"Ideally, the teacher knows the genetically encoded play patterns and intelligences of the human child. Aware of these biological patterns of unfolding child development, teachers procure and scavenge materials to put the child ‘in the driver's seat’.” ~Dance with me in the heart
“If, in a relationship we have to do what another demands in order to keep them happy, the casualty is our own true self. It is not easy to love the ’self’ if we have lost it to a dysfunctional power dynamic. This is as true for toddlers and children as it is for teens and for us.” ~ Dance with me in the Heart, January 23, 2020
“It is in the processes of imagining, reckoning, creating, making etc that the learning happens, that knowledge is made and skills are perfected." ~Dance with me in the heart
"No one can GIVE us knowledge. We must MAKE it for ourselves, out of our experience." ~Dance with me in the heart
"Our great need in these times is to remember and tell the story of our Interdependence with all Life on Earth - yes, wasps, ants and spiders too. It is only when we begin to treat all Life as Sacred that we restore our place in the Common Unity of the Earth's Biosphere" ~Dance with me in the heart
"Set aside time to hang out and listen. Listening is the glue of relationship." ~Dance with me in the Heart
“Speak good things
Words have wings"
~Dance with me in the Heart
Our children download the language we speak, in the same accent, using the vocabulary we use, and - and this is the sobering bit - using the same language-thought patterns and intonation. Our words become their inner voice which will either acknowledge them or dismiss them, encourage them or taunt them, lift them or flatten them. We don't have to be psychologists to work out the healthy option. Speak good things. We can do this.” ~Dance with me in the Heart
"So many children are drawn to collecting stones. Every outing in Nature is an opportunity to extend the Stone Family that resides in their bedroom, under the bed, in the wardrobe, on the dresser. Many Indigenous Nations refer to the stones and rocks as Grandmothers, Ancestors who were here before the plants and animals, Ancestors who hold an ancient wisdom. Maybe our children can still feel that wisdom in their soul." ~Dance with me in the heart lifted from Treasure Stones
“The Curiosity Approach”
Babies are born curious.
Curiosity begins exploration.
Exploration means getting into things.
Getting into things means making sense of the world.
Making sense of the world raises more questions.
More questions mean intelligence unfolding.
So maybe we'd be better to Stop!
Breathe.
And smile at our little scientists rather than yell at them.
~Dance with me in the heart
"The school system we have all been marinated in has left many of us with an interesting take on the nature of intelligence. Few of us are aware that there are many different aspects to human intelligence, and that the traditional education uses-tests-and-measures just a small fraction of the intelligence-potentialities each student is born with." ~Dance with me in the heart
"... warm, secure emotional-nurturing is the one thing every baby is expecting, from birth onward. The bonded relationship is the baby’s first ‘romance’ with Life." ~Dance with me in the Heart
OTHERS
"You can't get blood out of a stone."
~Mother of Dance with me in the Heart
