Reclaiming the Village

"It takes a village to raise a child."

But what happens if there is no village?

Photographer - Amy Figley

In our car-dependent world, it can be much harder to know your neighbors than I'm sure it was back when walking to school, to the store and to work were the daily modes of transportation.  

Even in urban areas now, people walk by one another but they are tuned out.  Their ears are plugged up with IPods, their eyes are fixed on IPhones and their minds are occupied with IWants.  No longer are we focused on the common "we"... just a whole bunch of "I"s.

Then throw in a heavy dose of fear to keep children locked up inside houses playing video games instead of exploring and you have us all living together, in isolation.

When is the last time you were able to borrow eggs from your neighbor when you ran out?

Speaking of neighbors, do you know yours?  Do you know their names?  Their children?  Their lives?

Do they know you?

Photographer - Janie Mote

Are you alone in "the village"?  Most of us are.

I am not posting this to make any of us feel guilty.  And, I know I'm using a hard tone but I want your attention:

Times are different now, yes... but *not* because crime is higher or people work harder.  Times are different because we have allowed it to become that way.  There is nobody to blame for the fall and crumble of our villages but ourselves and I am here asking you to help rebuild them.

I'm not trying to pretend that we can create little utopias across the planet free of crime and filled with beautiful people holding hands and singing "Kumbaya".  I know, firsthand, the challenges of people living in inner-cities and other places that are far from the Sesame Street we grew up watching on TV.

However, I am trying to tell you that any attempt at joining forces to make your neighborhood a better place will do just that.... make it a better place.  I'm not saying it will fix it... or make it perfect... just better.  And we could all use a little better.  It's better than nothing.

I also know there will be neighbors who are not the types of individuals that you want to be neighborly with or want your families around.  Some may even be a true concern.  But, isn't this even MORE of a reason to create a network of other like-minded people who live in close proximity to you?  Isn't there safety in numbers?  Isolation does nothing to solve these issues.  Let's join forces to take back our streets.

I am asking you do to something for me.  But, first, I want you to imagine....

Imagine a place to live where you know everybody's name (sound like Cheers?  stick with me...).  Where your children are watched over not only by you but by others who care about them and know who they are.  What could that do to the choices some children make?  Could it create change?

Imagine a place where you and your family know you have plenty of people to call in case of an emergency; a place where you look out for one another and call upon each other, rather than a number in the yellow pages, when you need help.

Imagine sharing skills and friendship with others right outside your front door. Imagine a place where you know people's struggles and you help ease their burden.  Where you get the same in return.

Imagine a place filled with neighborhood friends of all ages on porches, back decks, apartment terraces and playgrounds.  Imagine your children cared for by others that you know and trust when you are not home.

Imagine not being alone anymore.

Imagine this place and then look outside your home.

It's there.  It only needs you to rebuild it.

I am asking for your support in helping me Reclaim, Rebuild and Renew our villages, one family at a time.

The first family is you.

This will require you to get out of your comfort zone, as all change begins with us first being uncomfortable but I promise you it will play a huge part in helping to change our world.

Here's how:

• Get to know people on your road, in your apartment building or extended community.  Stop to say hello or ask a question. Be prepared at first for some people to think you are odd or annoying. Sadly, it is not commonplace to start small talk at the mailbox anymore. Do not be discouraged. Remember that is what we are trying to change. Keep on.

• Create a neighborhood watch program. Gather a group of adults to walk the streets together, taking back what is rightfully yours and your children's. Coordinate keeping outdoor lights on at the same times each night to create a safer environment. Take turns keeping an eye on things in groups outside.

• Build a community garden. It can be in your own yard... but ask neighborhood children and adults to help and take home vegetables. Leave a 'Free for Neighbors' box of veggies outside your home whenever you have extra.

• Coordinate a parent group in your neighborhood and organize safe outings for children so they can get to know one another.

• Organize a garbage clean up to make your area a cleaner place to live. 

• Focus on the elderly in your community.  Visit them, bring them meals, mow their lawn, take them to appointments and learn from their experiences.  

