change that he has truly been. As one of the children said, “This story shows all the feelings that he had from the beginning to the end.” And those feelings were fear, hurt, anger, revenge, sorrow, sympathy, forgiveness, understanding, joy and freedom. Amazing!
Inspired by this story and how it demonstrates how words really do matter, children used modelling clay and other materials to make pictures of feelings and words that are important.
Reconciliation Day is marked on May 27 in Australia, reminding us of the work that has been done and the significant work ahead, to bring true reconciliation to all peoples in our country. We talked about different painting styles and various ways to paint something about our country or reconciliation, how there are many ways to express our ideas with painting. Here are there artworks:
To conclude our time together, we reflected on the meaning of the phrase WALK the TALK and the importance of putting our good ideas into action, of living what we believe. Everyone decorated some cardboard feet! We went around the circle to share ideas of something each of us could do to put some of these important ideas into action, in the coming weeks. We talked about including people we might find irritating, being nice to different people as well as our friends, sharing even when it is a bit hard, and being kind and fair to everyone. It was a meaningful and thought-provoking afternoon with many rich ideas shared by the children. It was fun too! Reconciliation always matters, so let’s all:
Wonder – May 2nd
The experience of WONDER is a gift unique to humans and a gift to our sense of hope, possibility and joy. To pause and wonder can make a difference to how we feel about our day, ourselves, our life, our place in the world. To wonder at mystery or beauty or delight lifts our spirits and reminds us that the presence of goodness, the presence of God, is all around us.
Children shared their ideas about wonder and what makes them wonder… sunsets, water, camping in the bush, going on a hike, seeing a goanna, special friends… and some unexpected ideas too such as baking things or eating amazing cake or in fact any cake apparently!!
The collaboration of Annaka Harris & John Rowe on the book “I WONDER” led to a beautifully painted book about wondering, saying you don’t know and letting things be a mystery. It tells of a mother and daughter exploring nature, asking questions and wondering together. It is a book that celebrates wondering and celebrates mums – both of which children did inn their art and craft activities during the afternoon.
Posters… ‘I Wonder…’
So many magnificent autumns trees are showing off their vibrant colours at this time of year . Pause and wonder…enjoy…smile… and make a painting!
Oil pastel artworks of gardens and parks…
And some time in the sunshine sewing little gifts for mums on Mothers Day…
We finished our time together by sharing the book “Big Mama Makes the World” (by Phyllis Root & Helen Oxenbury). We talked about how everyone wonders about God… Who is God? What is God like? This story personifies God as Big Mama – a busy woman with a baby who makes the world and does the laundry and makes creatures and plants and puts the baby down for a nap… and then feels a little lonely and wants someone to share stories with – and so she creates humankind for company. It’s a wonderful image of a loving, relations, creative God. I wonder…
Our focus for the afternoon was the quote: ”In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
In our gathering circle at the beginning, children were invited to share their ideas about kindness and what it means to them. They shared ideas about being friendly, smiling at others, saying kind words, giving hugs, being patient, looking out for others, playing good games with friends, and taking turns.
Everyone chose a palm sized stone to hold. They felt cold to touch. Children held them while they listened to the story ‘The Stone Lion’(by Margaret Wild & Ritva Voutila). This story tells the story of a statue who is granted a chance to become warm and living because of his sudden compassion and desire to help. The lion saved a baby and child and never returns to being quite so cold and hard again. The stones in our hands became warm in this time and helped us think about how kindness makes light for darkness, warmth from coldness, hope from despair, happiness from sorrow. Children made their stones woolly and some added eyes.
After a treasure hunt and some afternoon tea in the autumn sunshine, children gathered again for another wonderful story, ‘Extra Yarn’ (by Mac Barnett &Jon Klassen). This story tells of a young girl finding something that looks like an ordinary box full of ordinary yarn but turns out to be anything but ordinary. It turns out to be special yarn that never runs our even when the girl knows jumpers and hats for every person and animal and even makes jumpers for every building and tree. Whilst ever she is generous the wool never runs out. When a mean thief tries to steal the wool it doesn’t work and he hurls it away in fury. The girl finds it again and continues with her delightful giving of warmth and kindness all around her world.
Our afternoon activities involved making things with wool and making things about kindness, both things for ourselves and things to give to others. There were heart frames, kindness posters, and wool frames with kindness messages.
