PERMIE KIDs Podcast

The Summer Creativity Challenge is an opportunity to celebrate creativity, inquisitiveness and innovation. Explore the resources in your place as well as dig through your recycling bin and challenge yourself and your children (no matter the age) to design and build anything that can be imagined. Yes, it can be that simple, but it can go further by inviting your family, friends and neighbors over to build, play, laugh, learn and strengthen community throughout the summer and beyond. In this show we cover: * Summer Creativity Challenge * Product-based vs. Process-oriented Learning & Design * Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset * Seeking Solutions vs. Opportunities to Nourish Life * Inspiration Grows: Sharing Our Stories * 6 Summer Creativity Challenges (with more to come each week throughout the summer for those on the email list) #pk_mc_wrapper { padding: 30px 35px; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; border-radius: 2px; color: #333; margin: 0 auto; background: #f6f4f5; box-shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1) } .pk_mc_text { text-align: left; } #pk_mc_form { width: 100%; position: relative; } #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { display: inline; float: left; width: calc((100% - 104px - 36px) / 2); background: white; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 10px; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { margin-top: -5px; margin-left: 5px; } #pk_mc_wait { display: none; width: 16px; position: absolute; bottom: 18px; right: 130px; } @media (max-width: 500px) { #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { width: 48%; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 4%; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { width: 100%; margin-top: 15px; margin-left: 0; } } Join our email list and let inspiration grow jQuery( document ).ready( function ( $ ) { $( '#pk_mc_form' ).submit( function ( e ) { e.preventDefault(); $( '#pk_mc_wait' ).show(); $( '#pk_mc_subscribe' ).attr( 'disabled', 'disabled' ); var data = { action: 'pk_mc_receive_list_request', email: $( '#pk_mc_email' ).val(), list_id: $( '#list_id' ).val() }; $.post( ajaxurl, data, function ( response ) { console.log( response ); response = $.parseJSON( response ); $( '#pk_mc_wait' ).hide(); var subscribe = $( "#pk_mc_subscribe" ); subscribe.removeAttr( "disabled" ); if ( response['code'] == 3 || response['code'] == 4 ) { subscribe.val( " Error " ) } else { subscribe.val( " Success " ); } } ); } ); } ); Where did the idea for our Summer Creativity Challenge come from? It was inspired and grew out of something called the Cardboard Challenge. The Cardboard Challenge was inspired by a 9-year-old boy named Caine who designed an entire cardboard arcade business. Now playful building with recyclable materials is an annual, global event presented by Imagination Foundation. We in the PERMIE KIDs community integrate not just natural resources into this experience, but natural relationships. In September the Imagination Foundation encourages kids of all ages all over the world are invited to design and build anything they can dream up using cardboard, recycled materials and imagination. Then the designers who worked all September invite others from their community to get together on a specified date in October to share, play and celebrate creativity knowing that other children in other communities all over the world are cele...

Learning and life is enriched when we periodically go on an adventure. Adventure in the learning landscape ignites a thirst for exploration and stimulates curiosity that can drive learning much deeper because the direction and the end goal is co-created in conjunction with the learner and the emerging elements in the environment. Most of us and our children can’t be on an adventure that takes us deep into the wilderness every day, so how can we help our children bring adventure into the learning landscape in alternative ways? Today I share one of my son’s emerging interests to be on an adventure in the learning landscape to ethically enriching experience that helps him better understand his authentic self, connect with family and community and deepen his love and compassion for Mother Earth. In today’s PERMIE KIDs Podcast we continue our discussion about what it can look like and feel like to welcome and re-think adventure in the learning landscape. With adventure comes a bit of the unknown, the excitement of the openness to possibilities and a need to embrace challenges. This itself can be challenging itself for both children and those of us with big shoes who love them, but we can extend our understanding of the possibilities for bringing adventure into our learning and life. In this show we cover: * Adventure in the Learning Landscape * Moving On, Moving Out * Personalized Learning Map * Planning for Adventure If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate and be educated. Thinking about becoming a member and you’re not sure which level of support best meets your needs? Join us for one of our “What’s Educational Design?” collaborative webinars (aka Edge Alliances) to find out more about the process of learning how to work with children to co-create a new educational “story” and transform the future. #pk_mc_wrapper { padding: 30px 35px; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; border-radius: 2px; color: #333; margin: 0 auto; background: #f6f4f5; box-shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1) } .pk_mc_text { text-align: left; } #pk_mc_form { width: 100%; position: relative; } #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { display: inline; float: left; width: calc((100% - 104px - 36px) / 2); background: white; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 10px; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { margin-top: -5px; margin-left: 5px; } #pk_mc_wait { display: none; width: 16px; position: absolute; bottom: 18px; right: 130px; } @media (max-width: 500px) { #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { width: 48%; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 4%; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { width: 100%; margin-top: 15px; margin-left: 0; } } Join our email list and let inspiration grow jQuery( document ).ready( function ( $ ) { $( '#pk_mc_form' ).submit( function ( e ) { e.preventDefault(); $( '#pk_mc_wait' ).show(); $( '#pk_mc_subscribe' ).attr( 'disabled', 'disabled' ); var data = { action: 'pk_mc_receive_list_request', email: $( '#pk_mc_email' ).val(), list_id: $( '#list_id' ).val() }; $.post( ajaxurl, data, function ( response ) { console.