Photographer - Sarah Teo

• Barter. Tutor a child in return for landscaping help. Teach computer skills in return for car rides. What can you give?  What could you use in return? Money is not always necessary when people are willing to work together to lift each other up.  

• Offer to teach a skill at your home or on your porch - knitting, cooking, language.

• Start a book club with neighborhood people only.

• If you live in an area where there is a large population that could benefit from English as a second language classes, offer them.  Create a group of people that can help one another learn to write, read and speak in a new language.  Then, in return, ask to learn their first language so you can expand your knowledge as well.

• Schedule weekly nature walks around your home.  Invite neighbors to come along.  Get to know your outdoor landscape and space together.  Invite special visitors to speak or share insight.  

• Start a walking club. 

• Help new parents find relief.  Offer advice, supplies, breast feeding support and friendship.  Offer to sit in the living room and hold the baby when a new mom needs a nap.  

• Host a small backyard music concert!  You can find others in your neighborhood who play instruments and invite them to perform or just play the radio together.

• Think about the seasons and holidays.  Organize an Easter Egg Hunt, a Summer Party, a Bike Parade or a Trunk or Treat event in your driveways.  

• Start a monthly mom and dads night out for neighborhood parents to get to know one another.  

• Host movie nights indoors or on a screen outside.  

• Consider opening up fences, creating paths to one another's homes and taking down some mental walls while still maintaining your privacy.  

• Beautify your neighborhood together.  Plant flowers, clean up trash and debris and restore old spaces.

• Make a neighborhood playground or take turns having children rotate backyards each day of the week after school where one parent supervises.  

• Make a community newsletter.  Ask for contributors - writers, classifieds, events.  

• If you own a pool, consider hosting swimming once in awhile to those who do not have the same. 

• Put benches, picnic tables and chairs in your front yard and encourage others to do the same.  Talk to people when they walk by.  Say hello.  Move your fire pit to the front yard and invite anyone who walks by to join you! 

• If you live in a more isolated environment, expand this community by doing the same with people from church, school or work.

• Start an annual neighborhood block party. Take back your streets and play games, eat together and bond. 

• Create emergency plans together.  Write it down.  Make sure everyone knows where they can go for help and who has what to offer.  Talk about fires, natural disasters and other occurrences that you can help each other with.  Consider a phone chain for emergencies.  Remember people who need extra assistance.  Be the ones they can count on.  

• Post your neighbors phone numbers and emails on your wall and have them do the same.  When trust has been built, consider sharing house keys in case you are away or there is an emergency. 

• Take care of your neighbors pets, plants and yard when they go away.  Be a presence in an otherwise empty home.

• Have a community tag sale. 

I would love to add to this list and maybe eventually offer a Free EBook on this topic.  If you would like to submit an idea, please leave it in the comments section or email it to info (at) littleacornlearning.com

Love breeds peace.  Create an amazing world right where you live.

xoxo

It Takes a Village

The weekend was chilly but fun.  We spent time yesterday like we do every year watching our town's Memorial Day parade.  It was the first year the girls had to wear coats but we enjoyed it all the same!

I feel so grateful to be in such a wonderful and tight-knit town.  So many familiar faces and common experiences as we strive to raise our children together in peace and with love.  Living right next door to Sandy Hook has shaken our small town.  Many of our friends knew children who were murdered that day.  We did not but our hearts will forever be scarred as we realize that it could have just as easily been one of our schools.  Newtown is part of our community here and I think the entire event has made us even more determined to stand together and work for a better world.

Keira marched in her band playing the bells this year.  She was so excited to be at the very front of her line. As I looked for her at first I didn't even recognize her.  She has gotten so tall and her childish features have faded away recently.  She is turning into a young woman and I am finding it harder and harder to see the baby she once was in her face.

