Father's Day picnic coming up Saturday, May 5, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 5:55 PMlink

Save the date! June 17! Father's Day after church at Beeman Park... a few blocks west of the church off Moorpark. We've got the picnic area and lawn reserved. Join us in picnicking and old school fun! maybe some croquet or badminton...three legged racing, red rover, duck duck goose...who knows?

  Easter Photos in Spring Holidays Monday, April 23, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 2:17 PMlink



First we collect small cans of food



Then we label them with 6 different colors one color for each team

6 teams of big kids search for cans hidden in plain sight all over the church grounds

Big kids hide blown Easter eggs for the preschoolers

Some are tricky to find!

Everyone gets to have a treat! Cute little carrot plants!

  Trash to Treasure Photos in Spring Holidays Monday, April 23, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 2:01 PMlink

Here's what happened yesterday:

It was Earthday

We started with a huge pile of trash

And took a good hard look

Got some help from our teachers

Thought about trash in a new way

Started putting pieces together

And made something great!

 

And cleaned up after ourselves

  Trash to Treasure Art Event Monday, April 16, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 12:55 PMlink

Next Sunday, April 22 is Earthday, and we will be celebrating the importance of caring for our Earth, its plants, critters and their interconnected habitats by thinking creatively about TRASH.

We humans have been wildly clever at inventing and civilizing all over creation, but we are way past due to start doing something about all the visible and invisible TRASH we are leaving in our wake.

Please help us RE-THINK OUR TRASH.

Look carefully at what you are throwing out this week. Consider how it could be re purposed into a work of art. All the kids of the Religious Exploration program will be sculpting trash into art treasures on Sunday.

We will assemble a huge pile of "art materials" in the Fellowship Hall first thing on Sunday. Last year's haul was really appalling, and it only represented a fraction of the trash this congregation of humans blows through in a week.

If you are able to help us set up or clean up for this event please sign up on the volunteer calendar

Everyone can contribute clean materials such as plastic, paper, or metal food containers, clean used packing, jar and bottle lids and bread bag clip thingies.  Worn out CDs. Smaller-ish thingies and doodads, as long as they are something you would be throwing out anyway.

Please keep in mind that the sculptures will be constructed with packing tape and hot glue, so don't bring in heavy, sharp, or fragile  objects.

Kids can start now saving their own materials and thinking ahead about what they would like to build. Help them put it in a bag and label it with there name.

Teachers and volunteers will assist our kids in making their creations, and at 11:15 am all of the works of art will be on display under the pear tree, and you will have a chance to meet the artists and discuss their work at a reception with food and drink provided.

If we stand a chance of leaving future humans, plants and critters a decent environment in which to live, we need to take a good hard look at our trash. Reducing Reusing and Recycling is a great way to start, and a great concrete way to teach our kids to start thinking about the environment. But we will all need to move beyond the basics and press our prodigiously creative energies into finding solutions to reduce carbon emissions, clean our water, live sustainably, use energy more efficiently...

Creativity may be one of the most essential human qualities we possess, if we are to climb out from the mess we have made.

  Egg Dyeing Party last Friday in Spring Holidays Saturday, April 7, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 4:26 PMlink

  April in Spring Holidays Friday, April 6, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 11:23 AMlink

 April is busy! First up is Easter Sunday April 8 with our 
traditional Easter Can Hunt. Instead of plastic eggs filled with candy, we hunt for  cans of food with egg-shaped labels taped to them. All of the cans of    food we collect and hunt are then donated to a local food bank. But it all starts with you! Please bring small cans (to make it easier for small arms  to gather), and deposit them in the large basket in the Narthex this  Sunday April 1.

Preschoolers will have their own Easter Sunday egg hunt on the   playground while the older kids are busy with the can hunt. The   excitement begins as soon as the worship service is over, so we  encourage parents to come outside quickly in order to see all the fun.

After the hunt all kids will receive an Easter treat...a carrot plant or a flower plant to take home and watch grow...or they can choose to plant it in our own church garden.

April 12 Thursday is our Passover Seder Dinner. This is a joyful meal   of delicious traditional food with the dramatic retelling of Moses leading  his people out of slavery in Egypt. Lots of opportunities to participate and help.

Sign up to help here: http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/1072345632404348020

Finally, during the week of our Ministerial Candidate's visit, on April 22

we will be hosting the Second Annual Earthday "Trash to Treasure"  Sculpture Exhibit

Help us Collect Art Materials!

Before you throw out any trash for the next few weeks, think about its  potential to become art.

We want your clean plastic, paper, or metal food containers, clean used  packing materials, jar and bottle lids and breadbag clip thingies. Worn  out CDs.

The Religious Exploration kids will have the opportunity to create  sculpture out of all this stuff, and we are all invited to the Art Show and  reception following the morning service.

Please keep in mind that the sculptures will be constructed with packing  tape and hot glue, so don't bring in heavy, sharp, or fragile objects.

If you would like to sign up to help with this event:

http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/1102345634699664063

  Nowruz Children's Time in Spring Holidays Monday, March 26, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 11:10 AMlink

Today I am going to tell you about a holiday, that
I am sure many of you, if not most of you have never heard of.

In fact, this holiday is so amazing, you may start
to think that I'm making this all up...but I promise, this holiday is for real.
It's for real...and it's called Nowruz! It's the
Persian New Year, and what "Nowruz" means in
Persian is "New Day"

5000 years ago, in the earliest times of human
civilization, people celebrated the new year in
the spring, not the middle of winter.
Celebrating the new year when new crops began
to sprout, when baby animals were
born, when
the days were finally longer than the nights,
well it just made
sense to celebrate spring.

Starting the new year on the first day of spring is an ancient tradition that has
continually been practiced in the country that is now Iran, but long ago was the heart
of the Persian Empire.

At first it was a pagan holiday, but then the Zoroastrian religion became strong in
Persia, so it became a Zoroastrian holiday too. And then Jews came to Persia,
(remember Queen Esther?) and later Christians came too. Nowruz was everybody's
holiday. When the Muslim Arabs came in they added some of their own new ideas to
the holiday. So did the people of the Bahai faith....anyway the point is, Nowruz
doesn't belong to just one religion...it's the oldest ancient-est on-going party on the
planet. And I think you are going to love it.

 Because I haven't even told you the good stuff yet.

 First off: Nowruz isn't just a one day or two day event. It's even longer than the 8
days of Chanukah. Nowruz is 13 days long!

But a couple weeks before even the first day of Nowruz, children will start seeing a
jolly guy dressed in a red suit around town. Yep. He wears a red suit and a red
triangle shaped hat, but he's not who you might be thinking of. His red hat isn't the
floppy kind, it's pointy straight up. And he doesn't have a white beard. He doesn't have
a beard at all, and his hair and skin are dark black. He's called Haji Firuz.  And when
you see Haji Firuz singing and dancing all around town, you know it's time to start
getting ready for Nowruz.

It's time for Spring Cleaning! (Ever heard of that?) Time to get a haircut and buy or
make new clothes, pay your debts and return stuff you have borrowed. Time to
forgive, settle disagreements, apologize, solve problems.

It's also time to sprout wheat seeds or lentils. Time to sprout tulips and hyacinth
flowers.

It's time to bake, cook, and buy all the marvelous foods that go with the season.

It is time to dye eggs bright beautiful colors! (Have you heard of that? That's a
tradition that comes from Nowruz!)

Here's another thing: on the Tuesday night before Nowruz, it's time for kids to frighten
away evil spirits by walking around their neighborhood dressed as ghosts while banging
pots and pans with spoons! (what does that remind you of?)

But wait that's not all! That Tuesday night before Nowruz is called Wild Fire Eve—
Chahar Shanbeh Suri...

For good luck, people light little bonfires to leap over!

And..! Shoot off fireworks into the night sky! Fireworks too!

The day before Nowruz is time to set up your family's Haft Sin table display. There are
important objects that are always placed on the Haft Sin table, Each part of the Haft
Sin decorations means something...and for this you will just have to come into the
fellowship hall after the service today, because rather than have me tell you...the Big
Room and Turning Tides kids will show you a lovely Haft Sin table.

Finally, Nowruz begins, on the exact moment of the spring equinox, the exact
moment the sun crosses the equator, for all you astronomers ... Iran time: Tuesday
March 20, 2012, 08:44: 27 AM ايران: ساعت ... Los Angeles time: that was Monday night,
10:14:27 PM ...