Welcoming adventure into the learning landscape means we need to be willing to say, “I don’t know what is going to happen” when we first begin. Embracing adventurous possibilities is a significant change of consciousness from one in which educators take the lead, identify the objectives and craft lessons to get children to the desired end goal. Sometimes it is useful to step off the beaten path and even the road less followed in order to get lost in the forest for a while. Learning and life is enriched when we periodically go on an adventure. Adventurous possibilities ignites a thirst for exploration and stimulates curiosity that can drive learning much deeper because the direction and the end goal is co-created in conjunction with the learner and the emerging elements in the environment. Questions provoke real communication and a deepening of relations. Adventure, one of the seven childhood and nature design principles for educators created by David Sobel, can help us take steps to leading a more ethically-aligned life. In this show we cover: * Adventurous Possibilities * Childhood and Nature Design Principles created by David Sobel * Who, What, Where, When and Why of Kinesthetic, Experiential Exploration * What’s (often) Missing in Environmental Education If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate and be educated. Thinking about becoming a member and you’re not sure which level of support best meets your needs? Join us for one of our FREE “What’s Educational Design?” collaborative webinars (aka Edge Alliances) to find out more about the process of learning how to work with children to co-create a new educational “story” and transform the future. #pk_mc_wrapper { padding: 30px 35px; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; border-radius: 2px; color: #333; margin: 0 auto; background: #f6f4f5; box-shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1) } .pk_mc_text { text-align: left; } #pk_mc_form { width: 100%; position: relative; } #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { display: inline; float: left; width: calc((100% - 104px - 36px) / 2); background: white; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 10px; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { margin-top: -5px; margin-left: 5px; } #pk_mc_wait { display: none; width: 16px; position: absolute; bottom: 18px; right: 130px; } @media (max-width: 500px) { #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { width: 48%; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 4%; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { width: 100%; margin-top: 15px; margin-left: 0; } } Join our email list and let inspiration grow jQuery( document ).ready( function ( $ ) { $( '#pk_mc_form' ).submit( function ( e ) { e.preventDefault(); $( '#pk_mc_wait' ).show(); $( '#pk_mc_subscribe' ).attr( 'disabled', 'disabled' ); var data = { action: 'pk_mc_receive_list_request', email: $( '#pk_mc_email' ).val(), list_id: $( '#list_id' ).val() }; $.post( ajaxurl, data, function ( response ) { console.