We finished our time together by sharing our ideas of how we could show kindness to ourselves and each other in the weeks ahead. Children talked about being patient with siblings, caring for their pets, making friends laugh, having some naps, being calm, smiling at classmates, including others, and doing things to help others. May blessings of kindness flow in and through us all.
Today was Harmony Day across Australia and so that was our theme for the afternoon. We began by sharing thoughts about what harmony means to us and what it feels like. Lots of great words were shared : friendship, being inclusive, being kind, helping, welcoming, belonging, family time, playing with others, being together, calmness.
After sharing the beautiful book ‘Respect’ by Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson, and Lisa Kennedy, children made pictures to represent harmony and belonging. Children made orange backgrounds with threaded borders. They traced their hands on different skin tone papers and then swapped hands with others in the room. This meant that everyone had different sizes and tones of hands on their artwork. Some children added words and decorations. They looked fabulous!
Another amazing picture book is ‘Room on our Rock’ (by Kate & Jol Temple and Terri Rose Baynton). This book tells a story in two directions – in reading it from the start it sounds like nobody belongs, nobody will help and nobody is welcome BUT when immediately read back the other way the text cleverly shifts to show a story of offering sanctuary, welcome and a place to belong.
Children made lots of wonderful things in response to the theme and books. They made gallery style pictures that told their stories, and in talking about them we conveyed that everyone’s story matters.
They made pictures of the earth with humans and animals all around and messages of belonging and togetherness.
They made cards and letters with messages for friends and family about welcome and friendship and love.
We finished our time together with the book ‘Grandma’s Treasured Shoes’ by Coral Vas’s & Christina Huynh. This story uses a pair a of old, dusty shoes to tell the story of a young girl fleeing her country with nothing but she was wearing, to arrive in Australia and find a new home, a new place of safety and belonging. Even though she is now a grandmother with ‘oodles’ of shoes, the old, faded ones are still her treasured favourites.
We left carried by the words of our blessing, hopeful that we can be people who bring harmony to the places we inhabit.
On this lovely afternoon at the end of summer, we gathered and celebrated birds. Thanks to our kind summer weather, there have been all kinds of birds in our neighbourhoods and everyone was able to name their favourites – lorikeets, cockatoos and galahs, owls, eagles and the humble budgie! It was also our first gathering since the school term resumed, so children shared things they had been enjoying so far this year. There were cheerful comments about making new friends and enjoying school life, as well as tales of new puppies, curled up cats and birthdays.
Our opening story was ‘Feathers’ by Phil Cummings & Phil Lesnie. This book is described as a story of heartache, hope and home… and this is true. The story tracks the migration of a bird across many places, a journey that is hard for the bird and also gives glimpses of the challenges children face in the places the bird sees. Feathers float down in each place and bring hope and a smile, a tickle and a new perspective. After sharing the story, children spent some quiet time out in the shade looking out for birds, listening for birds and sketching birds, feathers, leaves and any nature they could see. This was a lovely restful time.
Back together, we shared another story called ‘The Feather’ by Margaret Wild & Freya Blackwood. This is a mysterious story with layers of hidden meanings about hope, redemption, belief and possibility. With the children as main characters, readers catch a glimpse of the open hearted way children look at the world and the goodness that is made possible when their perspective is embraced. Children shared very thoughtful remarks about the story: “It is important to take care of the things we find in nature.” ”We shouldn’t take too much from nature.” ”Feathers are beautiful and special.” ”The children were brave and kind.”
Throughout the afternoon, children did lots of different bird themed activities. Some celebrated birds, some helped us care for birds, some helped us appreciate the fun of feathers…
Birds chatting on a wire…
Clay nests with little eggs…
Bird feeders to hang in gardens…
Painting with feathers…
We finished our time together with another wonderful picture book called ‘The Tin Forest’ by Helen Ward & Wayne Anderson. In this story an old an transforms rubbish into a tine forest but dreams of real life being part of his landscape. One day a bird appears and the bird drops seeds and this tiny beginning leads to a whole first of life entwining itself around the tin forest and making the world a beautiful place again. A hopeful story and one that reminds us of the many ways birds are an essential part of our living world. May we all notice and enjoy the bird life around us in the coming weeks…
On a heatwave afternoon, we gathered again, resuming Kaleidoscope for the New Year. With the new school term just around the corner, we began our time by sharing thoughts in the circle. Children were invited to think about the year ahead, perhaps a worry or something that was on their mind, and to turn into a positive HOPE statement. By phrasing worries positively we see the possibilities of things and we give ourselves a sense of hope. Children shared thoughts such as: “I hope that’s my new school has kind and caring friends.” “I hope I have a really supportive teacher.” “I hope the tricky person in my class comes back a bit different and easier.” “I hope I can be in a good class that I like.”