At that time you would have been at the home of the oldest person in your family,
maybe your grandma or grandpa's house. You would have taken that moment to think
about the spirits of your ancestors, your grandparents would have given you a hug,
you would have thought about how important it is to have a family that loves and
cares for you...and then your grandparents would have given you crisp brand new
dollar bills from the bank!

And then the feasting begins, for twelve days! You would start by visiting the oldest
most honored members of the family first, but eventually everyone gets around to
seeing all of their family and friends...And we will be serving you some yummy Persian
treats after the service today!

Can you see why I had to find out about this holiday when I first started hearing and
reading little things about it? As it turns out, Wendy Hawker's doctor is Persian from
Iran. In fact other than Iranitself, Los Angeleshas the largest population of Iranian
people...so it's quite likely you know someone who celebrates Nowruz already.

 Well Wendy's doctor was kind enough to introduce us to his parents, who helped us
figure out where to get all the things for our Haft Sin table, and explained so much
about the meaning of this holiday. And they seemed very happy that we are sharing
Nowruz together at church today. I'd love it if you would sign the card we've made for
them, because, you guessed it...another tradition is sending Nowruz cards!

Now you might think that that's all there is about Nowruz...but wait! I haven't told you
about the 13th day!

Have any of you ever heard the idea that the number thirteen is unlucky? Well that
idea comes to us from the ancient Persians...So the 13th day of the year is called
Sizdah Bedhar...which means "kick out the 13!" On this day, everyone, get's out of their
house and has a picnic in the park, or at the beach...some nice place
outside...because you don't want the bad luck to find your house! There's music and
games, and people play pranks on each other.

This year the 13th day is on April 1st! Have you ever played a trick on someone on
April Fools day? Guess where that tradition comes from? NOWRUZ!!!

And there you have it...The most amazing holiday you've probably never heard of!!!

  Friday March 30, 3:30PM Egg Dyeing Party in Spring Holidays Friday, March 23, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 4:06 PMlink

Join us in the afternoon for some egg dyeing fun.

Bring your own hard boiled or blown eggs, and we will have dye, crayons and stickers ready to go.

We will meet in the kitchen or the Rainbow Room...just depending on the size of group we are.

If you are willing to part with your blown and decorated eggs we are collectiong them for the preschool egg hunt on Easter April 8.

  March 24 Saturday Saturday, March 17, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 10:27 AMlink

Girl Effect Movie Night!

You are invited to a screening of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland to benefit the Girl Effect on Saturday March 24th from 7pm to 9pm, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, 12355 Moorpark Street, Studio City. Admission is $10. There will be popcorn, candy, and refreshm ents included in the admission fee.

Please come for a night of fun for a good cause. The Girl Effect is an organization committed to helping girls all over the world, by giving them micro-loans, as well as providing  access to education and healthcare.

See you there!

Alyce McFadden

          Girl Scout Troop 10885

  NowRuz Sunday, March 18, 2012 in Spring Holidays Monday, March 5, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 4:24 PMlink

Los Angeles County Mueseum of Art                

Celebrate the arrival of spring with a full day of exciting activities throughout LACMA's campus, including a world-premiere music-dance-video performance created by Hamid Saeidi, a live performance by pop sensation KamyR, and a traditional Nowruz display known as "Haft Sîn."
Throughout LACMA | Free, no reservations | 11:30 am�“8 pm | Schedule
Sponsored by Art of the Middle East Contemporary and Farhang Foundation.
Image: Courtesy of the Farhang Foundation.
11:30 am�“5 pm | Traditional Persian musicians and dancers in costumes
Throughout the campus
11:30 am�“4:30 pm | Story reading and calligraphy for youth
Director’s Roundtable Garden
11:30 am�“4:30 pm | Haft-Sîn display
Los Angeles Times Central Court
noon�“1 pm | 2012 Farhang Short Film Festival award ceremony
Brown Auditorium | Seating will be first come, first served. Please note: The top films will be shown on a loop starting after the award ceremony until 5 pm. Open to all; no tickets required.
2�“3:30 pm | Official Nowruz program
Bing Theater | 2012 Farhang Heritage and Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony. Featuring the world-premiere performance of “Celebration” by Hamid Saeidi. Seating is limited and will be first come, first served; no tickets required.
4:30�“7 pm | Live musical performance by KamyR, followed by a D.J.
BP Grand Entrance | Open to all; no tickets required.

  spotting a monarch Monday, February 20, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 4:21 PMlink

  The Most Beautiful Heart in Winter Holidays Monday, February 13, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 3:40 PMlink

One day a young man standing in the town square, declared that he had the most beautiful heart in the valley.
A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart, for it was indeed
perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it.

Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen.

The young man was very proud, but as he boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart, an old man shouted out, "You are mistaken. Your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine."

The crowd stepped back as the old man came forward. 

The young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly...but it was full of scars.

It had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in...but they didn't fit quite right...and they left jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.

The people stared. How could he say his heart was more beautiful?

The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw how worn and battered it was, and laughed. "You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart to mine! Mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."

"Yes," said the old man, "Yours is perfect looking, but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love. I take a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fills the empty place in my heart. But as you can see, the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we have  shared.

Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, without the other person returning a piece of his own to me. And you can see my heart has been left with empty places...giving love requires taking a chance.

 The young man looked. "Is it painful?" he asked.

 "Sometimes," said the old man, " but the empty places remind me of the love I have for these people. And I hope someday they will return and fill the space I have waiting. Can you now see the beauty of my heart?"

The young man stood silently for a moment, then he reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and tore out a piece.

 He offered it with trembling hands to the old man.
The old man took the offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his own old heart and placed it in the emptiness of the young man's.

It fit...but not perfectly, the jagged edges refused to mesh.

The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore, but more beautiful than ever, They embraced and walked away, together, side by side.

  YoUUth Choir in YoUUth Choir Monday, January 30, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 7:48 PMlink

The YoUUth Choir is starting rehearsals for the next performance. I sent lyrics and mp3s around for both songs, but please let me know if you didn't get them and I will re-send them.

Please work on the songs with your kids, on your own, listen to them at home, in the car �“ you know the drill! And please spread the word �“ the more the merrier.

February 26th: RAINBOW CONNECTIONSo many people �“ kids, teens, adults�”have requested this song, why not do it next?

We’ll be rehearsing this one at 11:20am on Sunday, 2/5, 12, and 19.

As always, we’ll be rehearsing at 9:30am on performance day, Sunday, February 26th, and we’ve got UU2 playing with us!

April 29th: HERE COMES THE SUN Spring/Summer weather seems the right time for some Beatles, also highly requested.

We’ll be rehearsing this one at 11:20am on Sunday 4/8, 15, and 22.

As always, we’ll be rehearsing at 9:30am on performance day, Sunday, April 29th, and again, we’ve got UU2 playing with us.

We’ll have one last date in June and I’m taking requests. That’s how we picked the two songs above, so keep those emails and comments coming!

Any questions?

Liz.owen@owenville.net

  Join us for the next Committee meeting! in events Monday, January 30, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 12:40 PMlink

Please note the new date and time for our next Religious Exploration Committee meeting:
February 12th, Sunday, 11:30AM in the Big Room.

Now is a great time to find out what we've got planned for the rest of the year, and to let us know how we are doing! All parents and interested adults are welcome! Childcare will be provided.

  Let's make valentines Friday Feb 10 in events Monday, January 30, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 12:32 PMlink

A spontaneous thought here, that may only work for a few of you with the time free, but...Yes, Friday Feb 10 from 11AM till 2PM, in the Big Room,
I'll drag out all the red, white and pink construction paper, (do you want more colors? I'll get them too)

Paint! Markers! Doilies! Ribbon! Fancy-schmancy scissors and heart shaped punches! Glitter! Glue! Tissue paper! Stamps! Stickers! Whatever!

All ages welcome.

  Anapana Meditation in events Monday, January 30, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 12:13 PMlink

Vipassana comes from the Buddhist tradition and means, "to see things as they are." Anapana Meditation is the first step in a Vipassana Meditation practice, and will be taught to children by longtime UU Studio city member Phyllis Moss and her team of trained Vipassana practitioners.