In today’s PERMIE KIDs Podcast Brian Yanish, creator of ScrapKins® and author of Junk Re-Thunk, joins us to talk about the importance of offering and accepting the invitation to create. ScrapKins® is an NYC-based Creativity brand for kids that follows the adventures of a tribe of monsters who build their world out of the things we throw away. First created in 2006 based on Brian’s childhood drawings, the ScrapKins mission is to inspire creativity and DIY resourcefulness in kids everywhere. At the heart of ScrapKins and the book Junk Re-Thunk are the themes of creativity, imagination and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. The idea of ScrapKins was born out of the imagination of Brian as a young child. As a kid one of his favorite things to do was draw monsters and make things in his father’s workshop. His mother, unbeknownst to him, saved many of these early drawings. Years later she handed Brian a stack of drawings she had saved from childhood. Over time he revisited these drawings and used six to help create a fantasy world for the ScrapKins monsters in which they now live – “Scrap City” where they built everything out of the things we throw away. Active creativity and the fantastical world of the ScrapKins ignite imaginative learning naturally and joyfully. Through the books, school visits, Recycled Art-Making workshops and videos, ScrapKins inspire children to turn milk cartons into pirate ships and towel tubes into dinosaurs by finding creativity in common materials. In this show we cover: * Creatively Rethinking Children’s Needs * The Invitation to Create * Junk Re-Thunk with Brian Yanish * Creativity, Play, Space, Resourcefulness, Resiliency = The Journey If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this, join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate and be educated. You are not alone. Let’s co-create a new story that can transform the future. #pk_mc_wrapper { padding: 30px 35px; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; border-radius: 2px; color: #333; margin: 0 auto; background: #f6f4f5; box-shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1) } .pk_mc_text { text-align: left; } #pk_mc_form { width: 100%; position: relative; } #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { display: inline; float: left; width: calc((100% - 104px - 36px) / 2); background: white; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 10px; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { margin-top: -5px; margin-left: 5px; } #pk_mc_wait { display: none; width: 16px; position: absolute; bottom: 18px; right: 130px; } @media (max-width: 500px) { #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { width: 48%; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 4%; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { width: 100%; margin-top: 15px; margin-left: 0; } } Join our email list and let inspiration grow jQuery( document ).

For a long time psychologists, educators and parents alike have assumed that imaginative play was most useful for learning when set in as realistic situation as possible. However, is “real” always better than “imaginative” when it comes to the learning landscape? Many have a fear that learning about or at the very least not clearly distinguishing between fantasy and reality can lead to misunderstandings and misconceptions. This assumption underestimates the importance and value of one of David Sobel’s nature principles, imagination and fantasy, in play. It turns out this may also be, according to research, contradictory to the nature of child development. It’s time we re-frame creativity with imagination and fantasy. New research presented in the article ,” Fantasy Advantage by Deena Weisberg published in Scientific American Mind March/April 2016 edition supports the idea that imagination and fantasy may actually improve children’s learning outcomes. In several studies that focused on traditional educational subjects like language arts (vocabulary development) and science, those children who learned though a fantastical (sometimes even a magical) lens that included stories and dramatic play where more likely to develop: * Deeper understanding of the topic * Increased sense of curiosity and purpose for continuing learning and * Ability to transfer ideas more creatively to address problems in reality Integrating and valuing fantasy and imagination into the learning landscape can help cultivate a mindset of not either or, but both and more. The seemingly contrasting experiences between the fantasy and our understanding of how the world does and does not work actually highlights and clarifies the structure of the real world for young children. Moreover, imaginative thinking is crucial for understanding complex or abstract ideas like “Earth’s natural internet,” new scientific theories like meaning of life or the place and space in learning where physics and philosophy meet. Perhaps it is time we remember what we once knew, but have forgotten by integrating ancestral knowledge that has traditionally been passed down to younger generations through what we now call myths, legends, folklore, nursery rhymes and fantastical storytelling. In this show we cover: * Fantasy Advantage * Re-framing Creativity * Imagination and Fantasy in the Learning Landscape * Breaking Out of the Dichotomy of ‘If Not This, Than That’ * What Needs Does Nature Provide for Us? If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate and be educated. You are not alone. Let’s co-create a new story that can transform the future. #pk_mc_wrapper { padding: 30px 35px; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; border-radius: 2px; color: #333; margin: 0 auto; background: #f6f4f5; box-shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1) } .pk_mc_text { text-align: left; } #pk_mc_form { width: 100%; position: relative; }...