We shared the beautiful book ‘I AM PEACE’ (by Susan Verde & Peter H Reynolds) which explores a child’s experience of worrying about what was and what will be and feeling adrift… but then the child remembers to pause and take a breath and say ‘it’s alright’. We practised this and the other ideas in the book – like reminding ourselves to be here and now, to feel the solid ground beneath us, to see the wonder of nature, to find peace and share peace with others.
Children decorated envelopes with words they liked and then chose a word to write on pebbles and candles. They took these little treasure home to remind themselves to take a quiet moment and find the peace that is within them.
Our afternoon activities were very relaxed this afternoon, with the emphasis on keeping cool indoors, reconnecting with each other and fostering calmness. Some children did colourful paintings, some did quiet drawings, some played games in small groups, and everyone made a fun keychain animal to hang on their bag. It was a lovely time together.
We concluded our time together with the story ‘God’s Dream’ (by Archbishop Desmond Tutu & D.C.Abrams). This story asks children what their dearest dreams are and shows that God’s dream is for everyone to feel welcome in the world and loved for who they are, for everyone to share and care and laugh and play together. It ends with a rainbow smile of how we can all feel when we live in harmony with one another. We left with the hope that school and the year ahead was happy and harmonious for all.
Today we celebrated books in a delightful way! Children arrived to a display of lots of second hand books set up like a bookshop display. What fun!
Before choosing books, we gathered for our meditation time together. With a few new children and lots of little ones among us, we took time to talk through why and how we meditate; how it’s a time to be peaceful, a time to remember that we are loved and held by God, a time to be still and silent.
Children then listened to the beautiful story ‘The Secret of Saying Thanks’ (by Douglas Wood and Greg Shed). This book takes readers through all the small moments in life for which we can be thankful – family dinner, fragrant flowers, shady trees, a hand to hold. To celebrate books we began by making our own : mini books called ‘The Book of Thankfukness’ which children filled with pictures and words to show what they are thankful for.
Children read the books to each other and shared their favourite pages – it is always delightful to glimpse a child’s thinking and remember that we can indeed be thankful for so many things – from nature to aliens, from pets to eggs! And a precious offering from a beginning writer who is thankful for ‘krm’ (calm). I too am thankful for calm!
Selecting books was our next adventure and children thoroughly enjoyed choosing books to keep and books to give away. Lots of friends and relatives will be receiving carefully wrapped parcels of books over the coming weeks. It was lovely to behold the joy children experienced in both pausing to read and forgetting themselves in a book, as well as wrapping some and asking how to spell assorted names to write on their packages.
Children then had a happy time making assorted bookmarks and also some jigsaw puzzles, as well as playing with the ever popular plasticine.
We finished our time together with sharing all that we had made and wishing each other well for these last weeks of school term. Namaste.
November 1, 2020
Our term time gatherings resumed on this blustery spring day. The sun shone after a wet weekend and the sky was blue, filled with fluffy clouds scudding along. This was a beautiful backdrop for our afternoon, with its theme of OUR SKY.
In our gatherings circle time we shared what we loved most about the sky, from sunsets to night stars, cloud pictures to summer blue. Everyone had something they loved about the sky and how looking up at the sky made us happy or peaceful or helped us remember others who share the same sky.
The story ‘What does the sky say?’ (By Nancy Carlstrom) invited us to think of the sky in all its moods and weathers, and to wonder what it might be saying to us… perhaps to go dancing in the sunset colours, to smile at rainbows, to show awe at the moon and stars. It ended with reminding us that there is a big enough sky for us all to live beneath it in gratitude and peace.
Children made their own fabric sky scenes to hang above their beds. Here are their delightful skies…
We finished our time together with the story ‘You, Me & the Rainbow’ (by Petra King). This story paints lovely pictures of each colour of the rainbow and suggests that we can send rainbows to each other and to anyone in the world – because sending rainbows is a way of sending our care and love. Sending rainbows is like sending blessings or prayers to others to express our hope for their wellness and happiness.
We also shared what we would think about when we looked at the sky this week, and what we would hope to see. Perhaps birds or rainbows or drops of rain. Perhaps we could send thoughts to others and hopes for peace.
