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Winter is Coming

Supermoon and friend Sunday evening, by Roxana Soetebeer in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada. Ever since the Autumnal equinox this past September, we have been incrementally losing light. Thanks to this year's Super Moon, we got a little extra! The days are shorter with the sun setting earlier every night. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere like we do, you can easily notice darker dawns and earlier sunsets (and it's really hard to get the kids up for school!) We are on our way to winter, and all the exciting changes this season brings. Winter Solstice is right around the corner: December 21 at 4:44 a.m. CST Be sure to get your "How to Celebrate Winter Solstice" books early! Last...

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Post Election

Tara – White. Tibet, 19th century, Gelug lineage, Ground Mineral Pigment Fine Gold Line on Cotton, Rubin Museum of Art, item no. 51 | www.himalayanart.org Some parents may be wondering what to say to their children after the news of this year's election. "Stay centered in your heart" is all I could come up with until I read this. I hope this article helps you and your family as much as it did me. The quote below is from one of 14 Buddhist teachers responding with their thoughts about post-election. "We are lucky that impermanence is built into our system of government."   

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Happy Birthday Baby Buddha!

Illustration by Teresa Villegas Happy birthday to the baby Buddha! 2500 years ago, nestled in the fertile valley along the border between India and Nepal, a child was born who was to become the Buddha. Stories tell that before his birth, his mother; a queen of a small kingdom had a dream. A beautiful white elephant offered the queen a white lotus flower, and then entered the side of her body. When sages were asked to interpret the dream they predicted the queen would give birth to a son destined to become a great ruler or a holy man. One day, they said, he would either conquer the world or become an enlightened being, a Buddha. Within 10 months, while she was traveling,...

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NEA Read Across America

This week at my kids' school, parents and writers and illustrators were invited to come and read to classrooms. We were asked to read from our favorite books. Interestingly enough, the top two of the books I read are from Barefoot Books who offer books that are an authentic alternative to the commercialization of childhood. They encourage parents to make time for make-believe, and to share stories from all over the world with their children, so that they can glimpse the simple truth that the human condition is universal.  I love technology in the classrooms! I used the teachers' desktop image projector so the pages were displayed on a large screen for everyone to see. The illustrations are so beautiful, and everyone could...

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Happy Valentine's Day Lovelies!

Look what we made! A mini accordion fold Valentines day card and envelope! There's even a self-portrait drawing prompt. I have been getting ready for next weeks Valentines Day project for my daughter's 5th-grade class. (I'll be putting in my volunteer hours at her school with this one!) We even have one in Spanish for you bilingual gems!   For all you cool and groovy-arty-farty-fabulous teachers or homeschoolers, I even made templates and a step by step video tutorial. For Grades 5 and up. Find out more here

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