This is a gentle, non sectarian approach to meditation by stilling the mind and following the breath. Such a wonderful tool for growing kids to have!

This program is free of charge to students.

We will have an informational meeting for interested families on March 11, Sunday at 11:30AM in the Big Room.

Please contact Phyllis Moss if you have any questions: phyllis.moss@gmail.com

And visit the anapana website here.

  Mandarin Chinese in events Monday, January 30, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 11:24 AMlink

Just as we ring in the Year of the Water Dragon, I can let you know about an opportunity for our kids to learn Mandarin Chinese!

Leping Li will be teaching a class beginning January 30th through March 25th
Mondays and Thursdays, 2:45PM till 4:45PM, here in Studio City.

Tuition is $400 per student with a one time registration fee of $20.

The class is tailored for 2nd through 4th graders. Class size limited to 12.

Please contact Leping Li at 818-358-3822 or LepingLi@hotmail.com if you are interested for further information.

  Illuminations in events Saturday, January 7, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 1:08 PMlink

On January 21, Saturday, we will gather to celebrate the Unitarian Universalist tradition of "Illuuminations." We will bring our chalices from home and reflect on the light that each of us brings. More information to come!

  Join the Religious Exploration Team in events Saturday, January 7, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 1:07 PMlink

The Religious Exploration team has much more planned for this year, and we would love for you to be a part of it all. Our next committee meeting is January 24 at 7:30PM (7:00 if you want to join us for dinner) in the Big Room.

We especially want to invite you to our committee meeting on Feb 12...which will be a Sunday after church at 11:30AM...childcare provided. We think is an easier time for us to meet with those of you who have kids, and will plan 2 or 3 after church meetings each year, if this seems to work out best.

Questions? Comments?

Jill Herbertson

dre@uustudiocity.org

  Happy New Year! in Winter Holidays Saturday, January 7, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 1:01 PMlink

Happy New Year! December was full of activity...Chanukah, Solstice, Christmas...parties, gift making and giving, an opera, a pageant. What a whirl!

It's time to settle into 2012, a New Year with a portentous number on the Long Count Mayan calendar. As you may know, the Mayans were excellent astronomers and mathematicians and devised 3 different calendars to mark time and the movement of the heavens. All of their calendars are cyclical...which means, like a circle, they have no end.

 Despite disaster movie scenarios, the Long Count Mayan Calendar does not predict the end of the world next December. Instead it is an elegant method of remembering that the flow of time is vast.

 The Reverend Mike reminded us last Sunday that we can begin a new year on any day we wish. Chinese New Year begins January 23, another chance to start again...the Year of the Dragon! The Persian New Year begins on March 20th! The Jewish New Year...Set 16. The Muslim New Year...Nov 15.

 We can make a fresh start each morning when we wake. With each breath we can mark our time as just beginning.

  Family Camp Feb 18-20 Saturday, January 7, 2012POSTED BY JILL AT 12:54 PMlink

Camp deBenneville Feb 18-20

It's not too late to register! Families with elementary age campers (or just the campers themselves) are invited for a weekend of treasure hunting in the snow. We'll work on an actual pictorial treasure hunt while discovering what fantastic gifts we all carry, regardless of age or ability.

Join us for tons of snow play, hot cocoa by the fire, games, crafts and community worship. Campers grades 3-6 may attend without parents and will be supervised by trained cabin counselors. For registration information go to

http://www.debenneville.org/

and click on Elementary/Family Camp

  Yule log wrap up in Winter Holidays Thursday, December 15, 2011POSTED BY JILL AT 8:18 AMlink

Thanks to all who purchased a yule log this year! I have yet to calculate the exact expenses for materials, but we will have about $370 to send to the Heifer Foundation this year! It's a great deal of effort to get ready for this event and my thanks to Jim Wallis for, as always, organizing the kitchen, and to all the set up crew, the wax mixers, the pine and berry gatherers, the labelers, the suervisors, the artisans who made each lovely log, the sellers, and the terrific clean up crew. I should thank you all by name. but I am afraid I will leave someone out...so many people pitched in during the day. Good things happen because of you!

  Yule Logs this Sunday! Dec 4 in Winter Holidays Monday, November 28, 2011POSTED BY JILL AT 1:11 PMlink

Here's your opportunity to purchase a beautiful winter decoration, handmade by the children of our congregation. and all the proceeds will be donated to Heifer International.

Cost? $10


What's it all about?

The tradition of cutting a
yule log And saving a bit of it to kindle the next
winter’s fire is an ancient pagan custom from Europe.
The children of the Unitarian Universalist church of Studio City will create a pretty Yule decoration for you.
We hope you’ll enjoy it for the holidays, and then, after the New Year,  put it away…for a whole year!

Then next winter, in 2012, bring out this old log,
now dried and faded.
(Hopefully on the Winter Solstice,
the longest night of the year.)

It’s time to watch your log burn brilliantly,
say good bye to old hurts and regrets,
fondly remember the year’s blessings,
and smile at your accomplishments.
Pause in the light of the flame of a year consumed.
Enjoy the longest night, knowing that the morning will bring a new cycle of days, each longer than the last.

Winter into Spring.

  prayer... in Thanksgiving Monday, November 28, 2011POSTED BY JILL AT 12:48 PMlink

Time for a little Religious Exploration...

Here's a question to just put in your mind right now...what is a prayer?

This can be a rather complicated thing to answer...but it's worth thinking about in a religious exploration way, because prayer seems to be a big part of religion for most religious people.

One of the five things essential to Muslim people is prayer. Muslims all around the world are called to prayer 5 times a day. Muslims who pray in this way must stop what they are doing, wash to prepare themselves before speaking to God in prayer, and the Muslim prayer begins by praising God who is so large and powerful and ever present in the lives of Muslims.

One type of prayer that is important in Christian churches each Sunday is a prayer asking God for forgiveness. Christians see that nobody is perfect and that everyone makes mistakes and sometimes our mistakes really hurt people. While it is important to ask for forgiveness from those who have been hurt, it is critical to Christians to also be forgiven by God for these sins.

 Sometimes people pray by themselves, not just when they are in groups at churches or synagogues or mosques or temples. You might know about this type of prayer...when let's say...a kid has forgotten to do some homework, and finds herself saying in her head silently, "Oh, please God! Let my teacher forget to collect the homework today! Please just let him forget, and then I'll never forget my homework ever again! Really! I'll always get my homework done right away!"

 Which is to say, sometimes people pray for God to make things happen for them. And sometimes to promise to be better people in the future.

 Sometimes people pray that God will make something happen for other people. They might pray that God will make a sick person well.

 There are quite a few reasons why people pray, but here's another question: Do Unitarian Universalists pray?

 You might have noticed that in our order of service every Sunday, the things we say out loud are called "words of covenant" or "intergenerational thanksgiving"...but not prayers. In our worship service we don't require anyone to say prayers because some Unitarian Universalists pray and some don't. Which leads back to that question, what makes a prayer a prayer..?

A common definition of prayer is it's a conversation with God, and if you don't particularly believe in a God who can listen to prayers, why would you say a prayer? After all, at our church, some people believe in a God who hears prayers and some don't. That's one of the cool things about our church, we don't all believe the same things but we still love and accept each other.

Some of us may think it's a stretch, that what we would say in a prayer makes a difference in someone getting well after being sick, or getting to skip a homework assignment. But people who have a regular practice of prayer will often say they pray in order to change themselves, that the prayer isn't to change God's mind about something, but to change yourself.

Which leads to another kind of prayer. A prayer of thanksgiving. A prayer that says, "There is so much good in my life. and I didn't really do anything in particular to deserve all this good stuff."

Could it be possible to say a prayer of thanksgiving and really mean it even if you don't believe in a God who listens to prayers? It might be, if you are praying in order to help yourself feel that warm and right feeling of gratitude.

Wendy reminded me this week of something written 700 years ago by a teacher named Meister Eckhart, "If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice."

  Irreplaceable Friday, November 11, 2011POSTED BY JILL AT 12:14 PMlink

  I have such mixed feelings about writing that our beloved Rainbow Room leader, Tami Kendra, will soon be moving to Long Beach.
While we all know she's a one of a kind utterly irreplaceable treasure, who has given so much of her time and talent, wisdom and heart to the young ones in our program, I am quite certain that a new teacher or two or three are in our midst just waiting for an opportunity to join our team of amazing teachers.

