The Garden Keeps Unfolding

So many things are going on in the garden it’s hard to track them all and not get stuck just observing. The boysenberries are right on the edge of becoming ready, with a few ripe, fat berries here and there. When they all finally begin ripening at once, we are going to have a group harvest with the children. It will be quite messy and delicious.

The blueberries are doing the same, a nice plump berry here and there. Turns out our local scrub jay also loves the blueberries, so I had to net the bush to keep him from hogging all the wonderful berries.

The plums are starting to get a little color, but are mostly still green. What I forgot to tell you all about in the last post was that the dwarf pomegranate is going crazy. Wait till you see the flowers on her. I’m so excited to possibly get a pomegranate this year.

Update on the papaya: I keep getting new flowers, but none are really sticking around long enough to turn into fruit yet. You just never know.

Tonight we have our last Parent Enrichment of the year with our current families. Teresa and I worked on a “Summation of the Year” that we will go over this evening. Wow, we have covered so much meaningful ground together.

Here is a little peek into some of the things we explored this school year.

We began the year by focusing on community, rhythm, warmth, and imitation. Parents were invited to OBSERVE their own unique child without comparing them to expectations. We learned to observe without judgment, and what observation actually looks like with our children. We know children are not static beings, especially in the early years. They are in an unfolding process.

We explored how children thrive when life flows rhythmically, when they know what comes next, and when life moves between activity and rest. Rhythm was described not as rigid scheduling, but as a living flow that creates safety and trust within the nervous system.

As the year deepened into autumn and winter, we turned toward the inner life of the child. We explored big feelings, gratitude, slowing down, and the importance of the adult’s inner stance.

Throughout these conversations, the theme of imitation continually returned. Again and again, we explored the reality that young children learn less from what we say and far more from what we are.

We reflected on the difference between rescuing and supporting. Again and again, we returned to the understanding that allowing children to try, struggle, persist, and recover is how true confidence is built.

In the spring months, we moved more deeply into nervous system awareness and the role of the parent as the emotional environment of the child. We explored how awareness creates a pause between reaction and response.

We reflected on the idea that children do not need us to convince them. They need us to guide them steadily and lovingly.

And perhaps most importantly, this year reminded us that parenting is not separate from our own growth. Our children continually invite us into deeper awareness of ourselves: our pacing, our nervous systems, our triggers, our rhythms, our wounds, our capacity for presence, and our ability to return again and again to calm and connection.

This year was not about mastering parenting. It was about becoming more conscious of the atmosphere we create around our children. It was about building homes and relationships where children can safely grow into themselves.

And through all of this, we found children growing in confidence, imagination, resilience, kindness, and belonging. And adults practicing the art of slowing down enough to truly see them.

Until next time friends,
Teacher Todd