Click here to read the article in "The Tradewinds"

I recently returned from teaching five days of collaborative workshops in the public schools of St. John, U.S.V. I. (over Friends school break, while school was in session in St. John) to third and fourth grade students of the two public schools as well as home-schooled children of the island. The project was a rich collaboration involving over one hundred children and eight teachers. The "North Meets South" project involving our third grade classes at Friends Seminary with students of the schools of St. John, U.S.V.I . has been written about in the St. John newspaper, The Tradewinds.

Upon my return home to Friends Seminary, I have been deeply involved in teaching writing and scroll painting workshops, puppet making, and boat making with my third grade students and third grade teaching colleagues. The project has greatly enriched the third grade curriculum, exploring issues of environmental history and sustainability, culture and craft traditions, migration, and sharing stories of childhood, past and present.

I hope to somehow find a way to develop my work with the children of St. John and New York City into a book addressing the need for sustaining connections to nature for children. This project continues to document and honor childhood connections to the natural world and the depth of it's importance in the formation of one's imagination, creativity, flexibility, and developing one's ability for reflection.

I am so very grateful for the support given to the "Flotilla of Stories" project by the Friends Council on Education. It has been a truly amazing experience of growth and sharing for all involved.