And while we still have her, please join me in thanking her for the joyful and enthusiastic way she has taught and cared for our children. Oh how we will miss her!

Please let me know if you would like to shake loose your day to day worries on Sunday mornings, enjoy gentle stories and imaginative play, remember what it's like to be a kid, and be a new part of the Rainbow Room team.

Jill Herbertson

Here's a letter from Tami:

Dear All,

By now, I’m sure most of you have heard thru the grapevine that Maria, Evan and I are moving soon to Long Beach. Well… it’s true. We received word today from the bank that we are “clear to close” apparently that is bank-speak for “you got the place now start packing!”

I must begrudging give up my role as a teacher in the Rainbow Room. It is my hope that one or two of you are up to the task of spending some amazing quality time with these young UU’s. In all honesty, you are not the teacher… they are. This room is full of giggles, glitter, snails and pure wonder. If you’ve ever heard me talk about the room, I don’t need to sell it to you.

Things seem to be moving fast right now for me, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE email me, Jill and Nicole ASAP if you are even remotely interested in the room so that you can spend a Sunday with us before I go. Technically my last day in the room will be Nov 20^th but can cover the 27^th if I absolutely need to.

Have I ever told you how much I love you all??

Warm hugs

Tami

  Day of the Dead photos in Fall Holidays Tuesday, November 1, 2011POSTED BY JILL AT 12:59 PMlink

how to decorate sugar skulls

2011 Day of the Dead altar of ofrendas

  Thanksgiving in Thanksgiving Tuesday, November 1, 2011POSTED BY JILL AT 11:29 AMlink

Thanksgiving is coming!

Over the past few months, I have come
to realize the depth gratitude I feel for this beloved congregation. Gratitude
is such a profound emotion, and a life lived through a lens of gratitude can
bring into focus such beauty and kindness and wonder.

Speaking of
which,
Thanks go out to: Bonnie and Clara
Pierone, Tami Kendra, Erica Steakley, Star Irvine, Wendy Hawker, Meghan Pinson
and Nicole Thibadeaux for set up, clean up, snacks, and materials for our Day
of the Dead Remembrance on Oct 30.

Our tradition of decorating an altar
for displaying pictures and mementos, of making sugar skulls, lighting candles
burning incense and placing marigolds, is very important. But more than that, we
share stories about those loved ones and ancestors who have died, but whom we
very much wish to keep in our memories. We so rarely talk about death in our
culture, and yet death is a profound mystery and is so critical for us to
consider, as we build our personal theologies.

This past Sunday, as even some of our
youngest children spoke, sharing a few thoughts about a beloved pet who has
passed away, or a grandparent, or an ancestor of whom they have heard stories, I
was struck by how honest and reverent our conversation was. We laughed at some
funny things, but mostly I think the kids were treading very carefully through
strange and unfamiliar territory. I tried to express how much I appreciate
hearing the names of the people and pets who are pictured in the photos we
bring. How important it is to remember, and keep the stories alive.

We did not have enough time to do the
remembrance justice. Particularly for the older kids, who brought questions
about suicide and the pain of the death of a child. We will visit this topic
with our older kids in our classrooms on future Sundays, but I hope our families
will continue the conversation at home.

Speaking of
which,
The perfect time to enjoy telling and
retelling family stories is Thanksgiving, when many extended families are
gathered or long distance phone conversations happen. Did you know that the day
after Thanksgiving has been designated the National Day of
Listening?
Yep. It's time to hear about the Great
Depression, about life before television, and
Woodstock, and cars without seatbelts...first hand!
From the people who lived it! Time's a wasting, and there is no truer way of
traveling back in time, than on the memories of someone who has lived a long
life.
Here's a helpful link if you are not
sure how to get the conversation started:

http://nationaldayoflistening.org/

Also for Thanksgiving...here is a game that was taught to me by 3
sisters who were in my Sunday school class long ago. Their names are Anika, Hope
and Sophia, and this is how you can entertain yourselves while waiting for
Thanksgiving dinner to get cooked:

10
Turkeys
Draw ten little pictures of turkeys,
each on a separate 1 or 1 1/2 inch piece of stiff paper or
cardstock.
Choose someone to hide all the turkeys
inside, in plain sight, while the other players hide their eyes. All the
turkeys should be clearly visible without moving anything. Once all ten have
been positioned, the rest of the players begin searching for them. Players
collect the turkeys as they discover them, and once all ten have been found, a
new turkey hider is chosen.
A simple game, but sometimes a stubborn
turkey requires everyone in the house to find
it.

And on a mundane
topic:
Until now I've kept office hours at
church on Mondays and Wednesdays and have worked 5 hours a day, Sunday through
Wednesday. Leaving me Thursday and Friday to be an artist and
Saturday to be with my family.

I am finding that folks want to be able
to work with me later in the week, so here is my new
schedule:
Director of Religious Exploration
hours
Sunday 9 AM till
1 PM at church
Monday work from
home
Tuesday and
Friday 9:30 till 2:30 usually office hours at
church

Wednesday and
Thursday I'm an artist
Saturday I goof
off with Scott and the kids.

Respect!
Jill
Herbertson
Director of Religious
Exploration
jherb10@aol.com

  We need to read more Monkey King in Monkey King Tuesday, April 12, 2011POSTED BY JILL AT 9:10 PMlink

This is the letter we sent out to a couple of publishers...to no avail. But I won't give up! Someone will publish more "Monkey King" Stories! Dear Editors, Our request that you consider publishing a particular book may be unusual. We are a Sunday school class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, California, and the book we are recommending to you is by Ji Li Jiang, who has written the acclaimed Red Scarf Girl. The unpublished book we are asking you to consider is the second in her series that retells the classic 17th century Chinese tale of Journey to the West. This epic adventure is a cultural touchstone, widely known, retold, and loved throughout Asia. The hero is Monkey King, an impulsive, self absorbed creature endowed with supernatural powers, and at the start of the story he is oblivious to the consequences of his actions. I've read Ji Li Jiang's first book in the series to a few of my religious exploration classes of 8 to 11 year olds, and the thing is, kids go wild for Monkey. He's got all the superpowers a kid could possibly want. He can fly. He's indestructible, super fast, and super strong. He's learned spells and enchantments from a Daoist master. He lives for danger and excitement. Not content to rule over the monkeys of the Mountain of Fruit and Flowers, he travels to heaven, the kingdom of the Jade Emperor, and enrages all the Daoist Immortals as he destroys precious treasure in his search to be immortal himself. He upsets the Confucian order of heaven as he seeks status and acclaim. But he is also a kind and capable leader of the monkey tribe. He can be so unpredictable! It is this very restless, self absorbed nature that in the Buddhist tradition must be overcome in order to find enlightenment. And indeed at the end of the epic, after gaining a motley band of traveling companions, journeying through treacherous territory and battling frightful demons, and after retrieving the sacred Buddhist texts from India, Monkey does achieve enlightenment. But the thing is, my Sunday school kids don't know that part, because only the first book of the series has been published! These kids only know the selfish rotten side of Monkey! They haven't yet found out what the repercussions of his bad behavior have been! I've emailed Ji Li Jiang, every once in a while to see if the next book has a publisher, but alas, it does not. I really need this book for my class. We make a shadow puppet theater and puppets to reenact all the exciting parts ourselves. It takes a few weeks to tell the story, and by the end, the kids are howling to know how it all ends. Yes there are other translations of Journey to the West in English, but none for 3rd graders. And Ji Li Jiang's words are delicious to read aloud. I absolutely love using Monkey to explore the three intersecting Great Religions of China. Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism are said to be "the cap, robe, and sandals" of a Chinese person. That is to say, there is no need to choose which religion to be, (a rather liberating thought to consider.) It is our hope that you will contact Ji Li Jiang at info@jilijiang.com and find an agreeable way to publish the next Monkey book. Thank you for your consideration, Jill Herbertson and the Big Room kids at UUCSC

  Monkey King in Monkey King Tuesday, November 16, 2010POSTED BY JILL AT 7:25 PMlink

These are hand cut paper illustrations from China.

I'm sure Big Room kids will recognize Monkey.

  Dia De Los Muertos 2010 in Worship Service Stories Tuesday, November 2, 2010POSTED BY JILL AT 10:01 PMlink

Here is the story from last Sunday:
I brought something today to talk about.