One piece of advice I give to anyone wishing to help create true change is to get involved in your community as much as possible.  Know your neighbors, volunteer at the schools, run programs in your town, shop locally and get to know the owners on a first name basis, volunteer at your library, become a part of a spiritual church family if it fits within your beliefs - these are the things I work hard to do and it has made such a difference in our lives.  It has given us a sense of "family" outside of our own home and we get such comfort knowing that we have a network of others to rely upon.  We have lost so much of the village mentality in this day and age and it is time that we claim it back whether we live in a small suburb in Connecticut or on a city block in Detroit.  We need one another... we need to come out of our homes and gather together, get to know one another and work together to raise our families properly.  We need to help each other and show our children the true importance of community.  True community.  Only then will we be able to spread our love beyond our own streets and further into the world around us.

Finding Peace

Where do you find your peace?  Is it in your garden as the flowers wake up or the soil calls your name?  

I love love love it when I have free moments to truly walk around my yard and embrace the moment nature is in.  Today I took my camera outside and realized that if I hadn't slowed down to look for photo taking opportunities, I wouldn't have even noticed all of the things that were blooming around me.

It quickly brought me back to the present moment and I made a point to take deep breaths in and thank the universe for this very minute I was in.  It won't ever return again.  And then I realized, as I have so many times before that we really need to be mindful of our moments.  Because they will bloom around us without notice and we will miss them.  I do not want that to happen.  I want to savor every second.

This year I am once again committed to gardening.  My husband makes fun of me each year at how I begin and the harvest doesn't often produce with the same enthusiasm.  But, I keep trying.  This year I will not have childcare in the summer as I have begun following a teacher's schedule.  My hope is that my girls and I will have more time to spend outdoors together in the garden - free from schedules and to-do lists and free from commitments.  I want to embrace my home, my family and my land.  So I keep on... 

Each year I do learn a little more.  I quickly learned that I must net my strawberries or they would get eaten up by the chipmunks in my yard.  I was raised near NYC where we did not have a garden.  But my Nanny had a patch of land behind her home in Yonkers and she and I would plant tomato plants and other small things.  I remember feeling the earth in my fingers and playing with worms as a little girl, things I didn't do often enough at my own home and I am thankful that she gave me that gift.  It has inspired a love of nature in me and I strive to give it to my own children daily.  

I planted Stevia this year.  Have any of you done this?  I came across it and thought I'd give it a try.  If you taste the leaves it is amazing how sweet they are.  I'm not yet sure if I should grind them up or what but will do a bit of research online before harvesting.  I am curious about the health benefits or dangers.  

We have red pepper plants and zucchini already in the beds.  I also planted potatoes for the first time and onions.  I was surprised to see the onions have already sprouted after only a week of being in the ground. 

Last year my berries got all eaten up by the birds so again, I have learned and covered them with bird netting.  We'll see how they do now.  I have so many seedlings to transplant and I hope they do ok.  That is the part where I often lose a few but I've been working to do a good job hardening them off well this time around.

I love the herbs I've planted.  Oregano and mint... rosemary and thyme.  The mint smells so wonderful when I walk by and it just amazes me that these things can grow from the ground and be so perfect.  How can that not be from something Divine?  Isn't that proof enough?  For me it is.  

Finding peace is not always easy for me with my busy life.  The home is always in need of cleaning, laundry is always piled up... dishes are in the sink and daycare children need caring for.  My girls need homework, dinner and love... and my husband gets upset if there isn't much left of me after doing it all.  Oh and wait... I have books to write, don't I?  So this week I found some time to sneak away to do yoga and find my peace and it was wonderful.  I promised myself to do it more often.

Then, the other night I could not find my fourth daughter anywhere.... finally I found her... up away in a cabinet in her room where I usually keep winter clothing.  She was silent, reading with a lamp... finding her own peace and I smiled.  We all need it, don't we?  I didn't even mind the pile of winter clothing on the floor beneath me.  For a moment.  

xoxo

Pass the Peace

"I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go."  

Rachel Joy Scott (1981-1999)

Student, First Victim Of The Columbine High School Massacre

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is on Monday, January 21st this year.  After the tragedy in Newtown last month, I am more inspired than ever to help spread goodness and peace in our communities.   The random acts of kindness that people across the world are doing in memory of the victims lost is inspiring and something Martin Luther King Jr. would be quite proud of, I believe.  