We are in the midst of change as spring has sprung here in the Northern Hemisphere. Many people are adapting to this change in the natural landscape by spending more time outside, watching the bees emerge to begin pollinating trees and plants or perhaps planning or even beginning to plant spring crops. Experienced gardeners often reflect over last spring’s results in order to creatively adjust their plans for this year. Should we not do something similar in the learning landscape or even in our personal and social landscapes? With this in mind, how can we use the framework of permaculture, a whole systems thinking framework, to work with our children to consciously and creatively make regenerative learning landscapes that reflect the inherent harmony of nature? How can we use this to help us work together to creatively co-create the “community garden” and effectively use, value and adapt to changes individually and collectively? “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of human soul.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf The ability to use creativity and adapt to change is not only about forming original ideas. It is also about constructing, deconstructing, designing and imagining known objects, actions, ideas, concepts or methods, or parts and pieces of these things. We want to be able to skillfully and resourcefully re-arrange and integrate what is already there in innovative ways. To do this, we need to take informed, calculated risks, experience successes and failures, learn from those experiences and re-imagine and re-design some more. Much like when Aristotle said, “Wisdom begins in wonder,” so too does creativity grow out of curiosity. Natural curiosity allowed to not only emerge but flourish lays the fertile foundation for understanding, imagining and actively designing alternatives to challenges we experience. Children tend to naturally seek to be the first to use creativity and adapt to change. They are natural solutions-based thinkers as expressed through observations, questions, exploration and investigation. This requires a fertile foundation and supportive environment that honors divergent, transformative thinking. Vision is not seeing things as they are, but as they will be. The only thing constant in this world is change. Our children, families, communities and even nature are ever changing, but it does not have to be chaotic change. Rather, through the framework of permaculture we can mindfully cultivate and collaborate to create the change we imagine is possible. With this in mind I ask: What is it that we want to grow this year? In this show we cover: * Using Creativity in Our Learning, Personal and Social Landscapes * Being in Relation and Adapting to Change * 2 Recommended Books * Learning Activity to Foster and Strengthen Community Collaboration If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate and be educated. You are not alone. Let’s co-create a new story that can transform the future. #pk_mc_wrapper { padding: 30px 35px; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; border-radius: 2px; color: #333; margin: 0 auto; background: #f6f4f5; box-shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1) } .pk_mc_text { text-align: left; } #pk_mc_form { width: 100%; positi...

We may start with a story that helps us see the connections between and understand the why behind the “typical” Easter activities for kids involving bunny and colored eggs, but then we roll into an interview with Karl Treen about the Food Forest card game. This game looks to be a fun way to learn and teach about companion planting, edible landscapes and basic food forest principles. We’ve been talking in our recent podcasts about how the idea of “All in Relation” can feel like a big, abstract idea especially when we want to share this with our children. Here is yet another tool that might resonate with you and your children. The Food Forest playing cards began as an educational experiment with lower elementary children to bring a food forest into the Montessori school of Karl Treen’s son based on the principles of permaculture. He needed an easy way to teach the connections between plants, insects and animals. As he looked around the classroom and saw how Montessori teaching tools often resemble toys, he used that as inspiration for the food forest card game. Low and behold, it turns out that kids, especially ages six and older, love the cards. It seems that young brains are especially receptive to game-based learning. Much like a standard deck of playing cards, this deck can be used to play any number of card games. There are also advanced games for adults who are interested in designing their own food forest gardens and he has even started designing poker-style games. Listen to learn more or head over to Food Forest Card Game Kickstarter to support this project. In this show we cover: * All in Relation * Making connections… fun information and story about how and why we have an Easter bunny who brings colored eggs to children as part of the “typical” Easter celebration for kids * Community Forklift Garden Party * Food forest card game with Karl Treen If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate and be educated. You are not alone. Let’s co-create a new story that can transform the future. #pk_mc_wrapper { padding: 30px 35px; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; border-radius: 2px; color: #333; margin: 0 auto; background: #f6f4f5; box-shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1) } .pk_mc_text { text-align: left; } #pk_mc_form { width: 100%; position: relative; } #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { display: inline; float: left; width: calc((100% - 104px - 36px) / 2); background: white; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 10px; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { margin-top: -5px; margin-left: 5px; } #pk_mc_wait { display: none; width: 16px; position: absolute; bottom: 18px; right: 130px; } @media (max-width: 500px) { #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { width: 48%; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 4%; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { width: 100%; margin-top: 15px; margin-left: 0; } } ...