You see a lot of these this time of year, why is that? Are skeletons scary? Are they monsters?
Do you have a skeleton?

One thing that makes skeletons different from monsters like vampires and zombies that you see as decorations and costumes on October 31st, is that zombies and vampires are make believe, but each of us has a real skeleton. Real skeletons can't go walking about all by themselves, but the skeleton you have inside your body is the thing that allows your leg muscles to walk you around. Your skeleton is the framework that all your muscles are attached to. Without your skeleton bones, your muscles would just blob around and you couldn't move, talk or eat. Your hard bones and your soft muscles make a good team.
If you think about it, this whole sanctuary is filled with skeletons!

So why is it that skeletons, this really useful part of our bodies, have become a scary symbol?

Maybe it's because when a creature dies, the soft parts of the body naturally decompose first and become part of the earth and part of the cycle of life. A creature's hard skeleton will remain long after all the rest has decomposed. So a skeleton reminds people of death.

It's a reminder that living things die.

In the Big Room upstairs we have a few skeletons that you can look at....skeletons of coral and barnacles and other sea creatures.
If you spend some time in a garden, and you look carefully and closely, and you are lucky, you may find the skeleton of a life that has passed on. In my gardens I've found empty snail shells, and a bird skull.
Insect skeletons are interesting because all insects have skeletons on the outside of their bodies, not inside like us. Their outsides are hard, but everything inside them is soft. Sometimes you can find the white translucent exoskeleton of a grasshopper or a praying mantis. Insects, as they grow, shed their exoskeletons in the way a snake sheds its skin, leaving behind these fragile insect shaped empty hollow forms.*
Leaves occasionally even leave behind skeletons. A leaf doesn't have bones, but sometimes the soft tissue of a leaf will decay around the stiffer, tougher fibers of the veins. This leaves behind a delicate lacy leaf shape.

All of these skeletons are the parts of living creatures. They are what remains long after those lives have died and passed on.

There is another part of living creatures which lasts long after they have died. That part is our memories.
When we remember the life of someone whom we have treasured, someone who's life has ended here on earth, but who's life has been important to us, we are doing something very important. We are insuring that some of the best parts of that life stay with us. We can remember family members and friends who have passed on. We can remember pets we have loved. We can even recall a tree that gave us shade or fruit, but is now gone. We can remember the people whom we have never even met, but who spent their lives in the effort of leaving behind a better world. These can be the artists and thinkers and doers whose work has touched our lives.

When we tell stories, look at pictures, listen to music, bring flowers or candles, draw pictures...write stories...we are doing a much better job of honoring the life we want to remember than if we keep a skeleton in the closet!
This is what our Day of the Dead celebration today is all about.

*Clarification thanks to Kim Labinger!

  Tuesday, October 5, 2010POSTED BY JILL AT 1:57 PMlink

Welcome to the new improved Big Room page.

  2009 September 27 Thursday, September 24, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 4:20 PMlink

This week:
Lunar calendars and Solar calendars!
What's a moon phase?
What about Earth's orbit and rotation and revolution?
size of sun and moon
Why 12 months in a year? And what's a leap year?
Why are there seasons?
Why do different cultures have different calendars?
Why do people celebrate holy days when they do?

  2009 September 13 in Big Room Saturday, September 12, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 9:11 PMlink

We begin a New Year in the Big Room.
We begin with a goodbye send off to our middle schoolers who are moving up to the Turning Tides.We'll play our old game, Big Room Questions 123.
We'll do some weaving,
And get out our journals
And sing.
We'll set our intentions for the year.

We'll make some final butterflies for the Houston Holocaust Museum Butterfly Project and read some poems.

Our objectives for the Big Room program are, as always, these:

Explore Ethics and Philosophy

Compare and Survey World Religions, great and small

Create building blocks for a Personal Theology

Develop a Unitarian Universalist Identity

  Summer End in Calendars Monday, August 24, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 4:05 PMlink

Oh such a flurry of activity.
We are getting ready to begin a new year in the Big Room.
We've purchased a couple of new things to play with, and are still tidying up and organizing art materials and books.

This year's topics to include:
New Year Celebrations around the world...they all aren't on January 1, you know...
Fresh starts and new beginnings
Seasons
Holidays
Holy Days
Calendars...that's right...they aren't all the same you know...
Orreries, orbits, revolutions and rotations
What We Can Do With a Penny
Weaving
Wonder Cabinets
Life Changing Journeys and the Wizard of Oz


When does it all Start?

September 13!!!

  My big fat pile of library books—about Time in Good Reads Friday, July 24, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 10:55 PMlink

So, in my little dilettante way, as an appreciator of Science, I picked out a few library books on the subject of Time.
That's because it is plain mystifying to me that time runs in one direction only.
You know, "the past is history, the future is mystery."
We take it for granted, it is all we know.
Time is a river.
Time marches on.
I just want to understand why.


There is actually a good deal of scientific debate about the whys and wherefores of time's arrow. Everything else in the language of physics (other than time and entropy) works equally well backwards and forwards.

So I have to tuck into a book by Stephen Hawking or Brian Greene every now and again. And I think I kind of get the gist of things for a while, but when I try to explain what I think I just read, I realize I just have to start all over.

But I must say this one, How to Build a Time Machine by Paul Davies is really wonderful. Just the ticket for my summer reading marathon.

Part of what I love about it is the design of the book itself. It's slim and unintimidating.
And the title made me want to flip immediately to the end to find out if there was a schematic for such a thing...because I am both a skeptic and a sucker.
The graphics are simple and elegantly designed to convey some hard to picture concepts.
And the font is a lovely sans-serif (no little lines that complicate the typeface you usually see in newspapers and books)
Which makes me happy.
Because reading complicated stuff is easier when the words are easiest to make out...(like the way green highway signs have lovely legible white letters without serifs, so you can read them at 70 mph) Because I have really bad eyesight.

  Flower Fable Part II in Transcendentalists Wednesday, July 22, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 10:37 PMlink

Here's the second half of Transcendentalist Louisa May Alcott's Flower Fairy story, adapted by Emily Carroll. The first half is below, on a post from July 9th. The goal was to trim the story into something Jill could read to her Big Room kids. We wonder whether kids of this time (mid 1800s) would have been able to understand such long, flowery sentences, or if adults just didn't talk to kids in a kid-friendly manner. This story is such delight!



Part II
“Now I will go to the hills,” said Annie. “Maybe I will find my little fairy there.” Up and down the hills she went, but she did not find the fairy. She asked the dragonflies and lilies whether they had seen the fairy, but none of them replied. Then she wandered into the forest, and as she passed along the dim paths, squirrels pepped up at the sight of her and doves cooed softly. But none could answer her. Tired of her long search, she sat amid the ferns and feasted on the strawberries that grew beside her, watching the clouds glow around the evening sun.

The night wind rocked the flowers to sleep; the birds sang their evening hymns and all grew calm and still. As the light grew paler, Annie’s head began to fall. Soon she was asleep on the soft moss in the silver moonlight.
Just then, the fairy who Annie had sought all night sent a dream to the sleeping child by elfin spell. Little Annie dreamed that she sat in her garden, like often, with angry feelings in her heart. She ignored the magic flower’s ring and held tightly to her troubled thoughts. Then came a little voice to her, “Annie, let me show you what you are creating with your thoughts and feelings that are now in your heart. You will see how great their power becomes unless you get rid of them.”

Then Annie saw her own angry words change into dark, unlovely forms that were easy to identify from which passion or fault they came. The spirits of anger had red eyes and glaring faces. The spirits of selfishness with gloomy, anxious looks tried to gather all that was in sight, but the more they grabbed, the less they had. Spirits of pride turned away from the rest with crossed arms, noses in the air. These and many more spirits came from her heart before her eyes.

They gathered in strength, each gaining a strange power over her. She could not take her eyes away from them as they dimmed the sunshine so that everything looked like a shadow. All the flowers faded away and in their place rose a dark wall that separated her from all of her favorite things. Then the spirits got closer to her, begging her to obey, because she had welcomed them into her heart and now she was their slave. She sunk down to the withered flowers and wept for her lost freedom and joy. Then she noticed her fairy flower gleaming on her chest. A soft, glowing light shone from her flower like a flashlight. The radiant light became clearer and brighter until the evil spirits turned away and left the child alone. The light and perfume of the flower brought Annie new strength, and she bent to kiss the blossom, “Dear flower, help and guide me now, and I will listen to you always and obey my faithful fairy bell.”

