• mural
    Art,  Curriculum ideas,  Education for Life

    Cathedral to Learning- post two

    Below is the second in series of four blog posts about how an inspiration of the Intermediate class Art teacher, Heather Utter, manifested in the classroom. After the field trip and back in the classroom, the students began to develop a plan to create their cathedral to learning. As a class, they decided they’d like to create some form of mural, stained glass windows, and décor related to learning. They wondered, “how can we make a piece of artwork together?” Their first project was a type of ceiling mural, which they created using circles of construction paper decorated with abstract patterns. Each student had to complete at least three circles,…

  • Pioneer Courthouse Cathedra
    Art,  Education for Life,  Experiential learning

    Cathedral of Learning- part one

    Below is the first in series of four blog posts about how an inspiration of the Intermediate class Art teacher, Heather Utter, manifested in the classroom. Or, in the case of the below story, out of the classroom. “Cathedral to Learning,” is the theme to this year’s Intermediate Art class, based on the school-wide theme of Community. As the initial discussion regarding cathedrals began, the class realized that more than half of the students had never actually been to a cathedral! This prompted a special class field trip to the Presbyterian Church in downtown Portland. During their visit, the class was awed by the huge vaulted ceilings, beautiful Douglas fir…

  • walking the labyrinth
    Art,  Education for Life,  Meditation

    Building a Labyrinth with the Tools of Maturity

    A Cucumber Seed has returned from our summer vacation. It is great to be back at school here at Living Wisdom School in Beaverton, welcoming new families and seeing familiar faces. Our Upper Elementary teacher, Matthew Fredrickson, shares here a story of one of the activities our school community was up to this summer. Recently, a group of students from our Living Wisdom School created a labyrinth next to the garden at Ananda Center at Laurelwood, one of our favorite field trip destinations. The idea to construct a labyrinth, or a maze, or something occurred to me last spring while pondering soccer-field-sized overgrown plot adjacent to Laurelwood’s garden. I first…

  • Art,  Evenmindedness,  Holidays

    Art as a Practice in Non-attachment

    Cultures throughout the world, from Tibetan Buddhists to traditional European cultures to Native American cultures, have created temporary pieces of art. The art serves its purpose for a brief time and then is swept away by the ocean, or by the wind, or by a broom. The effort in creating these beautiful pieces allows the creator and observer to practice enjoying what is good and beautiful in the present moment and then let it go when it is time. It is a practical reminder of non-attachment. Sonali Gupta, the intermediate teacher (3-5th grade) here at Living Wisdom in Portland shared a traditional Indian art practice in non-attachment with her students…