These simple and beautiful felt flowers can be made easily with the children in your care and left behind wherever you do a good deed as a reminder to pass it on (here is an example of cleaning someone's car window after the snow before they wake up).  

As you can see, we used the colors of Sandy Hook Elementary, however; you can also use this tutorial as a way to make pretty pins and hair clips for the little girls in your life in various colors. 

Supplies Needed:

100% Wool Felt

Scissors

Needle and Thread

Pipe Cleaner (only if you want a stem)

Wool Roving

Tag with Message if you Desire

Making the flowers is very simple.  Begin by cutting out a long wavy, pointy or fringed strip out of your felt.  There is no right or wrong here.  Experiment and see what types of flowers different designs make.

Simply roll this strip into a little flower bud and put a few stitches in the back in order to keep it together. 

Next cut out two flower shapes with four petals each (or experiment with more petals!).  Make one larger than the other and layer them placing the little bud in the center.  Add a few stitches to the back of your flower to hold everything together.    

Next wind green wool roving around a pipe cleaner and clip at the correct length to create the stem and when done attach the stem to the back of your flower with a few more stitches.

Your 'Pass the Peace' flower is now done.  

Don't forget to add a tag and spread the love.  

Look for The Light: The Winter Solstice

“I will love the light for it shows me the way.  Yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.” – Og Mandino




On this rainy and dark Winter Solstice, I am here with the children and working hard to bring the light and joy of the new winter sun and Christmas time into my home.  It is not easy after the events of last week and some of it feels forced.  I am sure I am not alone in my difficulty as all of us wrestle with the desire to both mourn and celebrate at this very sacred time of the year.  

The Winter Solstice is a time when the darkness of winter is deep and the days get shorter as the nights grow long.  It is a time to celebrate and await the return of the light.  A time to go deep within ourselves and relight our inner candle to keep ourselves warm.  Especially now, this is a time for us all to rejoice in the eventual return of the sun and envision a new world and new beginnings for our earth.  I have decided that the "end of the world" term is figurative and in our new world we will learn to live together, love one another and create peace.  I am asking you all to join me in creating this new earth.  

Over the next six months, the sun will climb higher and higher into the sky, gradually stretching our days longer and warming our planet.  Let us use the time to be a light to those around us, to help spread goodness and beauty into our world, to reevaluate all we have focused on in the past and shift our energy toward pure, healing and loving endeavors.  Let us work to teach the youngest of us to be peacemakers and tolerant souls.  

Let us use this time to focus on our families.  Let us reconnect with our higher power and ask through meditation and prayer how we can be of service to heal our world. 

If there is light in the soul,  

there will be beauty in the person.  

If there is beauty in the person,  

there will be harmony in the house.  

If there is harmony in the house,  

there will be order in the nation.  

If there is order in the nation,  

there will be peace in the world. 

—Chinese Proverb

In the spirit of the Look for The Light project here, I am sharing a sweet letter I received from someone in our Little Acorn Learning community:

We want to make our contribution to shed light and positive energy during this time and say prayers together for the families every evening.  Our boys are only 4,2 and 8 months and only know that people in Boston (this area is the only area they know near you because we camped there on our family vacation this summer,  so they look on this area fondly :) ) have lost their friends and are very sad.  So,  they wanted to draw a picture for the families in "Boston",  and I have included it here.  Rowan is 4 and wanted to draw a picture of a sun,  and as he proceeded drawing,  drew a door leading to a sun....Davis,  who is 2 wanted to draw a 'Happy face ball" like the one he has that makes him happy,  so I helped him with that:)  We did send these along to Newton but wanted to share them with you too.  Hope they can help spread the light and bring a little more peace.  Thank you for all that you do:) 

Love and Peace, 

The Robblee Family 

The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come.  At the darkest moment comes the light.” – Joseph Campbell


If I could ask for anything besides that the events of December 14th never happened, it would be that this was a turning point for us all - a time when we will no longer stand by and watch but take loving action.  I would ask that this feeling of wanting change would not dissipate after time moves on.  