Still in her dream, she realized the the flower saved her from the troubling spirits. Then a low voice spoke in Annie’s sleeping ear, saying, “The dark passions in your heart can shut out love and happiness forever. Remember well the lesson of the dream, dear child, and let only loving thoughts live in your heart.”

Hearing this voice, little Annie awoke to find it was all a dream. She sat alone in the morning light and watched the forest wake up as she thought of the strange forms she had seen. She decided to strive to be a patient and gentle child and to bring back light and beauty to the flower’s faded leaves. Even after this one nice thought, the flower perked its head and breathed its fragrant breath to reassure Annie.

The forest welcomed the morning with whistles, sunbeams and kind greetings. The world looked more beautiful than ever. Throughout the long cold winter, the bell seldom rang and seldom did the fragrance cease. Often she was tempted, but she only had to remember where those thoughts would lead her and she would turn around her ugly thought, welcome spirits of gentleness and love, and all was bright again. Annie grew happier until spring came like a bucket of color over the earth and woke the flowers, set free the streams and welcomed back the birds. She couldn’t wait for her fairy friend to return so she could thank her again for the lovely gift. Then one day her friend appeared!

“Wait no longer; I am back! You have learned to love my gift and its has helped you so much,” the fairy looked tenderly into Annie’s face. “And I have another gift for you from Fairyland.” She touched the child with her wand and told Annie to look and listen closely.

Suddenly the world changed for Annie. The air filled with sweet sounds and all around her were lovely little creatures. Elves sat in every flower singing and rocking amid the leaves. Bright, airy spirits drifted by within each breeze. In the fountain danced sparkly spirits who played in the water. Even the trees sang a low, dreamy song and the grass was filled with sweet voices she had not heard before. Butterflies whispered lovely tales in her ears. Birds sang cheery songs. The world was full of beauty and music that she had never dreamed of until now.
“Dear fairy, is this another, lovelier dream, or is this real?” she cried.

“This is all true,” replied the fairy. “Few humans receive this lovely gift. Most don’t know the language of butterfly or bird or flower and cannot see all that I have given you the power to see. These lovely creatures are now your friends and your playmates, and they will teach you many pleasant things and will be with you always. Your own happiness brightens this place and your flower will never fade. I must go again dear Annie, but I will be back every springtime with the earliest flowers to visit you. Be well, my friend!”

The fairy floated up to the soft white clouds, smiling down on Annie. She stood in her enchanted garden, where all was bright and fragrant and cheery.

  My Big Fat Pile of Library Books—Dandelion Wine in Good Reads Friday, July 17, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 7:12 PMlink

There it was on the Middle School reading list.

The best summer novel ever of all time.

I hadn't read it since I was a teenager.

I remembered the part about the new tennis shoes

that felt like marshmallows and made you run faster than all get out...faster than antelopes and gazelles.

and able to leap high and wide, with your feet in total springy comfort.

But by the end of summer, they would just be a regular old pair of shoes.

My own father one time made some dandelion wine in the basement.

I do recall gathering flowers for the project. (my dad was big on projects...weaving and knitting and homemade lamps...radio control aircraft...needlepoint, ham radio...all undertaken with the precision and discipline of an engineer and the soul of an artist)

Anyway. The wine was too sweet and odd for my taste. The main ingredient was figs, not dandelions in his recipe.

Here's a recipe for dandelion wine which is heavy on the citrus and relies on a full 6 cups of sugar. I guess it takes a hearty amount of some sort of sugar ro make wine.

It might be good, but I don't think I ever want to try dandelion wine again. It could never taste like an August day. Like a day in the life of Douglas Spaulding in the summer of 1928.

(My brother and I one time made beer milkshakes but that was a different novel and a different author and a different story)

I do love this book.

I love it better now than when I was in high school. I am sure I would have entirely missed the point when I was in 6th grade.

I think I'll read it every summer until I die.

It's all about waking up and finding life and death and youth and old age and danger and comfort.

  My big fat pile of library books—Stargirl in Good Reads Tuesday, July 14, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 12:41 PMlink

Stargirl—


So I'm reading off the Burbank Middle School summer reading list. Most of these books I'd missed since they mostly were written post 1974.
And holey-moley!
What a golden age of kid lit we are living in!

In the hands of any writer other than Jerry Spinelli this story would be predictable and cloying.

But oh.
Oh man, that Jerry Spinelli.
Stargirl has nestled into my heart, I love her so. And I love Leo Borlock, who loves Stargirl, too.
Non conformity.
Kindness.
First love.

I can't tell you how sad it is to read that there is a Stargirl movie in the works. I just don't think this is movie material. I fear they will get it all wrong. Stargirl is the opposite of Hollywood. I was rather hoping for "Stargirl, the non conforming Stage Musical"
I've been recklessly pitching the idea around...
I'd so love for kids to be able to put a popular story onstage, that is a musical, that is neither "Annie" nor "High School Musical."

No offence to Annie or HSM...it's just that we are living in a golden age of literature for young people...and none of it is on stage by kids for kids.

  Flower Fable Part 1 in Transcendentalists Thursday, July 9, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 5:31 PMlink

This is a story by Transcendentalist Louisa May Alcott. Emily Carroll has adapted it for contemporary readers. Here's the first half!





Annie sat all alone in a large, pleasant garden. She was very sad, and tear drops fell on the flowers beside her, who leaned toward her cheerily. The wind caressed Annie’s face and hair, and the sun beamed most kindly on Annie, even making little rainbows in her tears. But Annie hardly noticed the sun, wind or flowers because she was lost in her own tears.

“Annie, why are you crying?” said a small voice in her ear, and Annie saw a little figure standing on a vine beside her. The voice came from a lovely smiling face framed by golden locks of hair, and shiny glittery wings that fluttered in the wind.

“Who are you, lovely little thing?” cried Annie, already beginning to smile through her tears.
“I am a fairy of course and and have come to comfort you,” replied the spirit. “Now tell me why you weep, and let me be your friend.” She smiled even more kindly.

“Are you really a little elf, such as I read of in my fairy books? Do you ride on butterflies, sleep in flower cups, and live in the clouds?”

“Yes, of course, and much strangers things as well. But now, tell me why there is no light on your face. Why are these flowers sopping wet with your tears, and why are you sitting alone instead of joining all the birds and bees that are ready to play?”

“Oh, you will be very ashamed of me if I tell you everything,” Annie said, as tears began to fall again. “I can’t be happy when I’m so mean. I’ll never learn to be a good, patient child. Good little fairy, will you teach me how?”

“I would love to help you, Annie. Sometimes you hold strongly onto your anger or selfishness, but you must learn to cherish only happy feelings in your heart. I know it’s hard, but I will give you this fairy flower to help. Let me pin this to your shirt, near your heart, where it will stay until I undo the spell that keeps it there.”

The elf took from her pocket a graceful flower with snow-white leaves. “This is a fairy flower,” said the elf, “no one can see it but you. Now listen while I tell its power, Annie: when you do good you will smell a sweet fragrance from the flower to reward you. When your heart is filled with loving thoughts, when you have done something kind or performed a duty especially well, your nose will receive a special treat! But when you speak unkind words, or when selfish, angry feelings fill your heart, or if you do something cruel, then you will hear a chime from the flower’s bell. Whenever you hear the soft ring, listen to its warning�”don’t say the unkind word or do the unkind deed, and the lovely fragrance will be your sweet reward. "

“Oh kind and generous fairy, thank you for this lovely gift!” cried Annie. “I will certainly listen to my little bell whenever it rings. Can’t you stay with me? Then I would always be good.”
“I cannot stay now, little Annie,” said the elf. “Next spring I will be back to see how well the fairy gift has helped you. Goodbye my friend: treat the world kindly, and the magic flower will never fade!”

Then the fairy kissed Annie on the cheek, spread her shining wings, and flew up into the sky. Little Annie sat among the flowers and gazed at her precious flower.

The pleasant days of spring and summer passed away and though the autumn flowers were blooming everywhere, the fairy flower became wilted on Annie’s chest. The fragance seemed all gone, and the low music of its warning chime was constant.