In the last podcast I said I would bring into our consciousness a variety of educational ideas about how to engage children in conversation about All in Relation. We want to model and support children to see, hear, smell, taste and touch their way into this big idea through a variety of activities. All in Relation can feel like a big, abstract idea, especially when talking about it philosophically, so how can we help children start to look at themselves, others and the world through this lens? One of the fundamental premises of All in Relation as an ethic is understanding how seeming unrelated things have a relationship. Today I share a math lesson titled This is Like That from the book Socks Are Like Pants, Cats Are Like Dogs: Games, Puzzles, and Activities for Choosing, Identifying, and Sorting Math by Malke Posenfeld and Gordon Hamilton (CC-BY-NC-SA). Ever think algebra might be a learning tool for All in Relation? With this resource it can be a way to show this and so much more. This book inspires families and groups to play, solve, talk, and make math-together. The book is filled with a diverse collection of math games, puzzles, and activities exploring the mathematics of choosing, identifying and sorting. Ready for some hands-on, minds-on learning activities that will inspire deeper connections? Play math today and let inspiration grow! In this show we cover: * Why and how to help children explore All in Relation * Resource: Socks Are Like Pants, Cats Are Like Dogs * This is Like That math lesson plan * Creative ideas to extend and enrich the original lesson If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate, and be educated. You are not alone. Let’s co-create a new story that can transform the future. #pk_mc_wrapper { padding: 30px 35px; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; border-radius: 2px; color: #333; margin: 0 auto; background: #f6f4f5; box-shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1) } .pk_mc_text { text-align: left; } #pk_mc_form { width: 100%; position: relative; } #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { display: inline; float: left; width: calc((100% - 104px - 36px) / 2); background: white; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 10px; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { margin-top: -5px; margin-left: 5px; } #pk_mc_wait { display: none; width: 16px; position: absolute; bottom: 18px; right: 130px; } @media (max-width: 500px) { #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { width: 48%; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 4%; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { width: 100%; margin-top: 15px; margin-left: 0; } } Join Our Email List and Let Inspiration Grow jQuery( document ).ready( function ( $ ) { $( '#pk_mc_form' ).submit( function ( e ) { e.

Permaculture has the opportunity to become more than what it is. However, if the framework of permaculture is going to become an opportunity to really impact the future, we must re-think, re-design and re-frame it to address the causes of the challenges we face. This means it is more than a mechanism to address the environmental issue driving the media of today. It also means it needs to be more than a way for people to connect with people. All is Related. What does All in Relation mean and look like in the learning landscape? It means questions, educational relationships, subjects, skills, ways of learning, previous knowledge, personal interests and reflection are patterned into a sturdy, integrated framework much like snapping together Legos. When we honor “All in Relation” as not just a principle, but as an ethic we use the edges and value the marginal in the learning landscape we ignite an intrinsic desire to reciprocate, extend and add to the “edges” of learning and life. Integrating the ethic All in Relation draws us into the action of creating relationships and connections as the start of and connecting thread that will continue throughout the process of transformation. In emergent design there is, as Dr. David Blumenkrantz calls it, an “Initiatory Constellation” which includes the individual, family, community, ancestors, spirit, nature and Universe. Talk about “edges” – wow! We are in relationship, a reciprocal relationship, with all things. Valuing and ethically using natural resources is not enough. We must use whole systems thinking to honor and design based on natural relationships. By understanding how things are interconnected we can more fully live in relationship with the wonders of the world around us. Natural relationships are the threads that connect us to our past, help us live more mindfully in the present and will help shape the world for our children and our children’s children for generations to come. In this show we cover: * All in Relation * Using the Edges and Valuing the Marginal * Being in Relation with the Edge * Elongating Edges If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate, and be educated. You are not alone. Let’s co-create a new story that can transform the future. References and Resources See larger image The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination (A Poetry Speaks Experience) (Hardcover) List Price: $19.99 USD New From: $8.45 USD In Stock Used from: $0.01 USD In Stock

