Flower number 21: Is there such a thing as secular spiritualism for the classroom?

After a little bit of reflection, it felt like something was missing-- I've updated some parts, with purple text. 

A last resort?

"What do you do with the child who does not respond to tutoring, counseling support, mentor support, has already been retained, and has been placed in special education? When it's a symptom of their home culture, how do you reach them when he or she seemingly refuses to learn what you have to teach?"

Some educators would argue that, that's just not even possible; every child is open to learning; and of course there are child study teams, social workers on campus, and child protective services to help, but this was the question I posed for one of my professors while working on my teaching credential many years ago.

It had been a very challenging week-- a third grade student in one of my mentor classrooms announced to the class that his birthday wish was to be dead.

In all of my glorious, let-me-save-the-world, naivete, I couldn't handle it. I had never heard a child speak about depression, despair, or suffering. I had never heard a child speak of suicide as an option.

What I did know, was that this-- although new to me at the time--was now going be an additional challenge to overcome while faced with the pressure of the state exam. I immediately felt completely helpless. So I brought it to my professor:

"Prayer" she answered, "Pray for them."

Now, a little bit about me, and my views: I am completely one hundred percent against religion in the classroom; I believe in the separation of church and state. In fact, I am "one of those people" who totally support that little girl who refused to say the pledge because of the "one nation under God" line.

Oh, still reading? OK, so, for me, there's a sense of camaraderie with a side of humor between my fellow educators, when the answer to such extreme situations is "pray"; it just seems so often to be a desperate, last resort:

Flower number 19: 30 days (or forever) of happiness

"Remember this, that very little is needed to make a happy life." 

     --Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius, huh? Well, I looked him up. He was born in 121 A.D. 


I know that Rome was the center of the universe in its time and all, but if we're talking about materialistic living, and our needs and wants-- I'd say, that is a pleasant perspective.


I was inspired by something I came across today while on Oprah's website. Yes, Oprah's. (I don't have cable, so I'm quite behind the times on a few things, mind you.) She has introduced a project that is totally, right up Ferdinand's alley. I like it so much, I'm going to share it with you, too, you know, in case you missed it on Oprah's page. 


It's called 30 Days of Happiness. It's a happiness journal. (Oprah is introducing it as a social media thing with Twitter, but I don't tweet.) I'd like to think that the 30 days would extend to forever, but seeing how it is that we get a little squeamish with commitment, well, let's just go with 30 for now. It was inspired by Eat, Pray, Love author, Elizabeth Gilbert, and there's nothing new here. Oprah's interview with Gilbert was in 2007, after all. And it is not so different from those gratitude journals that everyone is doing. More on that in a minute.


So all you do is look for it. The happiness. And when you have it, you write it down. Done. Smiles. Warmth.

Get inspired by watching Oprah talk about it  here. Or, a little bit more, below:

So now that I've been inspired, I got to thinking again. Uh-oh.

Flower number 18: inspiration in a pretty (fun) paper alphabet

Paper brought to you by Digitprop

Digitprop has created, and shared, a beautiful paper alphabet. Wasn't that nice? Just print out and create! I can already think of so many things to do with these little guys... how 'bout you?

Photo by Digitprop. This is one amazing resource for fun. 

Everything you need is in their zipped up file, free for downloading, printing, and creating! Great for preschoolers, yes, but can't you see these used as a fun decoration in a child's room? I'm going to print some out and place in my classroom -- maybe "R E A D" or "D R E A M" or "W R I T E" or "I M A G I N E" . . . I can't wait to get started!

Download the letters individually here.
Download the complete set here.

Please share how you used these awesome letters by commenting, or submitting photos to the Flowers for Ferdinand Flickr Pool. I would love to see how your were inspired, and what you created ...or how you played games with these guys.

Big thanks to Digitdrop for their awesomeness.

Flower number 16: seababy besties

Amigurumi is so cute, you could crochet a warthog with a hyena stuck to its butt and it would still be irresistible. Upon teaching myself to crochet many years ago, I instantly attached myself to the patterns created by Tamie Oldridge (previously known as Tamie Snow) at Roxycraft. 

A set of Tamie Oldridge's amazing patterns from her  pattern shop at Roxycraft

She was, and is, making darling creatures --tiny animals and make believe friends. Her patterns totally helped me perfect my crocheting ability, and in no time, this self-taught girl was crocheting up a storm.

After crocheting one of her charming little fish, I was hooked. (Pun intended) I continued through the years and more recently, I made these three sea creatures for the new baby of two of my dear friends. I used  Roxycraft's pattern as a basis for the little green fish, but improvised a lot for the baby puffer and octopus.

For the octopus, I crocheted a sphere and sewed a piece of red fabric into it. I stuffed it slightly, so that there would be a cushioned feeling, and she could put her little hand into it, much like a puppet. This would make it more fun to play with, as the 8 long legs twirled around quite well. As for the legs themselves, they were easy-- I just had to make 8 of them. 3 rows each, the sides were stitched together, and the seam closed shut with a light pink strip of yarn. Each leg was completed with one teeny tiny tentacle.

The baby puffer fish was improvised by first crocheting a box and then decreasing until it closed up. This little one was given a couple of little bells so that shaking it is so much fun. The tail got a pouf and she definitely had to have big, puckered fish-lips.

Throughout the years of creating little amigurumi friends, I always embroidered their faces on. I've seen some terrific ones made from felt, or even plastic materials too. In any case, these three friends were some of my favorite creations, and they were so fun to give to a beautiful newborn baby.

Crocheting can be so relaxing and rewarding --especially with an amigurumi project. They really just get cuter and cuter with every stitch. You know, maybe I'll give that ol' warthog a try.

How 'bout some inspiration:
Roxycraft.com
Amigurumi Kingdom
GourmetAmigurumi