At first, Annie always obeyed the bell. She would correct her actions with a kind word and the flower rewarded her with a sweet fragrance. But then, selfish thoughts fished for Annie’s mind, and she would give in and speak unkind words. Then the flower drooped pale and scentless, the bell rang sadly, and Annie became a selfish, willful little child.

Eventually, she stopped trying and grew angry with the faithful flower and tried to tear it off. But the fairy’s spell kept it snug on her blouse, and her mean thoughts made the bell ring even louder. Each day she became more grumpy and wished she could return the flower since it did not help. She longed for the spring, when it could be returned and the mournful music would stop pestering her.

One sunny morning, with no clouds but lots of wind, Annie walked carefully through the flowers, hoping her flower fairy would be hiding inside. She peeped into the dewy cups of many flowers, but no little elf lay hidden there. She turned sadly from each, saying, “I will go to the woods and seek her there so I don’t have to listen to this tiresome music or wear this withered flower any longer.” She passed timid birds, lovely wildflowers, murmuring bees, dancing butterflies and asked them all if they could tell her of the fairy. But the birds looked at her with bright eyes and kept singing; the flowers nodded wisely on their stems, but did not speak; the bees just buzzed busily; and the butterflies luxuriously fluttered away.

  My big fat pile of library books—part 1 in Good Reads Thursday, July 2, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 7:56 PMlink

So many Big Room kids recommended the Percy Jackson book series that I've raced through 4 out of 5 of 'em. The 5th book is always checked out every time I get to any of the 3 libraries in Burbank. Since it's only recently come out I know there are a lot of kids also pining to check it out, so I'd feel kind of bad grabbing it ahead of any of them. Kristin says she has a copy I can borrow, since they are still working on book 3.

The great thing about these stories by Rick Riordan is the fun that can be had imagining Greek Gods and Goddesses existing in our regular old world. And Mount Olympus hovers above Manhattan. And the entrance to Hades Underworld is in LA. Oh and I have to say they're all a rollicking good adventure.

I never read the Greek myths as a young person...but this series has inspired me to devour the children's versions in the D'Aulaires brilliant classic:

And then because Cyd raved about Robert Graves versions, which are wonderfully footnoted and really the first 20th century scholarly look at the myths.

I had to go here too:

And these by Graves are my favorites.

I just had never considered a pantheistic worldview. It makes me think of Emily's ideas about Joan of Arc and Kali. I'd never thought beyond the myths as fairy tales. But I find myself reflecting on Hestia—Goddess of the Hearth. She is a profoundly grounded character. She just doesn't get involved in all the chicanery and intrigue, so there are not many stories about her. She even gives up her Olympian Seat to Dionysus in order to tend the home fires. I wonder what goes on in her heart.

I am fond of home hearths.

  Save the Whales in Big Room Tuesday, June 30, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 12:01 PMlink

Save the Whales is a favorite Big Room game.

The name of the game pretty much explains the whole point.

Amazingly, this cooperative game where all players work together to resist "the system" in order aid in the survival wild ocean mamal species, was created in the late 1970s.

And 30 years later, it feels like current events.

  The Fledgling in Transcendentalists Tuesday, June 30, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 11:08 AMlink

I am so glad Wendy suggested this book

by Jane Langton,

first published in 1980,

Newberry Honor book,

set in Concord, Massachusetts.

Just that makes it a must read for me.

But do you want to read it?

Here's the Library blurb, "Georgie's fondest hope, to be able to fly, is fleetingly fulfilled when she is befriended by a Canada goose."

It's lovely, lovely. A kid's transcendent journey. Every page inspired by Henry Thoreau. That's what I like about it.

What you might like is feeling like you, too, can fly.

  Summer is here! in Big Room Monday, June 22, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 9:39 PMlink

It's official...first day of summer,
And last Sunday was our final Big Room class for the year.
But no worries, Sylvia, David, and others will have activities on the playground for summer Sundays. "Box City," circus skills, and ice cream making come to mind.

Our So Cal seasons may not resemble the New England pattern but we do have them.

(I remember as a kid doing a quiz on seasons, and getting my Social Studies workbook answers all marked wrong. Here's what I knew:
Rain comes in winter, obviously,
followed by spring with tons of flowers, because by summer all the flowers except tough old zinnias had fried up.
We flew our kites in the summer at the beach where you could count on a steady sea breeze.
Snow...that was funny...we knew of snow falling in winter in cold places.
Snow was an ornamental conceit at our school, though. A design to be cut from a six layer folded triangle of construction paper. Later sprinkled with glitter and hung as a Christmas decoration.
My teacher had come from Wisconsin, and had not taken notice of our true seasons.)

In So Cal we have Rain, followed by Mud. then comes Spring with poppies and blue eyes blooming and everything smells green and sage-y. And then it gets hot and Dry and it's best to get to the beach. Followed by Fire season, which we hope will be brief. And we hope that Rain will come in good time, not too much...not too little. This is a perfectly understandable rhythm of seasons.

Here is my fav poem to prepare for the Beach Season:


maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles, and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles: and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea

—e.e. cummings

May you all lose yourselves and find yourselves,
and your own adventure at the sea this summer...(Hopefully not the "horrible thing" adventure like molly's!)

  Transcendentalists—Lydia Maria Child in Transcendentalists Monday, June 15, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 6:05 PMlink

Lydia Maria Child!

Never heard of her?

.

I guarantee you know her most famous poem! You"re gonna like this lady, I think...

Transcendentalist...Unitarian...abolitionist...Indian rights advocate...poet...essayist...editor of the first American magazine for children called Juvenile Miscellany. (link here to read her story, The Magician's Show Box, on Project Gutenberg)

The Big Room kids liked my suggestion that we e-publish our own Juvenile Miscellany.

I now have even more incentive to create a Big Room Web site...and we can put our miscellany there! Just give me a couple weeks to figure that one out. I for one will miss the UU and Me section in the center of the UU World mag. All the more reason to start up our own!

It was Maria's book, An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans

which convinced many, including Dr. Wm. Ellery Channing to speak out against slavery. It also made her unpopular in the 1830s with some of the Boston crowd.

So, that poem you know???

Think about a Thanksgiving day sleigh ride over the Mystic River and through the woods to grandmother's house...

this house

  Transcendentalists—-Julia Ward Howe in Transcendentalists Sunday, May 31, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 1:09 PMlink

This week in the Big Room we continue exploring the ideas of the Transcendentalists. This time in the company of Julia Ward Howe:

abolitionist,

prison reformer,

women's rights advocate,

poet

and anti war activist.

Americans in the 19th Century were grappling with big unresolved issues—injustices that didn't jibe with the Revolutionary promise of "Liberty and Justice for All."

I wasn't sure how well our Big Room kids understood these social issues, since many have yet to study American History. But today reminding them that the Transcendental movement came alive in the time before Lincoln was President... most could recall, without any prompting, that slavery was happening and that African Americans had no rights. Some of us remembered that women didn't have the right to vote.

Native Americans were being massacred and forced off their land.

These were also the times when the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was formed by Henry Bergh...a Unitarian...and before the end of the 1800's , in order to protect children from abuse, he helped expand the laws against animal cruelty to extend to children as well.

Clara Barton...Universalist... founded the American Red Cross.

Dorothea Dix created new and better hospitals for the mentally ill.

Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked tirelessly for the abolition of slavery and the rights of women.

The Civil War certainly changed the nation, but so did the non-violent struggles of those determined to end injustice by speaking truth to power , educating the masses, writing, caring, laboring, organizing.

Julia Ward Howe, writer of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, had her fill of war by 1870, and organized the first Mother's Day on June 2, as a day of peace. A day when all mothers would stand together and insist that their sons should never be sent to war.

  Wonder Cabinet—2 in Wonder Cabinet Friday, May 29, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 9:09 AMlink

The Wonder Cabinet�”

—-Is a centuries old tradition in Europe and America;

a fanciful piece of cabinetry or box containing items that spark the imagination.

These could be rare fossils, ancient artifacts, objects from far-away cultures, puzzles, optical illusions, scientific instruments, or machines that inspire and entertain.

Our cabinet has a religious/philosophical/spiritual theme.

What would you put in your Wonder Cabinet?

