Planting Seeds

Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children is the fruit of decades of development and innovation in the Plum Village community's collective practice with children. Based on Thich Nhat Hanh's thirty years of teaching mindfulness and compassion to parents, teachers, and children, the book and enclosed CD cover a wide range of contemplative and fun activities parents and educators can do with their children or students. The activities are designed to help relieve stress, increase concentration, nourish gratitude and confidence, deal with difficult emotions, touch our interconnection with nature, and improve communication. Planting Seeds offers insight, concrete activities, and curricula that parents and educators can apply in school settings, in their local communities or at home, in a way that is meaningful and inviting to children. The key practices presented include mindful breathing and walking, inviting the bell, pebble meditation, the Two Promises or ethical guidelines for children, children's versions of Touching the Earth and Deep Relaxation, eating meditation and dealing with conflict and strong emotions. Also included, are the lyrics to the songs on the enclosed CD that summarize and highlight the key teachings, as well as a chapter on dealing effectively with conflict in the classroom or difficult group dynamics, based on a conference with Thich Nhat Hanh, teachers and students. The accompanying CD has inspiring recordings of all the songs in the book as well as a guided pebble meditation, total relaxation, and children's touching the earth. Beautiful, color illustrations by Wietske Vriezen Illustrator of Mindful Movements (ISBN-13: 978-1-888375-79-4) accompany the various practices. Any adult wishing to plant seeds of peace, relaxation, and awareness in children will find this book and CD helpful. It is full of wisdom on how to simply be with children and nourish their compassion for themselves and others. Illustrated by Wietske Vriezen Illustrator of Mindful Movements (Mindful Movements – Ten Exercise for Well Being, ISBN-13: 978-1-888375-79-4). Includes 1 audio CD.

How do you make a garden grow? In this playful companion to the popular Tap the Magic Tree and Touch the Brightest Star, you will see how tiny seeds bloom into beautiful flowers. And by tapping, clapping, waving, and more, young readers can join in the action! Christie Matheson masterfully combines the wonder of the natural world with the interactivity of reading. Beautiful collage-and-watercolor art follows the seed through its entire life cycle, as it grows into a zinnia in a garden full of buzzing bees, curious hummingbirds, and colorful butterflies. Children engage with the book as they wiggle their fingers to water the seeds, clap to make the sun shine after rain, and shoo away a hungry snail. Appropriate for even the youngest child, Plant the Tiny Seed is never the same book twice—no matter how many times you read it! And for curious young nature lovers, a page of facts about seeds, flowers, and the insects and animals featured in the book is included at the end. Fans of Press Here, Eric Carle, and Lois Ehlert will find their next favorite book in Plant the Tiny Seed.

Suitable for toddlers, this title offers an introduction to gardening for those budding green thumbs. It features delightful cut-paper artwork and simple, rhyming text.

Much of our food comes from seeds. But where do our seeds come from? And where are they going? For much of human history, farmers saved their own seed stocks to ensure a good harvest from year to year. In the mid-twentieth century, governments became involved in seed saving, creating massive seed libraries cataloguing thousands of varieties. This biodiversity has come under attack in recent decades, as corporations have replaced heirloom varieties with genetic engineering and costly trademarks. In such an agricultural climate, saving seeds becomes both a practical act of preservation and powerful act of protest. Over half of Canadian households grow fruits, herbs, vegetables or flowers for personal use, according to Statistics Canada. And each of these home gardens has the potential to preserve vital biodiversity, if only we would let plants go to seed, harvest and preserve them. Saving Seeds is a clear and winsome introduction to the essentials of seed saving, from seed selection criteria to harvest and storage tips. It also addresses the role of seed-saving communities: local swaps, seed companies, friends and neighbours and even how the Internet can support this time-honoured practice. In an era of community gardens, farmers markets and renewed interest in heirloom species, Saving Seeds is a timely call to ensure a more secure future for our seeds and ourselves.

"Simple nonfiction text and full-color photographs present planting seeds in spring"--

A mother mouse teaches her child an important lesson: "Little seeds of kindness, planted all day through, grow in hearts like flowers, all because of you!"

"Literacy once meant reading and writing words on paper. Today's students need to be able to understand, use and critically analyse many different text types for different purposes in diverse contexts. This book sets out to support teachers to engage with the theory and practice of critical literacy. The author is an engaging and thoughtful guide through the theory, or "why this chapter is too important to skip," to the practical considerations. These include the tensions between traditional assessment critical literacy ("how do I know what they have learned?") and managing student voice ("when do I get my voice back?"). Along the way there are reflective interludes---questions aimed at stimulating thinking, discussion and professional development. The book also has pointers to further reading and support material and includes a lesson plan template. The aim is to provide ways of thinking about the pedagogy and assessment of critical literacy that will support teachers to implement critical literacy strategies across all content areas." -- Publisher's information.

Explains how we get seeds, the different types of seeds, and the benefits of seeds.