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October 9, 2020
Our second holiday gathering was a rather blustery spring day but it was still beautiful to spend some time enjoying spring blossoms, lush grass and fluttering petals…plus a few sprinkles of rain!
In our opening circle, we began by reflecting together on the importance of community and the ways we have held onto a sense of community during these challenges times. After listening to the story ‘Seagull, by Danny Snell’ children shared their thoughts about ways they have helped others or been helped by others. In the story, it is the collective help of many friends that enables the seagull to be free again and able to fly once more. We made links with the story about what that meant for us. Children decorated little birds to remind them of this story…
Children then decorated paper cups for planting seedlings, our usual springtime traditions. Colourful cups filled with petunias and pansies about to flower were a delightful way to celebrate the growth and colour of this season!
A variety of other art and craft experiences followed, with children choosing their own activities and spending a relaxed afternoon chatting, creating and enjoying the time together.
We finished our afternoon with the story ‘We are Together’ by Brita Teckentrupp. With rhyming text and colourful illustrations, this book takes readers through all the reasons we flourish by being together, the gift of friendship, and the power of community. Children shared their gratitude for their friends with beautiful ideas such as: My friends listen to me and share their ideas. My friends are loyal to me. I miss my friends when they move away. My friends comfort me when something scary happens. My friends do kind things for me. I like being with all my friends here.
It always matters to recognise the importance of being a friend and for all that our friends mean for us. We are all grateful for the friends who companion us in the dailyness of life.
October 1, 2020
Hooray! We met again (after our long pause due to the pandemic). And what a beautiful spring day we had for our gathering! Blossoms gently blowing in the breeze, a magpie strutting about confidently, flowers beginning to make their appearance and a wide, blue sky.
In our opening gathering circle, children shared their joy at being back together, seeing each other, reentering the familiar space. Younger siblings who had become ‘old enough’ to join were delightfully inducted by their older siblings who proudly showed them how to do things. It was beautiful to see the interactions and pride and the confidence of ‘this is what we do here’ being passed on.
Our first story was ‘Welcome to Country’ by Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy. A truly beautiful book, the words and paintings grounded us by reminding us that always we are on shared land, that we must honour and respect the history of place and tread lightly. We feel grateful to be back on our familiar patch of ground, together after absence and rejoicing in the natural space.
It is definitely a spring highlight to do messy art outside and today was the day for tie dyeing! Children love this and had a wonderful time decorating tshirts, bags and pillow slips in a rainbow of vibrant colours.
Another story everyone enjoyed was Anna Pignataro’s exquisite boom ‘The Heart of a Whale‘. It tells the story of a whale who sings her song all around the ocean in ways that others find beautiful and comforting. But she is lonely and also sends out a sigh which another whale hears on the currents. They find each other in the ocean and befriend one another for always. We talked about friendship and feeling lone go and missing others and showing affection. Children made Baskets of Friendship – little baskets with woven sides that they filled with messages, flowers, stones and other little things to give away, to bring smiles o the faces of others.
It was a lovely afternoon together, concluded by sharing the book ‘What is Peace’ as it asks many questions about peace… what is it? Where is it? What is it like? Children shared their thoughts on the questions, noting that peace is something makes them feel happy or calm or content. Peace is something that includes others and helps siblings make up after arguing and that is felt in nature or at home or when we are by ourselves. We talked about peace being both gentle and strong, powerful and kind, within us and in out togetherness.
The gift of this time isn’t so much evident in the planned activities but in the grace of our presence together and our sincere and intentional ‘being with’ one another. From the excitement of losing a wobbly tooth to the hearing of how two friends found a way to reconcile by having time to talk in the garden, the space offers itself up for us to enter and belong, listen and share. What a blessing it is to be with children.
Meditation is a special time of prayer. We settle ourselves into stillness and silence and prepare ourselves by focusing simply on our breath, trying not to be distracted by anything else. In the quiet of our hearts we trust that in this silent peaceful space we are not alone, we are met by God. Just like we are never alone at other times either. God is always with us. When we meditate we are open to God being with us, all around us, within us, holding our life.
You may like to sit somewhere in nature. You may like to sit somewhere quiet in your home. You may like to light a candle or have a flower or some pebbles to focus on before and after the meditation time. Follow the steps and have a few minutes of peaceful meditation time.
