It's almost the end of the school year. I have two more days with my students, and then two more after that for organization, planning, and cleanup. I have had the same group of students for the past two years and so I am really going to miss them. At the end of every year, I like to give a little gift to my kids to thank them for a wonderful year.
This year, I took my inspiration from our year-long inquiry project we did: What is Beauty? We pondered this question throughout the year and sought out differnt sources for their opinions on the answer to this question.
I wanted my students to know that I think beauty is what's inside them, and thought a great metaphor is a seed. So compact and small in its infancy, but give it a bit of time and love, and it turns into a beautiful flower. Much like teenagers.
I made seed bombs.
The recipe is quite simple. You just need dry red clay, wildflower seeds, compost, and water. I used
this recipe, and
Redart Clay. A huge bag cost about $40. (Now I have a tonne of red clay leftover and no idea what to do with it. Any thoughts?)
The recipe is 5 parts clay, 3 parts compost, 1 part seeds, and 1-2 parts water. Just mix, and roll! Then you just need to let them sit and dry for a few days.
Then I ordered a bunch of
cotton muslin mailer bags from uline.ca. I ordered 5x7, and they were the perfect size. The bags have this great red stitching at the top, which I love. Highly recommend this company, by the way. They're fantastic. My order came two days after I ordered.
I stamped the bags with a Queen Anne's Lace stamp and another one that says, "Find beauty in all things."
Then I printed up a little insert made with this
great free printable from
Creature Comforts:
On it, I printed the poem "The Swan" by Mary Oliver:
Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?
And then wrote on the back about what to do with the seed bomb and how the seed's potential represents the student's own potential:
And to each student, I wrote a personal note about what I think is beautiful about them.
And tied a little tag to the top. They're ready to go!
I hope the students do find a place in need of beauty to plant a couple of seed bombs. I am looking forward to driving through the neighbourhood at the end of the summer and seeing small patches of wildflowers everywhere!