  Transcendentalists—Emerson in Transcendentalists Tuesday, May 26, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 9:31 PMlink

Ralph Waldo Emerson, was a Unitarian minister whose transcendental theology became too radical for the church of his time.

It took, what...half a century for the Unitarians to begin to catch up?

I think so many of us now would find inspiration in the transcendentalist's desire to pare down our material needs in order to be more free to follow a spiritual, moral, artistic path. Make time for the big stuff.

So...Emerson, the major dude.

But I have to admit, I have never gotten through a single one of his essays.

I told the kids last week, reading his stuff makes me feel really ignorant. It's so dense, and he seems to use words to define something so specific that only a disciple would catch the reference.

Apparently I have company. Wikipedia mentioned that folks attending his very popular lectures would comment, "I have no idea what he said, but it was surely beautiful!"

So for the kids I pulled (from the UU kids book) the rebus letter he wrote as a kid to his older brother. It's a fun puzzle.

And even though I can't make heads or tales of his essays, Emerson is fabulously quotable...especially at graduation time.

We read a dozen quotes including:

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.”

(read more quotes here)

Then we took one of his quotes, and (I think quite brilliantly) made it into our own rebus:

and then several kids penned their own rebus puzzles, and wrote their own sage words of graduation advice.

  "The Randomizer"—used to thinks in Wonder Cabinet Saturday, May 23, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 6:26 PMlink

Every Wonder Cabinet should have one. It's a irresistible way to enjoy a bit of random probability. Every kid wants to give it a whirl.

Okay, it's just a hand cranked card shuffler with a foam core sign on it.

Here's the great part: You can buy blank Bicycle playing cards from a magician's trick shop, and write whatever you want on them. (you can also try half size index cards but they don't slide very well)

We've used ours for lots of stuff. One ongoing project is a collection of "used-to-thinks." Like:

"I used to think that all dogs were boys, and all cats were girls"

or

"I used to think that the odd numbers were just the weird looking ones"

You may find that kids have some interesting notions about God and Afterlife and Wisdom, though many of our used to thinks are of the factual "needing a little more info" sort.

Almost everyone in the Big Room seems to have experienced that ah-ha moment of changing a belief in an instant based on new info that turns an old assumption upside down.

Some of our used to thinks are ones we gradually form new opinions about.

It's all a part of Growing and Learning, right?

More on used to thinks..?

check out "I used to believe" ...for thousands of posts on topics like animals, religion, food...though not all of these are stuff I'd use in the Big Room.

Also, this brilliant episode of This American Life

  Transcendentalists?—not Hawthorne! in Transcendentalists Thursday, May 21, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 9:03 AMlink

When all's said and done, Nathaniel Hawthorne was not a transcendentalist. The writer of The Scarlet Letter, was a Concord neighbor to Emerson, Channing, Thoreau and Alcott, but he became deeply skeptical of their utopian beliefs.

Like Louisa May Alcott, he published stories for children at a time when he was in need of some cash.

We read from A Wonder Book For Boys and Girls, (I love the title), where Hawthorne presents Greek myths framed within a story of young college graduate, Eustace Bright.

Eustace, like some Yankee Pied Piper, tromps around Tanglewood followed by a hoard of children who can't get enough of his storytelling and lessons in natural philosophy.

(Hmmm...I'm thinking this Eustace guy sounds an awful lot like Thoreau...coincidence?)

The kids have names like:

Periwinkle

Blue Eye

Dandelion

Clover

Squash Blossom

Buttercup

Huckleberry

We read Hawthorne's retelling of Pandora's Box...

We made cardboard versions of boxes and decorated them...some of us decorated them with what we thought came out of Pandora's box...some scary stuff! But we all appreciated the last thing left in the box...Hope.

Then we considered whether Hope made it worth the trade off. Whether we wished all those horrible troubles had never escaped.

Here's some Emily Dickinson on the topic:

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chilliest land

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

  transcendentalists—Alcott in Transcendentalists Wednesday, May 20, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 2:05 PMlink

Louisa May Alcott

Before Little Women made her famous, Alcott wrote a volume of Fairy Stories...her first published book, which afforded her the ability to lift her family out of poverty.

Bronson Alcott, Louisa's father, was an idealist with grand transcendental notions about philosophy, utopian society, education and self improvement. Pursuing wealth was not one of his priorities, and the family often scraped by on meager provisions.

One thing they were rich in, though, was the company of brilliant thinkers and writers.

Can you imagine growing up in Concord, MA with neighbors and friends like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Lydia Maria Childs? What stories they must have told!

We read Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau's Flute, by Julie Dunlap.

Certainly Louisa and her friends were kept busy with an amount chores and school work that the average Big Room kid would find oppressive. But this story of the young Thoreau leading Concord's children in a discovery of nature and purpose, through quiet deliberate observation, is really inspiring.

We also read one of Louisa's Flower Fables, which you can find here

We made our own flower fairies with pipecleaners and fabric flower petals...

but I must insist...finding real flowers in nature or a garden and imagining them as fairies is far more satisfying. I hope we can all spend time this summer looking for fairy acorn dishes, and moss carpets, and pebble furniture.

  transcendentalists—Thoreau in Transcendentalists Thursday, May 14, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 6:04 PMlink

The best place to start is with Henry David Thoreau, and DB Johnson's perfect storybooks, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, Henry Builds a Cabin, Henry Works, and Henry Climbs a Mountain.

We built a Lincoln log cabin...but it really needed a pond beside it.

Henry David Thoreau, A Neighbor to Nature, by Catherine Reef, is an excellent biography. Perfect for young readers.

I suggest it is worth making a spot in your heart for Thoreau.

He speaks to the idealistic, earnest aspirations of 19th century American philosophy, literature, spirituality, environmentalism, and civil justice.

We are not a perfect people. Henry suggests we have the means to become better.

  treasure from trash in Wonder Cabinet Wednesday, May 13, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 1:59 PMlink

If you look closely, you may see that our treasure chest is made from old cardboard, newspapers, pop bottle caps, an orange juice can top...and a generous amount of glue and glitter.



The things outside the treasure chest are true treasures, treasures in disguise, that we always want to reduce-reuse-recycle.

A Glass jar has a postcard attached that says it is a treasure from the beach. Yes indeed! glass is made from the ordinary kind of sand we sit on and walk on and dig in and make sandcastles out of at the beach.

Our comics from the Sunday newspaper are printed on paper...A treasure from the forest, since we know that paper is made from the trunks of trees.

Our aluminum pop can's post card says it is a treasure from the mountains. Aluminum comes from a mineral called bauxite...which is mined from mountains.

And finally, our plastic bottle says it's a treasure from the dinosaurs. How's that? Well plastic is made from oil, which comes from the ground, which has been compressed by the earth since the time of dinosaurs!

Next time you have to take out the recycling, you may want to remember that your trash is really treasure in disguise.

  Tree of Life—more photos in Big Room Tuesday, May 12, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 12:02 AMlink

  Tree of Life...an intro in Big Room Monday, May 11, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 10:23 PMlink

One of our ongoing Big Room projects is the Tree Of Life.

We spend some time thinking about creation...how life came into being on our fine blue planet. We explore what science can tell us about life on earth, and we also consider the stories that various cultures have developed over thousands of years to explain the existence of people.

Many creation myths imaginatively describe a tree that is essential for life to occur.

Interestingly, the science of evolution describes an entirely different kind of tree of life...A family tree including all the interrelated forms of life, spanning hundreds of millions of years.

Some kids like to write their own creation stories.

Most all like to make a critter or a plant out of sculpey to add to the tree.

All forms of life are welcome on the tree...with these rules:

They have to have lived at some point on earth...dinosaurs, okay...dragons, not this time...

Or, they have to represent something that could evolve from something living on earth.We love hearing the stories of our evolved sculpey critters, because even with the rules, we get some highly unusual life forms!

  The Wonder Cabinet in Wonder Cabinet Thursday, May 7, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 6:11 PMlink

  Monkey Thursday, May 7, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 5:44 PMlink

  Sunday, February 15, 2009POSTED BY JILL AT 6:52 PMlink

  Jill's Classroom Monday, December 15, 2008POSTED BY JILL AT 9:16 PMlink

The Big Room is a colorful, lively, teeming space that Jill has transformed. The color, the light, the beauty of the projects all over the room bring the classroom to life and transform the space into a world of big ideas, big thoughts and genuine artistic genius!