A Beginning Prayer
At Kaleidoscope gatherings, we use Our Kaleidoscope Poem to lead us into meditation. You may like to read these words or a verse or two to help you feel calm and focused. Click on this link:
Settle your body into a comfortable position and make yourself still.
Take some slow, deep breaths… begin to feel the rhythm of your breathing.
Focus your mind on a single word like ‘Shalom’ so that your mind stops racing along.
Shalom means the deepest peace within us, peace that comes from God.
Silently repeat the word in time with your breath
Continue this for several minutes.
Be open to the sense of calm that comes upon you.
Remember that you are loved, for God is always with you.
Holidays in lockdown times can feel rather limited. But some fun in the sunshine and some sharing of simple joys was appreciated by many of us in this past week or so. It began with writing letters… I smiled to think of you all finding real mail in your letter boxes! And then some of you wrote back…and you made me smile and gladdened my heart with your lovely words and the things you said you loved and missed about Kaleidoscope. Thank you. 💜
And then we heard that lockdown would be going on and on which meant that Kaleidoscope, like everything else, would not be meeting soon. But we could do bits of Kaleidoscope from a distance! It was lovely to say hello to many of you in your driveways and have a friendly chat whilst making deliveries. It was fun to meet some of you online for some crazy drawing and laughter. And it has been wonderful to see photos of all the the things you did with the goodies in the craft packs. Thanks for sharing your creative arts and crafts!
We have a few more weeks to go in our lockdown… but we will meet again together and that will be a happy day! Meanwhile, keep being creative, find ways to spread a little happiness around your neighbourhood, send messages of care to others in all kinds of little ways and remember to enjoy the beauty and goodness around us.
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Surprise Pebbles
Have you been walking around your neighbourhood? What have you been noticing? Have you noticed any colourful rocks or pebbles anywhere?
There are people all around Canberra who decorate rocks and put them along pathways and in front gardens. If you find one, you can admire it and leave it there, or pick it up and put it somewhere else. One of my students showed me one she had found with a painted dragon on it. Another student painted some rocks glittery purple and gave me clues about where to find them. In my street I have seen these:
Whether you are practised at doing tiny drawings on rocks or just beginning, you too can join in. It is easy!
Find a few rocks 🪨🪨🪨
Wash them if they are muddy or dusty 🧽 🚿
Let them dry 🌞
Decide on a picture or decoration – you could do colourful spots or stripes 🌻🌈🎈💜
Use paint or permanent marker to decorate your rocks 🖍🖌
If you have any hairspray, a quick spray will help make the colour permanent
☀️Then one sunny day you head out for a walk. 🌳Put the rocks in places where others might see them and smile. 🌝 Keep an eye out and see if they get picked up or others might add more rocks.
Enjoy adding these cheerful message to your neighbourhood. 🏡 You may never know what happens to them but they are sure to bring a little bit of joy! 😊 Have fun making them and giving them secretly away! 🙃😍
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Listening to our place
A wonderful tradition amongst Australia’s Indigenous peoples is to listen to Country. To listen, we have to be still and quiet ourselves, we might close our eyes to help us concentrate. We have to have an attitude of respect and attention.
Whilst we are at home, we can sit somewhere outside our own place and listen to the sounds around us. We could go for a ‘listening walk’ and pay close attention to the sounds around us. You could take a notebook with you and draw or list what you hear.
Because we live in a built area, we are likely to hear natural sounds and city sounds.
When I sat quietly at my place this is what I heard: birds tweeting leaves rustling a drone overhead water dripping children laughing hammering bees buzzing
What can you hear at your place? Perhaps you could create an artwork about what you can hear and send me a photo to add to this blog.
I liked heard this little character chatting it itself.
We are past the shortest day, when the sun shines for less time, but we are still very much in the middle of winter. What cold mornings we have had but lovely that they have become beautiful, sunny days. Perhaps, like me, you have been going outside for a stroll or a play. Perhaps, like me, you are wondering what to do sometimes…
At Kaleidscope, about a year ago, we celebrated the cosy things about winter – things like hot chocolates and good books. We also did kind things to help others through winter – like write messages on tins of soup for the food bank and choose books to give to our friends and neighbours. Remembering this got me thinking about what we can each do this winter. So here are a few ideas and maybe you have some good ones of your own! Some are ideas for lockdown times, some are ideas for later!
