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Care For The Earth

178. River of Wonder

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From the mysteries of the human mind to magical rainforests, to the life-giving waters, to the communication networks between trees, animals, plants, fungi and who knows what else, we live in a planet full of wonders.

The Rio Grande of the North American southwest is one such wonder. It is celebrated in the song entitled River of Wonder, and we hope you enjoy these accompanying videos of the song and learning the dance.

We so encourage making the study of geography a vibrant journey.

“Without geography, you’re nowhere.” ~unknown

“Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future.” ~ Michael Palin

“I like Geography best, he said, because your mountains and rivers hold the secret. Pay no attention to boundaries.” ~ Brian Andreas

173. Planting Seeds of Hope

Wild & Free – explore, practice and play

Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up! Being carriers of hope means we live it; it lives with us. It asks us to find the courage every day, even as the world comes undone before our very eyes. It is the courage to look at the disheartening realities of the 21st century straight in the face and say ~ “You cannot crush my spirit!”

Cynicism and dismissal have no place here. This is about being safe handlers of life. Planting the seeds of hope in young lives begins here.

The song Wild and Free beacons hope. Its curriculum faces the reasons for endangered species and extinction head on. It speaks of the natural human instinct to care, to be guardians of the innocent. Those instincts are alive and well in children, hopefully never to be over-ridden.

The affinity a young life feels for animals is instructive into our human character and inner life. Habits and habitats are planetary wonders to behold.

The greatest defiance is hope. All the greed and deception, ignorance and exploitation in the world cowers in the presence of the irrepressible fire of hope. As a parent or a teacher, we can ever-so gently kindle those fires in the young.

In this light, we give the song, Wild and Free.

168. Teaching Earth Justice with Children

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When our family was getting started, one of the many wonderful books we cherished was Coyote Places the Stars, by Harriet Peck Taylor. The story itself is adapted from a Wasco Indian legend about the origin of the constellations. Like many Coyote tales, it illustrates the accidental and spontaneous genius of Coyote bringing the tribe of animals together to witness and celebrate the power and beauty of Creation.

Accompanying the story are the wonderful pictures! These vibrant images bring the story to life, sensitively rendered by loving hands.

The song, Animal Pow Wow, and its accompanying theater, was inspired by Coyote Places the Stars. The animals come together in the song to beacon a special message to the human race:

                   Hear O Humanity

                   Hear now our call

                   Care for our Mother Earth

                   As our Mother cares for all…

For young children, animal tales can be a vital source of natural planetary wisdom and healthy human character.

We hope you enjoy the Animal Pow Wow video which includes images from Coyote Places the Stars. A special thank you to Harriet Peck Taylor, and a tip of the hat and a playful wink to our dear friend, Coyote!

~paz

167. Safe Hands

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“Hope in the way we carry ourselves
In our hearts and in our stride
Hope in the way we carry the world
Hope in the way we feel inside
We are the heroes of the earth
We carry hope inside us
With open hearts and safe hands
Nothing can divide us”
~from the song Earth Heroes

Children are the hope and heartbeat of the future, in what is fostered in them, by the world they are introduced to, by the generations that have preceded them, and by their own making, their own choice.

As is true for you and me, children need to feel hope, they need to feel it in their fellow travelers ~ their teachers, parents, elders and peers. To foster hope as humans of rare character and integrity, belief and compassion; not giving into cynicism, not giving into violence, not acquiescing to judgment or knee-jerk dismissal, not going along with the herd… but to stand against hypocrisy, to stand against deception, cruelty, tyranny and degeneration.
So that our children are in safe hands.

Here is a simple, quiet contemplation:
Are the children in safe hands…with us?
Are we ourselves in safe hands…with us?
Are our bodies in safe hands…with us?
Are the animals, the trees, the waters, lands and air in safe hands…with us?
Is the earth itself, herself, in safe hands…with us?
Is the future in safe hands…with us?

We hope you enjoy this special song and video: Earth Heroes.

~paz
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162. Earth Heroes – Solstice Bells 2018

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https://soundcloud.com/talkinghandstalkingfeet/earth-heroes

Imagine a small Montessori charter school with about 80 children on tribal lands in the upper Rio Grande valley of Northern New Mexico. The picture contains snow packed peaks rising up behind cathedral-like sandstone formations, a vibrant river bosque winding through a desert landscape like no other on earth.

The picture also contains images of poverty and hardship, cheap gas and fancy Casinos. Underneath it all there is a cultural depth and richness that defies classification. Isolation and resistance have kept Northern NM off the grid of mainstream America.

But this is not a romanticized portrayal. The symptoms of isolation poverty include heroin, alcohol, gangs, domestic violence, gun culture – also part of the cultural landscape.
Beneath this however, like an ancient desert aquifer, lives a deep reservoir of beloved community, powerfully resilient and compassionate. It wells up from a 400-year-old ‘Hispanic’ heritage and ‘Pueblo’ culture rooted here for unknown thousands of years.More

129. Celebrating Earth Day in a Performance

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Songs to Educate has just concluded a 12-week arts integrated exploration of the planet entitled “We Are Here”, culminating with a celebratory Earth Day performance. What better way to honor Earth Day than to celebrate the wonders of the Earth and the Solar System with a Songs to Educate curriculum based performing arts program?

When a group of Kindergarten students get together to “theaterize” the solar system, the water cycle and the human relationship with the Earth, agile young bodies and minds become learning dynamos!

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101. Natural Education

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Choice is sacred. It is core to what makes us human. We can neither grant it nor take it away. What we perceive our choices to be however, and what we do with them depends on the depth and scope of our education!

In many ways life would be much simpler and the planet would be much better off if humans didn’t have this gift of choice. There’s the indigenous people’s proverb: “The frog does not drink up the pond in which it lives!” Only humans have the capability to destroy the ecology which supports them. Wouldn’t it be easier, clearer if this were not true?

But then, we would not be truly human – endowed with the elevated gifts of conscious reasoning, morality and choice!

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84. Teaching Sustainability & Eco-friendly Values

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Teaching ‘sustainability’ can be a challenging task. The song Green Green Green cuts through to some of the core values and notions to do with this important subject. It is a simple and catchy song that can help you to engender earth-friendly values whilst steering clear of current corporate, political or media bias.

The song begins:

    Keep your life simple, keep it clean
    Find the ways to go Green Green Green

There’s such a wealth of wisdom to be gleaned from the idea of ‘simple and clean’; from the way natural systems work to true human principles of conservation. In this context, the word “simple” means – fundamental, sound, sincere, core, true…

There’s the bumper sticker saying: “The best things in life are not things!”

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81. Green Green Green

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Teaching ‘sustainability’ can be a challenging task. The song Green Green Green cuts through to some of the core values and notions to do with this important subject. It is a simple and catchy song that can help you to engender earth-friendly values whilst steering clear of current commercial profit, political or media persuasion and bias.

The song begins:

    Keep your life simple, keep it clean
    Find the ways to go Green Green Green

There’s such a wealth of wisdom to be gleaned from the idea of ‘simple and clean’; from the way natural systems work to true human principles of conservation. In this context, the word “simple” means – fundamental, sound, sincere, true…tangible, reliable, accessible, clear and clean.

There’s the bumper sticker saying: “The best things in life are not things!”

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81. Green Green Green
Santa Fe, New Mexico USA