Today we are going to talk about connection, being in relation, building bridges. Specifically I want to talk about bringing diversity of connections into our lives in order to build the bridges necessary for us and our children to make the jump from “the story” we are currently living in within the educational and societal systems of today to that which we imagine and deep down know we can help create. I also want to talk about how to build these connections from a small and slow mindset that goes beyond just thinking. I have often used the term “whole systems thinking” or “whole systems design” when talking with both those familiar with permaculture and those who aren’t because the idea of systems thinking has a broader appeal and understanding without extracting the beautiful and natural complexity of all in relation. However, in both the realm of learning or education and in the practicum of applying permaculture to our gardens, farms and physical landscapes we often remain in our comfort zone where we may push the current paradigms of today in our thinking, but changing our philosophical thinking is not enough. When we experience a shift in our thinking, it is usually followed by a shift in feelings. Our ideas and view of the world is connected to our feelings. In the case of permaculture where people are finding a closer connection to Earth this can often lead to difficult feelings like fear, emptiness, anger and sadness. One might think that a shift in thinking and feeling is enough to change our behavior, but for human beings in mass it is not, which I will talk about in future podcasts. We don’t just go from ideas to feelings and feelings to behavior, or at least the type of dramatic, lasting changes in behavior we are talking about. We are missing a critical component to all of this which is analysis, evaluation and synthesis of our ethics, values and beliefs. It is a shift in these that provides the foundation for lasting change in our behavior. In this show we cover: * Use and Value Diversity of Connections * 3 Dimensions of The Great Turning by Joanna Macy * Integrating Diversity into the Learning Landscape * How We Can Move Forward Together If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate, and be educated. You are not alone. Let’s co-create a new story that can transform the future. References and Resources The Great Turning Institute of Permaculture Education for Children (IPEC) See larger image The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination (A Poetry Speaks Experience) (Hardcover) List Price:

Emma Moulton Huvos joins us on the PERMIE KIDs Podcast today to talk about her story and journey to live a more authentic life and become a catalyst in making a change in the world. Emma is a certified teacher and permaculture designer, as well as the fourth generation of her family to live at Riverside. She decided to leave a comfortable teaching job working in the city to move back onto this rural 80 acre property on the banks of the Shenandoah River in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. This was the start of The Riverside Project, a collaborative learning experience rooted in the simple desire to live better. Now, guided by permaculture ethics and principles, she and others working with and supporting her are working to deepen their connection to themselves, their community and the natural environment. The goal is to co-create with the community a space for collaboration and change. One of the upcoming events that The Riverside Project will host is the Mid-Atlantic Permaculture Convergence. In this show we cover: * Twists and turns in Emma Moulton Huvos’s journey * The Riverside Project * Mid-Atlantic Permaculture Convergence If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” join our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member and join a group of people from across the world who are working together to change consciousness about what it means to learn, educate, and be educated. You are not alone. Let’s co-create a new story that can transform the future. #pk_mc_wrapper { padding: 30px 35px; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; border-radius: 2px; color: #333; margin: 0 auto; background: #f6f4f5; box-shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1) } .pk_mc_text { text-align: left; } #pk_mc_form { width: 100%; position: relative; } #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { display: inline; float: left; width: calc((100% - 104px - 36px) / 2); background: white; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 10px; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { margin-top: -5px; margin-left: 5px; } #pk_mc_wait { display: none; width: 16px; position: absolute; bottom: 18px; right: 130px; } @media (max-width: 500px) { #pk_mc_name, #pk_mc_email { width: 48%; } #pk_mc_email { margin-left: 4%; } #pk_mc_form input[type="submit"] { width: 100%; margin-top: 15px; margin-left: 0; } } Want to know more? jQuery( document ).ready( function ( $ ) { $( '#pk_mc_form' ).submit( function ( e ) { e.preventDefault(); $( '#pk_mc_wait' ).show(); $( '#pk_mc_subscribe' ).attr( 'disabled', 'disabled' ); var data = { action: 'pk_mc_receive_list_request', email: $( '#pk_mc_email' ).val(), list_id: $( '#list_id' ).val() }; $.post( ajaxurl, data, function ( response ) { console.log( response ); response = $.parseJSON( response ); $( '#pk_mc_wait' ).hide(); var subscribe = $( "#pk_mc_subscribe" ); subscribe.removeAttr( "disabled" ); if ( response['code'] == 3 || response['code'] == 4 ) { subscribe.val( " Error " ) } else { subscribe.val( " Success " ); } } ); } ); } );