*If you are planning to go shopping, choose an OpShop. As well as being able to find fun clothes and different books, every dollar you spend there goes towards helping people who find winter really hard. OpShopping is also good for our planet because there is no plastic packaging or new materials. And it is FUN! My latest OpShop story is simple – last week I needed a back pack for a little girl who didn’t have a school bag. I went to Salvos at Mitchell – and there was the perfect hot pink backpack! The little girl loved it and it was just right for all her school things. I hope you have a lucky find if you visit and maybe you’ll see just the right thing to give to someone you know too. These are some favourite OpShop items at this house:
*It might feel less appealing to go outdoors during winter but sometimes we can be surprised. Find some cosy spots for a winter cubby or climb a tree and notice how far you can see without all the leaves to block your view. Down at the duck ponds at Lake Ginninderra, there is a teepee made from sticks that anyone can play in. Maybe you can find it and add some more sticks. In my garden there is a tree you can climb and see a long way from, without the leaves. I also found an old bird’s nest that had been hidden by leaves.
*Cooking is a great winter activity because the oven helps warm the house! Who could you do some simple cooking for? Perhaps you could create a cafe in your dining room and invite someone to visit your cafe. What will you call the cafe? Make a sign! What will you offer for food and drink? Make a Menu! What entertainment or music will you have? Perhaps you could perform a song or poem!
Whatever you choose to do in in your winter days, I hope you are well and warm, and that you find ways to laugh everyday. Acts of kindness are one of the best ways to make ourselves smile, on our faces and on the inside… so use your imagination and share some winter kindness around!
We always acknowledge National Reconciliation Week in which we aim to commit to understanding more of Australia’s history, hearing each others’ stories and taking part in the journey towards true reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This is important all the time, not just in that week in May!
Reconciliation is a complex concept, and many aspects of what it means for our country are beyond the comprehension of children. But there are some important ideas that can be explored with children; ideas that can grow and expand with them as they mature.
‘Becoming friends again’ can be a helpful phrase in explaining the meaning of the word reconciliation to children. Even young children know what it feels like to be unfriendly or to have a friend be unkind; they understand about disagreements and arguing over belongings. This can be a way to begin talking about how we all feel better when we become friends again. The concept of belongings and how much we care about what belongs to us is a good way to begin the discussion of land ownership with older children and the importance of respecting places that others hold sacred.
‘Saying sorry brings peace‘ is another good phrase for conversation. To be able to become friends again involves willingness to both say sorry and receive sorriness; to seek forgiveness and offer forgiveness. Children can understand what inner peace feels like when we know that our relationships feel good to us. They can understand how it feels when relationships are broken – they may be able to describe feeling yucky in their belly or teary or angry. Participating in bringing peace to relationships shifts those feelings to ones of lightness and happiness again. These ideas may be particularly relevant when it comes to sibling and family harmony, especially in these times of being around each other at home more! Understanding that the peace process can take time when anyone feels very hurt is also a good concept to talk about.
‘Community friendship and peace’ is a bigger concept, of course, that we adults grapple with when we are considering national reconciliation. For children, a starting point can be to acknowledge that we live on ancient land, Ngunnawal land, and that we want to commit to sharing the land with all living creatures and caring for our place, as the Ngunnawal people did. Some families like to have an acknowledgement of this as part of the beginning of shared meals along with naming gratitudes or other versions of mealtime prayers. Making such things a part of the fabric of everyday life is a way of deepening children’s ways of knowing what matters.
Children can also understand that peace in a community begins with peace between those we know, and then we extend it outwards to all those with whom we share our country. They can understand that when we talk to each other, we need to listen to each other and take turns hearing and speaking. This way, they can learn from experience that everyone has a story to tell and that all stories matter. When we listen with our ears and our hearts open, we can make new friends and bring greater peace to our corner of the world. When children grow up learning to hear all the different perspectives that people have, a more inclusive world can evolve.
Growing up with these ways of knowing can only increase the possibilities of a more hopeful and reconciled future for our country.
(Special thanks to my two favourite hand models for today’s photos!!xx)
Do you have a very favourite tree? Perhaps you have a few favourite trees. Some of you have talked about trees at grandparents’ places or the coast. I know some of you like to climb trees and play imaginary games in the branches… These photos show a tree I like at the Botanic Gardens, a tree in my garden that once had a dragon land in it, and a tree somewhere faraway that is perfect for climbing!
