BEAUTY

BEAUTY

Natural Beauty can be found in so many places.  Some are expected and others are very unexpected.

I enjoy discovering BEAUTY in unexpected places.  The picture  above is an example of beauty found in an unexpected place.  A few weeks ago weather conditions were 'just right' to create this beautiful frost accumulation all nearly every outdoor surface.  

I took this picture of a weed with feathery frost clinging to every little detail of the dry plant.  The sun shine that morning made the frost shine for all to see.

I feel so blessed to get to capture this beauty in a photo.  I share this beauty with you this morning.  I hope it brings you a little joy at the end of 2011.

I look forward to discovering more beauty in 2012!

MONTESSORI

The Montessori classroom is a great place to find BEAUTY.  We see it each day in the form of a smile, kind gesture, or their voices raised in song.

Children appreciate beauty with a pure, honest eye.  They see beauty in their own art project.  They get excited about learning a new song.  Children see beauty when they complete a difficult work.  They appreciate the beauty of simple things. 

I feel privileged to be able to witness the excitement on the faces of young children all year long.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Colorado Road Trip

Colorado Road Trip

(sing to the tune of "Going to California...")

I'm going to Colorado,
Colorado here I come,
They got some cool tall mountain there,
and I'm going to breath clean air!

I am going to take a ROAD TRIP! I love to pack up the car with drinks, snacks, some clothes, books on CD, and head out for and adventure. I will be visiting family and friends. That means free lodging (nice) and good company.

I will be my own company on the 8 or 9 hour drive to get there. That is nice too. I like to listen to NPR, music, and books on CD to help the time go by. I also like to take in the different landscapes along the way. I know, you are probably thinking, 'what landscape, it's Western Nebraska?' But I like the sparse land I see on the trip along I-80 then I-70. It may seem like a whole lot of nothing, but I enjoy the wide open expanse of sky, the cloud formations, the occasional wildlife, and the small towns I stop in as I make my way west.

Call me crazy, but I think that every state has it's own beauty. Some are beautiful because of all the trees and some are beautiful for the lack of trees. I think it is all in how you look at things. I try to look at things with that positive attitude in mind. I think it makes life more enjoyable and interesting.

Have a wonderful Sunday---I will be packing!!!!

Take Care,
MissT

Frost On Your Pumpkin

Is there frost on your pumpkin this morning?

The first frost of the season! Many people rush around and cover their precious potted flowers, and drape their haggard tomato plants with quilts. I have been known to do the same. But, the last few years I have had a different attitude about the first frost. That attitude is--bring it on! I have thoroughly enjoyed my flowers and tomato plants, but, if God sees fit it putting an end to them--I am not going to fight it. In fact, I may welcome the relief of having to water, pick, freeze, save, give away, etc... that comes with late season flowers and produce.

I always try to welcome the changes that come with each season. This year I am particularly blessed. We have a beautiful area on our property that we call, "the prairie (or prayerie") that has native grass and wild flowers. Two very good things happen with this land. First it bring lots of wild life into our lives and we do not have to mow or water it to help it grow. It is a young prairie so we have several years to go before it will be weed free, but I have enjoyed it so much this summer and fall. It has changed from the lush greens and bright reds, purples, and yellows that summer and wild flowers bring to wonderful rich golds, rusty reds, and oranges fall has to offer.

My suggestion to you on this bright cold day is to get a coat out of storage and go for a walk. See if you can see and appreciate a weed that is offering it's seeds up to the ground and to hungry birds preparing for winter. Or, look for a Red Tailed Hawk, I see one or two daily, preparing itself for the long winter. These are beautiful gifts of nature we can all share.

Thought for the Day:
Concentrate on what is good about life and spend no (or very little) time and energy on what is negative.

I saw a beautiful thing today...

. He/she was just a few feet from the window of our classroom--yet the children were all at lunch so just the teachers got to see this magnificent creature. A large Red Tailed Hawk! He stayed for the entire length of our 20 or so minutes of lunch we take between teaching, cleaning and preparing for the afternoon class. We were so glad to have the visitor but it took a while to round up a camera to capture this wondrous bird. My cell phone would have to do. To say the least, I had a really great day at work today. Things seemed so natural and worthy of praise for both the children and for me. I got some of the biggest smiles from some of the "shy" children or the "new" children so I feel I accomplished a lot. I was working with a Sub and that does not always work well as most teachers will attest to--this was not the case at all. We worked very well together. During a break in our day we went out (the children and teachers) to enjoy the sunshine. I saw a preying manias and decided to let the creature (this time small and green) crawl on me. He/she stayed on my until I did the "Pide Piper" routine back to the classroom. I deposited the Mantas on a beautiful sunflower plant in the garden area---what a day!!!

Take Care,
MissT

A Walk on the Wild Side

Nature Walk

I just went on a wonderful walk with my camera. I had it turned on so that I could be ready to take pictures of flowers and insects. I got some amazing shots. The spider I photographed is twice the size of the one (same species) that is right outside my front door. He (or she) was a lot more skittish and active—maybe because he set up shop next to a road instead of having a nice protected area in a flower bed.

I hope you enjoy these pictures. I plan on creating some matching cards for my classroom. My thought is that I could have a close-up view of a plant or insect then have a shot of the entire plant or insect. The children could match the close up with the regular view. I know that this is not a new idea; I think it will be better since I actually took the pictures and I can tell the children that they came from my neighborhood. This could add interest for the older children that do not really like matching cards.

GO FOR A WALK IN THE COOL MORNING AIR!

Take care,
MissT