“Can you be patient and make space for your friends?” This is a question elementary art teacher Ms. Lara Cannon asks children to help teach them the new etiquette she has created for her first-through-fifth-grade students in her classroom. She shows them how simply standing back and making space allows each person room to remove their apron without crowding. Ms. Lara is convinced that children can learn new manners at any age but does not want her new art etiquette to be simp

Children enjoying the excitement of summer travel can sometimes yearn for their school friends. Twin sisters visiting China desperately wanted to celebrate their birthdays with Room 3 classmates. The teachers were happy to hold a party for the girls at Circle Time and sent them a rousing video. After staying a month in France, a boy missed his classmate so much, his mom sent a video of her son talking about all the things he wanted to do with his friend when he returned. The

How do you talk to yourself when you’re going through major life adjustments? A mom told me recently about changing jobs after twenty years at the same firm. The routines are unfamiliar, there are lots of steep learning curves, and she tells herself it’s natural to be tired in the evenings and want to go to bed early. She realizes there will be a period of transition, and that awareness helps her to not criticize herself when she’s not getting everything outside of work done.

It’s a new year, which means new Mystery Readers for TK! On days where there is a Mystery Reader in TK, students sit down to lunch to ponder a set of three clues up on the board. These clues are along the lines of, “I have traveled to the Amazon Rainforest,” “Our family is expecting a baby,” or “My favorite food is lasagna.” Based on the statements provided, students guess whose family member might be standing outside the classroom door, ready to read stories to the class. A

If our school gardens could talk, they would tell us about one of their important roles: offering the gift of soft focus to everyone who walks over their craggy surfaces. Through the decades, they may have changed form and shape, but our gardens have always been sources of crucial nurturance and restoration. Countless children have soaked up the healing power of our gardens to support the growth of their inner worlds and the belief that they can be caretakers of the earth. Th

“You’ve grown up so much!” we tell children at this time of year. As the school year concludes, we wish we could find words to let them know how amazing their growth has been. No matter what their age, they are in many ways different people than they were when they entered the classroom last fall.  Teachers often try to articulate the qualities individual students have developed, but it can be hard to choose words that have meaning for the child. Room 8 teacher Chloe Gilmore

Is patience quantifiable? That was the light-hearted question that emerged during a lively discussion at the Meher School’s first Women’s Support Circle last Wednesday. Most of the women who attended didn’t know each other well and have diverse life circumstances. Some have small children, others teens or grown children, and a few were teachers with no children of their own. However, the consensus was that patience is a valuable commodity that deserves our attention. “I work

Wouldn't we all love to have a road map to prepare us for the next big transition in our lives? That’s what our TK students have tried to create for preschoolers who are about to make the big leap to TK and kindergarten. They worked as a group to make an enticing hand-drawn map of the kindergarten yard. Last Friday the entire Room 7 class visited the shared Rooms 1 and 2 yard and unfurled a giant scroll, featuring their artistic renderings of fun places to play on their yard.

A few weeks ago, when North Italia (a new Walnut Creek restaurant) opened next door to the Cheesecake Factory, all four administrators, Ivy, Vince, Warren, and I, slipped away for a pre-grand opening lunch. David Overton and his wife, Sheila, greeted us warmly. David is the CEO of the Cheesecake Factory Inc., which has purchased North Italia. I’ve been familiar with the high standards and caring attitudes David tries to imbue in his wait staff, and that day, it was like watch