When we think of play, we usually picture dolls and balls. However, we are taking it to a deeper level as we look at subtle stories about play. Playing with words, ideas, concepts and problem solving can be as much fun as playing with dolls and balls, especially as we get older.

I am fortunate to have belonged to one of the last generations able to grow and develop through free play. Being able to go outside and play until the streetlights came on was the best scenery during the weekends and our vacations, a feeling I'm sure many of you can relate to. 

There are many different approaches to play. This article will look at approaches that are developmentally appropriate for Toddlers through TK. It will discuss what is developmentally appropriate and what is the educator’s role to facilitate that play.

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis is about a rabbit with imagination. A cardboard box is not a box – it’s a spaceship, a race car, a robot or anything else the rabbit can playfully dream up! Another box story, Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran is about some imaginative children who lived in the desert.

I found this book last year. I was so engaged in every page that I brought it to my colleagues at Educators for Peaceful Classrooms and Communities. What spoke to me the most (and there were lots more), was that the focus on lesson plans, weekly themes, meeting standards, etc. was replacing a joyful frame of mind and really  BEING WITH the children and how important that is.

Diversity comes in all sorts of ways and forms! Consider the many different ways that we all have of being, of communicating, of living our lives… not to mention the visible diversity of hair, eyes, skin… the list goes on!

You might expect a book written by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu to be religious in nature (they do speak of their faith), but this book crosses all political, religious, and ethnic boundaries speaking to us as human beings living on Earth with other human beings.

Diversity has a broad meaning that provides us the opportunity to write extensively about it. Still, in these times when it is proving extremely difficult to broaden understanding of what diversity is, and how beneficial it is, it is hard for us, as teachers, to implement in our classrooms.

With those three teaching attributes (hands on, observation, stepping back) this parent’s expertise is so etched in my memory. This whole picture plays out. Along with the empowered wave and smile of satisfaction I would see if I peeked my head out the door as he left his shared pedagogy.

One of the best things about teaching in a parent participation preschool program is that it can bring out the playfulness of the adults who are participating. When the parents (and grandparents) are your co-teachers, they can take an activity in ways you may not have thought of.

Peace Education Curriculum development has a foundation of concepts and skills that promote peacemaking values. We begin with concepts – then select skills that can provide practice with a concept.

I write this with a heavy heart, but also with a sense of hope and inspiration. Our theme for PEACE camp 2024 was “Be Like a Tree.” Ironically, our peace camp took place in Altadena, California, where so many of our gorgeous trees, along with so many of our homes, went up in flames.

I believe the significance of peace can be expressed and felt in different ways for each human being. But, whatever the manner of feeling this peace, it has a common denominator. How can we help our young students achieve this wellbeing through peace within themselves and their surroundings?

David Brooks begins and ends this book with the importance of being seen. He begins with “The purpose of this book is to help us become more skilled at the art of seeing others and making them feel seen, heard and understood.” Why is this important as a parent or educator?

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If we are to teach real peace in the world…we shall have to begin with children.” You are probably wondering how young children can begin to understand the concept of peace, let alone be able to practice active listening and conflict resolution.

I had the opportunity through an Alumni Invitation to attend the EPCC Summer 2024 Retreat. The location was in Auburn, California at the Mercy Center. It was exciting to see old friends and make new friends.

A child will react to a good humored request faster than an order, a calm voice rather than an excited or frustrated one. Modeling working together as a family helps a child to feel part of a whole and more willing to participate.

When I think about civility, I see it as the glue that maintains the unity of our society in much the same way that mortar binds the bricks of a building. It is a vital part of our civilization in its constant evolution.

David Brooks begins this book by looking at the virtues our culture values – outward values such as ambition, creativity, status. He calls those resume values.

In this month’s Dear Olive Branch, we determine that “Civility is treating others with kindness and respect.” By simplifying the definition, it becomes easier to strategize around a complex topic.