Warning: You are moving into another dimension – a dimension of place, a dimension of time, and a dimension of space. You’re moving into a landscape of both science and art, of things and ideas. The story you are about to read is true. You’re now crossing over into the Learning Landscapes zone… In the PERMIE KIDs Podcast today I share some thoughts from the latest in a monthly column I write called Learning Landscapes: Apples and Their Many By Product Uses for an organization called Hilltown Families. Hilltown Families is an online grassroots communication network creating resilient and sustainable communities by developing and strengthening a sense of place in our children through community based education and engagement. In addition to this fun, playful way of thinking about producing no waste, I share two other autumn activities that many kids will love. In fact, I’m looking to integrate these ideas into a Green Friday kids corner that I am doing in partnership with Community Forklift in DC… giving alternatives to the typical “Black Friday” holiday shopping events by providing access to local, education and “up-use” holiday gift ideas based resources already at our fingertips. If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” consider joining our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member. Together we can change our consciousness about what it means to learn, educate, and be educated. It is then that we can co-create a new story together with our children that can transform the future. You have knowledge, skills, and experiences right now that are of value. If you have gifts and passions that you want to share through a work-share-learn exchange, that is not only welcomed but encouraged. Together, we can network and support each other in our individual and community journeys. Become part of a community that seeks to use our greatest resource – education – to nourish life. In this show we cover: * Green Friday * Autumn Activities: Leaf Roses and Corn Husk Dolls * Learning Landscapes column and Hilltown Families * Autumn Activities that Produce No Waste References and Additional Resources Learning Landscapes: Apples and Their Many By Product Uses Corn Husk Doll Edge Alliance Opportunities It is never too late to join our Edge Alliance discussions! What’s Home? Outdoor Place-Based Nature Study – In this Edge Alliance series led by Lisa Kohlhepp we will focus on seasonal and personal exploration and inquiry to help children connect with their place and time. This series takes place the second Sunday each month from 8:00-9:00 p.m. (EST). Click here to register for a season or the entire series. Connecting with the Natural Wonderment of the World Using the Visual Arts as a Tool – Lorina Harris guides us through an exploration of how we can help children of all ages connect with and observe the world around them more deeply. This series takes place every other Tuesday from 7:30-8:30 p.m. (EST). Click here to register for a season or the entire series.

Basic needs: food, water, shelter… and storytelling? What if I were to propose that perhaps, just perhaps what we need most is a compelling story? If you want to spark curiosity, conversation and perhaps influence people to embrace particular values in their daily lives, tell a compelling story. It is through stories that natural relationships are revealed and shared and it is through stories that inspiration grows. If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” consider joining our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member. Together we can change our consciousness about what it means to learn, educate, and be educated. It is then that we can co-create a new story together with our children that can transform the future. You have knowledge, skills, and experiences right now that are of value. If you have gifts and passions that you want to share through a work-share-learn exchange, that is not only welcomed but encouraged. Together, we can network and support each other in our individual and community journeys. Become part of a community that seeks to use our greatest resource – education – to nourish life. In this show we cover: * Story of the sandwich * Of men and fruit flies? * 3 secrets of storytelling * Designing education from patterns down to details * Integrate rather segregate * Art, science and wisdom of storytelling in the learning landscape and beyond References and Additional Resources PERMIE KIDs Podcast 242 – Power of Analogical Reasoning PERMIE KIDs Podcast 249 – Power of Analogical Reasoning Part 2 PERMIE KIDs Podcast 150 – How Can Music be Used to Develop Connections with Community? PERMIE KIDs Podcast 300 – Power of Storytelling vs. Story Reading Your Brain on Fiction Secrets of Storytelling This is Your Brain on Metaphors The Science of Storytelling Thank you spisharam for the featured image titled My garden in a droplet (CC-BY-SA 2.0) Edge Alliance Opportunities It is never too late to join our Edge Alliance discussions! What’s Home? Outdoor Place-Based Nature Study – In this Edge Alliance series led by Lisa Kohlhepp we will focus on seasonal and personal exploration and inquiry to help children connect with their place and time. This series will take place the second Sunday each month from 8:00-9:00 p.m. (EST). Click

