This part of the Forum of Ideas is a place where we share letters and informal writings. The work of MEPO and the House of Flowers is about more than just helping others, it is also about our own personal growth. By sharing our discoveries on this path, we support each other.

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POST: Inspired Children in Wisconsin Give of Themselves (a letter from Priscilla Bovee of New World Montessori School,  January 4, 2013)

Dear MEPO,

I heard about you from the Montessori Around the World website, and I immediately wanted to learn more about your wonderful work.

I am the director of a small Montessori school with about 60 children. When I read about the House of Flowers, I told our small (only 13 children) elementary class about it and read some of the information from your website. They were very compassionate, as children are, and they spontaneously came up with a fundraising idea. They made a large poster with photos and information about the House of Flowers. They displayed the  poster where all our families could see it. The next day the children brought in home made bakery (including some fabulous-tasting black bean brownies), which we offered with apple cider as we showed people the poster, We did not sell the items, but we asked for free will donations. The response and support was wonderful, and the $250 in donations was accumulated in just a couple of hours! We still have the poster in our main hallway, including samples of the native languages.

Interest in the House of Flowers is leading to other fascinating areas of study. (I love how this happens in a Montessori classroom!) One of our parents can read the native languages of Afghanistan, and she hopes to come into the classroom to talk to the children about their alphabet, writing right to left, and the culture of the region.

I wish you every good fortune in the year ahead!

Kind regards,

Priscilla Bovee

Director

New World Montessori School   (www.new-world-montessori.org)

River Hills, WI       

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From Lakota Wisdom: “In the circle we are all equal. There is no one in front of you and there is nobody behind you, and no one is above you. The circle is sacred because it is designed to create unity.”  I hope our circle of love and friendship will flow in years to come, so we can hold our hands and hearts together to help enrich people’s lives in every way we can.   (from Lida Ghaemi,  November 9, 2012)

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Functional Idealism (by Mostafa Vaziri, 2003)