With all the recent time we have spent at home, lots of us have been walking around more in our own neighbourhood. We have become familiar with our own street and the gardens near our home. Perhaps you now know some of the trees in your area now and have watched them as they changed from summer leaf to autumn colour to the almost bare branches of winter.
Near my home, there are some trees I really like. I have been watching them change and enjoying their colours and shapes. For a while I was seeing them most days and feeling quite friendly towards them! With our gradual return to school, perhaps, like me, you are walking around your area a little less. Maybe you miss seeing these trees and how they change each day…
Here are some photos of my favourite local trees. I’d love you to send me a photo of your favourite tree too!
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Things that lift our spirits
What do you picture when you hear the phrase ‘lift our spirits’? What does it mean to you? When my spirits are lifted I am aware of feeling a bit lighter instead of feeling a bit heavy, or feeling a bit hopeful instead of feeling hopeless. When our spirits are lifted we can stand a little taller, we can smile more easily, laugh more readily, look outwards with a bit of a spark. We have a bit more energy and happiness within us that helps us enjoy the day. Maybe when your spirits lift, you feel like you can float a little way into the sky!
During this time of isolation, many people have felt a bit low in spirits. People have felt worried or lonely or bored. Perhaps one of these words is true for you, or perhaps there are other words? But also during this time, there are things that have helped each of us when we felt low. What helped you worry less? What helped you feel less lonely? What stopped you feeling bored?
When we name the things that lift our spirits, we remember them again. Telling about them makes them stronger in our mind and heart. Remembering them helps us carry them forward into other times when we need to lift our spirits.
Perhaps you can take a moment now to tell about the things that you know lift your spirits and carry them with you into the coming weeks when things are changing again. Maybe you could draw or paint or write about them, then put this on your wall to remind you (and send me a photo!)
Here are a few ideas that some children have already told me about, when I asked them what lifted their spirits:
I liked getting letters in the mail box and sending letters too. I know it makes people happy. It was fun to think of new games to play with my friends, even though we could only see each other on the computer. It was nice to go for a walk everyday not just on the weekends. I played a lot more with my sister and we had fun and didn’t fight. I liked helping with more cooking. I missed my friends and they missed me too so I know that we are good friends. I really want to go back to school because actually I like it a lot. I want to do work with my teacher not my mum. That is more fun.
Maybe some of these ideas describe what makes your spirit feel lighter too. Maybe you also have some other ideas. Maybe you could go outside on a sunny afternoon and look far up into the blue sky and take some big breaths of clear air and feel the gladness of just doing that simple thing. It will lift your spirits and you can carry the feeling with you into the week.
At Kaleidoscope gatherings we have often talked about how to share joy with others and what kinds of things bring us joy. We often make lovely things for others and have a happy time imagining the joy of these gifts. I hope that are finding little ways to be happy each day, with moments of joy and laughter.
One of the ways we can share joy with each other during this time of isolation, is through sharing photographs with each other. The pictures below were taken by Jetta, last year, who went on a walk in her neighbourhood and found a rainbow like the one I had found near my house!
Then Jetta took photos of things she saw in each colour. Thank you Jetta for taking these lovely photos and sharing them with us all!
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Enjoying sunshine… and a rainbow walk…
I imagine we all welcome the sunshine when it appears, even though the air can still be cold! Perhaps everyone goes outside again to play or walk along the footpaths.
I sometimes go on a rainbow walk… Around the corner from my place someone has made a rainbow, with pebbles, on their nature strip. This made me think of finding something of each colour in the rainbow, just by wandering around and looking at all the gardens.
The pebble rainbow…
Something in every rainbow colour…
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More neighbourhood happiness
Last year in lockdown, lots of people shared some of the things that were cheerful in their neighbourhood. Here they are…
Lots of us are explored what is behind our fence and discovered stretches of green, lovely trees, places to draw, climb, explore and enjoy. Here are some photos from our friends this past week…
Matilda said: These are two of my favourite places in our garden because they are colourful and home to lots of little animal and birds.
Some other young friends have been exploring the nature area that runs behind their fence. With a bit of imagination it is their own bit of Aussie bush for camping. Here is their story :
Today we added our bear to the Canberra Bear Hunt. We are also sending a picture of our tent set up at the back of our ‘garden’ and a beautiful technicolor Fire we enjoyed on our first camping day. Over Easter we also enjoyed using a compass to find eggs hidden at different coordinates in our patch of nature.
Another friend has left picture messages on the footpath to make others smile…
and discovered wonderful places nearby her home, including a treehouse!
