Bonnie's Blog

secrets • sparkles • random connections

bonnie — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:37:46 +0000

Awaiting boarding for the flight home from Denver last night, I had the good fortune to sit next to a young girl and her mother. This child just sparkled. She had just been to her grammy’s house and the best thing she got to do was see Uncle Matthew’s room. She twirled, hopped, plopped on her knees, spread her arms, danced. And she loved to talk. Every time I asked a question or responded to one, she would look me in the eye, as is assessing whether I was for real or not–and then that smile would bloom. She leaned in, “I want to tell you something.: I’m going to home to see my Daddy,” she whispered. We said our goodbyes and I boarded. A few minutes later she was coming down the aisle and when she say me, well it was beautiful. When Roger picked me up, I was sharing my trip and suddenly there she was! We were so happy to see each other and passed more secret messages back and forth. “Can I tell you something,” I asked. She leaned in, “You are enchanting.” She seemed to love the response, but we brought in her Mommy for the explanation. Blessing for that day!

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bathing dogs • banana peels • encounters

bonnie — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:18:57 +0000

Salvatore Vascellaro sent me a copy of his new book OUT OF THE CLASSROOM AND INTO THE WORLD. Just the beginning of my reading has inspired me to act differently. Over the weekend I was with my grandchildren Schon (4) and Jonah (2). We had sunny weather, a new red wagon, and a sense of adventure, so off we went. Our first stop in exploring their new neighborhood was a do-it-yourself dog washing establishment. Who knew?! So I invited us in to watch Toby get a bath. We learned about his skin condition, about how dogs love to shake off water, and the life of Toby’s owner/bather. We engaged people at the playground. Schon, “I really do have a Mommy, but Gramby is just here with Jonah and me.” We sampled the fruit in the store BEFORE purchasing which is definitely a test of the goodwill of the staff at checkout. Nothing like being handed two banana peels to test your mettle! And we had ice cream at 10 AM. We also took the train into the city where we encountered people crafting glass ornaments, chatty people in wheelchairs, people in costumes, people hawking wares and soliciting donations, scruffy people, sophisticated people–people of every description, activity, temperament. It was a full and wonderful weekend of learning about ourselves and others. Thank you, Salvatore, for giving me a boost that compelled me to seek out, interact, take a few risks, and enjoy.

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fishers and poets and Halls

bonnie — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:04:25 +0000

Roger and I were in Astoria on the Oregon Coast and happened upon the Gathering of Fishers and Poets. Music, stories, poetry–all voices of fishers of all kinds–shared the life of the sea. We were challenged to write a poem on the theme “Work Is Our Joy.” Roger and I gave it a go–not having written poetry since the 8th grade. What would you write on this theme? I’d love to hear it.

Work Is Our Joy

Work
listening
learning
connecting
Children
Is
34 years
24/7
forever
Children
Our
partners
teammates
connectors
Children
Joy
belly laughs
eye kisses
bubbling over
cheek to cheek
Children

And we had the great pleasure of dinner with Ellen Hall and son Sam. It’s great to get to know family of dear friends. So many stories in our profession are of family partnerships and working relationships, and it’s grand to see family values and characteristics playing out in other lives and faces. You may well know the power and presence of Ellen–Sam is also a spectacular heart.

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what

bonnie — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:36:39 +0000

I just finished reading What Is the What by Dave Eggers, published as a novel, but a true story. I started reading it then didn’t want to continue. I didn’t want to know in real words what happens in the world–what happened to the Lost Boys of the Sudan. I didn’t want to create in my mind the horrors these children endured, or weren’t able to survive. It’s unbelievable what we allow to happen. Here is, I think, one of the quotes of the book: “…every international body that monitors or provides for the displaced, customarily place their refugees in the least desirable regions on earth. There we become utterly dependent—unable to grow our own food, to tend our own livestock, to live in any sustainable way. I do not judge…, but I do pose the question.” In this man’s story, there are people trying so hard to intervene in a way that matters. But it is clear that good intentions are not enough and taking action is complicated.