Here is a sweet project my daughter Maia worked on after being given a paper entitled "I'm Gonna Like Me."  - can we teach our children to love themselves so that they are able to love others?  Can you ask your children to do this project?  Can you do it yourself? 

To celebrate winter today, my children came up with a very fun idea of creating an Eye Spy ornament.  Here is the simple tutorial for you:

Eye Spy Ornament

Materials Needed:

• Plastic (not glass) clear ornament with top
• Beads
• Shredded paper
• Small items to look for (i.e. a dime, tiny lego, etc.)
• Glue 
• Sharpie Marker
• Tag

This is very simple and fun.  Have the children hunt around the house for very tiny items to put inside their plastic ornament.  We had letter tiles, marbles, hair ties, a piece of crayon, an acorn top, a dime, a tiny lego, a very small lego "head", a piece of a feather and more.  Write each item on your tag that you will later attach so children know what to hunt for. 

 Place all tiny items inside your ornament.  Then fill the ornament up with beads and shredded pieces of paper to make it challenging.  

We recommend using hot glue or regular glue before you put the top on so your ornament does not spill later on.  Be sure to write "I Spy" with a sharpie marker on it or sticker letters and also put the child's name and year on the bottom.  

We hope this brings you a little happiness today. 

Enjoy it.

xoxo

Some other ideas from Little Acorn Learning that may help you to celebrate winter are in our following e-books:

King Winter E-Book

Winter Festivals E-Book

Three Kings Day E-Book

January 5 Day Childcare Guide

January Enrichment Guide

Winter Childcare Menu

Look for the Light: Caroling to the Homebound

After a really hard day visiting Sandy Hook, the girls and I went with other members of our church to carol to a few homebound individuals in our area.  The activity was simple and sweet but filled with so much love and joy.

It was exactly what our hearts needed.  We needed this to remember that there is still so much good work to be done in this world and it is up to us to do it and to teach our children to do the same.  It was very healing for the homebound but maybe even more so for the carolers.

I left with a new determination and mission.  To spread as much light and create as much change in this world as I possibly can while I am here.

I hope you join me and do the same.

xoxo

Overcome Evil With Good

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:21

My good friend and I went to Sandy Hook this morning.  We wanted to pay our respects to the victims and find some way to connect with our community during this horrible time. 

 The outpouring of love was just unbelievable.  Not only in the things you see here in pictures... but in words, strong, tight, loving hugs from strangers and a sense of knowing that everyone there needed one another.

Strangers asked us how we were doing.  One woman came straight up to us and gave us an enormous hug without saying a word.  A gesture that anywhere else would have seemed odd.  Gestures that should become commonplace.   Is there hope this event has changed us?  Can it last?

We brought stuffed animals and candles and placed them in front of the memorial.  We spent a long time in Sandy Hook this morning and walked up to the firehouse as well.  We were amazed to see that each one of our little candles were still burning strong when we returned despite the light rain and wind.  It was a sign to us.  Energy was around us that was pure love burning bright.  

When I saw these stockings I got extremely choked up.  The thought of empty Christmas stockings next week made me feel ill.

A small tree was placed and decorated for each lost soul.

I am so thankful to whoever made this sign.  It has stayed with me throughout the day and has helped me to shift my thinking some.  I have decided that this MUST be a pivotal time for our world.  There must be change immediately and I am praying each day that it will begin now.  I promise to do whatever I can to be a part of that change in my lifetime and I promise to teach my children to be changemakers and peacemakers as well. 

There was press everywhere.  My friend and I think we may have been recorded more than once.  It was a little difficult to grieve and cry privately when cameras were all around.  I can't imagine how hard this is on families.  Families who need space and silence to mourn and be with loved ones.

Rest well little angels.  And know that you will never be forgotten.  I pray that your life will be the beginning of a beautiful new world where the focus is put back on the family, people learn to live with and love one another in peace and weapons and violence become something of the past.  I pray.