Perhaps we are all discovering some beauty and happiness beneath the surface of what is tricky about this lockdown time. Moments of joy in simple things, undiscovered things nature, quiet and beautiful places to be.
Here’s a great idea. Put up a tent in the backyard. It’s like an extra living room and makes a great place for playing, reading and being outside but without sunburn and bugs! Enjoy it with a pet if you have one:
This is Sally’s backyard. She says ‘I grew up on a farm and have always been around growing things. So I still love to grow things. I grow lots of things that I eat and share with others, all year round. And I love all the trees and shrubs and grow lots of flowers that just look so pretty. It gives me great joy to look out at all the colours and a lot of satisfaction to create this garden.’ (I have often visited this garden and it’s very impressive for an octogenarian!)
And this is Richard’s back garden. He says ‘This is the same garden photographed in Spring and in Autumn. I love how the garden can change as the plants flower at different times of the year. It always makes for something cheerful and beautiful.’
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Where is life? A question walk…
It can be hard to feel hopeful when it’s lockdown in our city… and when it is sunny and getting warmer we often plan picnics and outings with friends and family. But instead we have to think of alternatives. So I went outside by myself for a ‘Question Walk’ – I took a question with me and went out walking with my eyes wide open. My question was ‘Where is new life today?’
At first I saw the obvious but lovely things, the way gardens are blooming with new flowers:
Then I kept walking and saw other things that really made me smile:
Have you spotted any new teddies in funny places? This one was in the driver’s seat of a work van! Perhaps you could think of a spot to put a teddy… Have you seen tiny birds coming for seed in bird feeders? These are finches in my dad’s backyard. Perhaps you could put seed out in your garden. Have you decorated the footpath near your home? This rainbow was drawn by a girl on her path next to some writing that said ‘Welcome to fun road!’ Perhaps you could do some drawings for others to enjoy.
Sometimes it is hard to know how things are going to work out or what will happen next in our lives. At times like this we have to be extra imaginative, extra creative and extra open to enjoying the moment we are in and looking around for small signs of goodness and hope. When we look with our eyes wide open, it is surprising what we see! Maybe you could go on a Question Walk too – with the same question or with a different question… I’d love to hear your ideas…
It’s a rather cold and windy day for being out in the garden today. Perhaps you can sit by a window and see some sky and trees and plants. Maybe there is a bit of sunshine coming in.
This is my breezy garden today. It was a bit cold to sit outside and the sky was a bit grey looking. But I had a wander around and noticed things. Some of the daisies are dying now. A few more leaves are changing..
Broni shared this photo of her indoor bedroom garden. You can see some of her glass art in the window…
She says “I love having plants in my room because of their endless changing patterns, colours and details.”
Maybe you have a favourite spot in your garden or a favourite plant inside your home. Maybe you can make a special quiet place that you can be peaceful in. Share a photo of you like…
Kaleidoscope Gatherings : From my garden and your garden Sharing ideas and art from afar
About this post:
Gardens are such a lovely setting for stories, meditation, art… anything we take outside gains a fresh perspective and our spirits are lifted.
Our garden spaces – whether big backyards or small balconies with pot plants – are increasingly important for us all and can become places of solace and contentment.
Whilst we are unable to gather as a Kaleidoscope community, you may like to keep in touch via this blog. I’ll post photos and comments and you can reply or send me your ideas to add to the posts. Like everyone, everywhere, on our planet, we are adapting to new ways of being and creating new ways to foster togetherness and community.
I’d love you to begin by sending me a picture of your garden – whether it is a big yard or just one pot plant that you like. Any space that has something living and growing in it can be important to us.
Our hope is the blog will provide a gentle, hopeful way of connecting during these challenging times. We hope the suggested routines each week are reassuring for children and offers support in some small way. Namaste.
Each Sunday afternoon – or any day you feel like it…
Find a peaceful spot – perhaps a corner of your garden, or a cubby, or tuck yourself up on the couch or your bed. Have a little quiet time. Follow the steps for meditating. (If you can’t remember them, click on the ‘How to Meditate’ post).
Be peaceful.
Go fora little wander around your garden space… what do you notice? What has changed since last time you looked closely? Go slowly and pay attention to small details…
Write a poem or draw a picture about this.
Visit the blog and look at the new photos and thoughts that have been posted. Add your photos or ideas, if you would like to.
Kaleidoscope 