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counting

bonnie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:56:49 +0000

There is a short piece in Time, January 30, 2012, that talks about the slow response of the international community to “last year’s brutal famine in the Horn of Africa” and the subsequent deaths of as many as 100,000 people, mostly in Somalia. The report goes on to say that “over half the fatalities are likely to have been malnourished children.” It just struck me that there wasn’t an exact number of those children, that they weren’t counted, that they were summed up in an approximation. Each and every one of those children, every child, must count. We are responsible because each child matters.

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snow • cousins • 65 • Dimensions

bonnie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:03:37 +0000

January seems to have taken on a life of it’s own and here comes February. We had snow–lots of it–that closed our offices and made little things big. Roger and I did our first grandparent trip, taking Schon to visit Zachary and Caroline in DC–now that was fun. Roger turned 65 with love all around him. Kirsten Haugen and Christa Griest were at the office to move Global Leaders and World Forum Working Groups forward.

And then I flew to Lincoln, NE, for meetings with Nancy Rosenow and her Dimensions team. Lots of brainstorming and thinking and good times later, I left feeling supported and energized by the many ways we collaborate, both on Exchange and the World Forum. Here are some photo highlights for you to enjoy.

Ken, Stacy, Me, Nancy, Julie, Tara

Chris, Tina, Nancy

Tara, Me, Stacy, Nancy, John

At World Forum Office: Christa, Kirsten, Roger, Jennifer

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noticers

bonnie — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:45:38 +0000

This morning I received a typical message from Amazon. This one was promoting a new book by Andy Andrews. It wasn’t the book or Andy that caught my attention; rather this phrase: “Andy Andrews is first and foremost a Noticer.” It set my mind to thinking about all the emphasis we in early childhood education place on observation, but I’ve never heard anyone speak about being a “noticer.” We are very skilled noticers who have trained ourselves to act when we notice something. We turn noticing into observing and observing into learning and seeking understanding. Noticing by itself is only the beginning. The words we choose to define ourselves and our work make a difference in setting up frameworks for thinking.

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pathways • technology

bonnie — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:52:29 +0000

We have had kind of a tech summit at World Forum headquarters the last two days with team members Josh, Jennifer, Scott and team members in town for the meeting, Kirsten and Christa. It’s exciting to see all the possibilities for connecting and communicating that technology offers collaborative global work such as ours. It’s overwhelming to make the necessary choices and choose a pathway that honors and enables our mission. We talked quite a bit about how hard it is to create new habits–that’s true whatever we are talking about from making wise food choices to learning new ways technology skills. It’s hard for everyone, but technology habits are especially difficult to change for those of us who understand it only so much as we use it. I looked around the room at all the eager young faces and felt safe and confident as they guide us forward–because they know, but they also listen.

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pride • courage

bonnie — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:26:41 +0000

Roger and I visited MacDonald Montessori School in St. Paul, Minnesota last week.

It’s a great school. As we visited each classroom, every teacher wanted to meet us and share their work. There was such energy–you could feel it. Each child and adult and everyone together had purpose and ownership. The walls were filled with invitations to learn about their work, and it was difficult to pass by without engaging in each piece of documentation and display. They have the courage to be unique, to invest in intensive study of two approaches to being with children, and then to create their very own work. It was a truly wonderful day.

I would be interested to know what you think makes a school great . . .

Roger and Beth MacDonald

Beth with son Aaron

And speaking of pride…while in St. Paul, we had the honor and pleasure of meeting Nancy and John Rosenow’s son Matt and his wife Chris and new baby Sylvie.

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highlights 70

bonnie — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:04:49 +0000

The focus of our holiday celebrations was the 70th anniversary party for Clara and Hal, Roger’s parents. They are grateful for the blessings of sharing life for such a long time, for health, for each other. We have much to learn from them, and as a family we will be sharing those lessons in my Speaking column for Exchange magazine, March. One special evening when all was quiet and calm, we asked them about what they wanted to teach us. It was an intimate evening of reflective conversation and sharp wit. I could wish to have such an evening when Roger and I celebrate 70 years.

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