We are winding up CROCUS2011. Its been loads of fun with the five elements theme suggested by Praba.

I wanted to do something diverse this time. So I picked:

AN INTERVIEW WITH Mrs.NIRMALA DIAZ, FOUNDER OF SLOKA WALDORF SCHOOL – Waldorf schools place a high emphasis on nature. This is tricky considering that young children have a egocentric way of thinking and are not ready to view themselves as a small part in the bigger scheme of things. Mrs.Diaz explains beautifully how nature appreciation paves way to a balanced way to nurture and educate young children. An inspirational interview.

MA GANGA AND THE RAZAI BOX – a children’s book that touches on the topics of desertification and soil erosion through mythology. I found the story telling quite innovative.

THE LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS – If you are a teacher, you NEED to read this book. It changes the way you will plan/implement your curriculum. Do I have to tell more?

THE NATURE TEACHER – Doing lesson plans is pure joy. At SaffronTree, we were discussing that we have covered many nature themed books even before we hit upon the FIVE ELEMENTS theme for CROCUS2011 and if there was a way to incorporate all these past posts in to CROCUS2011 without overwhelming the readers it would be swell. This along with Richard Louv’s ‘nature as a teacher for young children’ made this post shape up the way it is right now. Pure joy people! In the near future, I would love to do workshops and share this joy with other people in the teaching community. Wish me the best.

Now go read all the posts @ SaffronTree if you haven’t already.

The older child is playing in her keyboard, a song she sings at school. As she attempts again and again to bring the song to tune, my interest is piqued as to the lyrics of the song.

I ask her about the song, she says that it is the ‘vowel’ song that they sing at school and sings it for me.

On the earth I love to stand, strength from stones I’ve taken,

Striding boldly o’er the land, fearless and unshaken. Aaaaaaaa…..

And in water’s silvery waves, gladly do I revel,

From the fishes I can learn, up and down to travel. Eeeeeeeeee……

Upward to the light I look, where the sun shines brightly,

And with rainbow colors clear, paints the flowers lightly. Iiiiiiiii…..

In the air I love to jump, Oh! that I were flying,

Like a bird with outspread wings, O’er the hilltops gliding. Uuuuuuu….

Gratefully your gifts I hold, in my heart’s deep shrine,

Earth and Water, Air and Light, brothers all of mine. Ooooooo………

What a befitting song to kick start CROCUS2011?!

Hop over to SaffronTree to enjoy the introduction post by Tharini.