Lisa Kohlhepp led the first Edge Alliance in a series to help us focus on seasonal exploration and inquiry to help children connect with their place and time (through the eyes of Mother Earth). Our Edge Alliances are not your typical webinar. They are online collaborative experiences where we can come together to learn from and with one another. This series led by Lisa takes place the second Sunday each month from 8:00-9:00 p.m. (EST) from September 2015 to May 2016. In this show we cover: * Introduction to Lisa Kohlhepp * Edge Alliance: Welcome home balance It’s never too late to join us live for the future Edge Alliances. Today on the PERMIE KIDs Podcast you will hear the first Edge Alliance on What is Home with Lisa. We began with giving thanks to all edges of ecology with an Iroquois Nation Thanksgiving: People, earth, waters, plants, animals, trees, birds, wind and clouds, moon, sun and stars, the spirit of the four directions, the ancestors and the spirit that moves through all things. Lisa then led us through a mindfulness moment with a five finger breath break, which might be a great activity for you to share with your children. Lisa helped us start to explore what is home to the animals? Plants? How does this help us get back in touch with our own home? Home is more than just a place or idea. It is the center and hearth of familiar people and places. Is it perhaps something instinctive? As both hemispheres are coming into equal day and night lengths, we talked about how we can balance ourselves before being introduced to some of the work of David Sobel and place-based education including the 7 motifs and how these will be integrated into the ongoing series: * Making forts and special places * Playing hunting and gathering games * Shaping small worlds * Developing friendships with animals * Constructing adventures * Descending into fantasies * Following paths and figuring out short cuts Upcoming Edge Alliances in this Series: October 11 – Wild Child & Home November 8 – Homegrown Family December 13 – The Neighborhood Tribe January 10, 2016 – Free Play February 14 – Our Community Connection March 13 – Globally Together April 10 – Creative Integration May 8 – Celebrating Home Sweet Home If you want to know more and be notified when new podcasts and learning opportunities are available please join our email list using the form below. Inspiration grows! If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” consider joining our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member. Together we can change our consciousness about what it means to learn, educate, and be educated. It is then that we can co-create a new story together with our children that can transform the future. If this topic is of interest, join the Edge Alliances that are taking place on place-based nature exploration with young children. By the way, joining the Edge Alliances is one of the benefits included in Guild Membership. You have knowledge, skills, and experiences right now that are of value. If you have gifts and passions that you want to share through a work-share-learn exchange, that is not only welcomed but encouraged. Together, we can network and support each other in our individual and community journeys. Become part of a community that seeks to use our greatest resource – education – to nourish life.

I recently attended the Institute of Permaculture Education for Children (IPEC) advanced educator course course. The IPEC advanced course is designed for parents, teachers and mentors of children ranging in age from early childhood to high school who desire to delve more deeply into implicit and explicit permaculture design techniques that can be applied programmatically in formal and informal educational settings. In the course we navigated a design of educational reform using avenues such as Theater of the Oppressed, Core Routines for Deep Nature Connection and Traditional Skill Building in order to build PC into your curriculum and school community. This course has been designed to unpack social and logistical memes that have disconnected education from real life. By applying permaculture design methods both implicitly and explicitly, we were invited to dislodge limitations and liberate ourselves as educators. This course was primarily interactive and invites participants into traditional skill-building and active contemplation of how relationships inform one's capacity for learning. If you want to know more and be notified when new podcasts and learning opportunities are available please join our email list using the form below. Inspiration grows! If you enjoy this podcast and think to yourself, “Yeah, I’d be interested in buying Jen a cup of coffee while hanging out talking about issues like this,” consider joining our community. For about the price of a cup of coffee, you can become a member. Together we can change our consciousness about what it means to learn, educate, and be educated. It is then that we can co-create a new story together with our children that can transform the future. If this topic is of interest, join the Edge Alliances that are taking place on place-based nature exploration with young children. Join us for our Edge Alliances any time... it's never too late. By the way, joining the Edge Alliances is one of the benefits included in Guild Membership. You have knowledge, skills, and experiences right now that are of value. If you have gifts and passions that you want to share through a work-share-learn exchange, that is not only welcomed but encouraged. Together, we can network and support each other in our individual and community journeys. Become part of a community that seeks to use our greatest resource – education – to nourish life. In this show I cover: * Institute of Permaculture Education for Children (IPEC) advanced permaculture educator course * Welcoming and structure * Embedded educational metaphors in the course * Whole group reflections * Songs * Examples of course discussions on wilderness skills like tracking * Grief and gratitude References and Additional Resources IPEC Changing Consciousness Electronic Campfires The electronic campfires are for those working with tweens and young teenagers. This experience is part of the benefits provided for no cost for PERMIE KIDs Guild Members.