Working With The Whole Community

In December I was looking ahead at projects that I am involved in.

With children in Kindergarten, our friendship groups we will be meeting once a month to explore a specific theme. I believe this next group will focus on the difference between celebrating our accomplishments and successes and braggin... with subtle attention towards competition and comparison.

In the combined 1st/2nd grade classes I hosted mini open spaces where the students posted topics that they thought would be valuable to explore in friendship groups. They then had 3 stickers each with their name on it that they could vote with. Their vote means that they will definitely be involved in that exploration. Some groups will be with the whole class, some will be small groups in my office and some will be one-on-one. A sample list of those topics will come later.

In the third grade we are meeting in small groups based in some classes on gender and others more on personality type. Each group decides for themselves what topics we will be exploring. That list will also come later!

Educating for Wholeness in a School Community

My basic intention is to deepen awareness around social and emotional development, opening space for the community to weave together their human resources, connecting with and learning from one another and deepening their capacity to see the world through a child's (or another person's) eyes and look towards solutions for unfolding wholeness. In addition to working individually with people, I am facilitating groups for students, staff and parents. An underlying goal is to invite more relating into the process of problem solving. A central focus of the groups is an invitation to share the wisdom and experience that each person has.

We open space for intimate conversations about what is happening with their children, students or selves and exploration into how we may learn from what we are noticing and discovering. Individuals begin to recognize the 'normal' and 'common' struggles they each have. It's wonderful to feel their excitement at being able to connect with one another around these topics.

One of my goals is to see if I can help inspire a culture where parents meet at each another's homes hosting their own support and practice groups.

This website will contain various resources that I am using that touch on supporting and facilitating social and emotional development with students, staff, parents.