An Attitude of Gratitude with the Woods Primes

“When you are grateful, you act out of a sense of enough and not out of a sense of scarcity, and you are willing to share. If you are grateful, you are enjoying the differences between people, and respectful to all people. The grateful world is a world of joyful people.” 

-Dalai Lama XIV, The Book of Joy

The forest is a bustle of activity these days and the Woods Primes appreciate any opportunity to slow down and just BE with one another in community. One of our morning meeting rituals is for a child to lead us in a breathing technique. Similar to the bubble breathing that we do in All School, but the Woods Primes know so many more! Each day a different child is chosen at random and offered a turn to lead the class in this. We have a long and growing list of breathing exercises that were both taught and made up by the children. If you want to learn a new breathing technique just ask a Woods Prime, but be warned it might make you feel really relaxed and calm! 

We have a system for keeping track of who’s turn it is so that anyone who wants a turn can have one. Later in the day during our lunchtime meeting, this child also has an option to choose from a list of lunchtime ‘blessings,’ these are non-denominational short poems and songs that express gratitude for food, water and life. Again this is a growing list of poems / songs that we have found and introduced and also ones that the children have written or learned about themselves. We recite this together while we are eating and I encourage you to ask a Woods Prime to tell you their favorite one!

Once everyone in the class was offered a turn participating in this routine, we asked the children why they thought we did this ritual of giving thanks? Here is a snippet of some classroom conversations that followed...

R: To bless the earth with how much it is helping us survive and have food! 

L: Cause it’s not fair if we don’t take care of the plants. If we said the plants were horrible that wouldn’t be fair!

V: It wouldn’t be fair to only give thanks to the people, we want to give thanks to the earth and the plants and the trees. 

N: We give thanks because we’re thankful! 

M: It means like you know to say, like thank you to the plants and animals and trees and Mother Nature and people and all things that make us be alive.

B: I think it means you're thanking the earth for giving you life. 

A: Like I have oatmeal and oatmeal has oats and berries and grows from the ground and the earth.

L: To give thank you to the plants. I mean, they give you food!

V: It’s like saying thank you to everything.

Teacher: Today when I was running the hand washing water and Leo said to me, “thanks for the warm water,” and it felt really good to receive his gratitude. And I thought, wow Leo really slowed down and noticed that some warm water was provided for him to rinse his hands. How does it feel to give thanks? To give and express gratitude?

V: It feels like you’re giving a warm hug and love.

L: Like good and really nice. 

L: It felt pretty good to give thanks for the water! 

R: It makes me feel even better when I don’t forget to give thanks.

Teacher: I feel like it is a big exhale! Like I have a minute to slow down and appreciate. 

B: It feels really good!

Teacher: How do we give thanks? What are the different ways?

S: Sometimes in my family after we take a turn to say what we’re grateful for we say “ashay!” Baba sometimes says “ashay!” to everyone and we always do it before we start eating food. I think ashay means give thanks.

Teacher: Let’s try it! Is there anything you are really grateful for right now?

L: This earth.

R: The molecules cause they make up everything!

A: That I had a chance to draw my Halloween costume and that I can see my art from my spot.

K: Also for the molecules!

V: My family and the life that I have!

C: Papa and Daddy!

M: Every single thing that’s real.

N: For some germs because not all germs are bad!

R: For my friends and the earth that lets us be alive.

L: That my mom works at our school.

R: For taking care of my animals.

N: For everything in the poem. (The poem she is referring to is one that she introduced to the class-  Dear Earth, We thank you for this food. For rest and home and all things good. For wind and rain and sun above, but most of all, for those we love!)

V: That I have a good home, a good house, a good family, and I am really lucky for my daddy and mom!

D: For my toys.

B: For love.

M: That I get food, and my house, and my family!

W: For food. 

P: That me and Oona are in the same class.

Teacher: I feel grateful that everyone is healthy and that we are having an “everyone day”!

A: For everything and my friends.

L: My family. 

R: I feel lucky for a couple things. I feel lucky that my mom is a doctor and that I go to this school, a school that believes in nature and that I have a supportive community.  I have my mom and dad. If someone agrees with you that person is supporting your idea, but you can also just be in someone’s mind when someone is having a hard time, that can be supportive. The earth who creates nature and nature makes everything and molecules. 

A: I’m lucky for all of my huge family!

O: I feel lucky that I have two homes. And for water.

S: For my food and Mother Earth.

A: For the trees because if we didn’t have trees we wouldn’t be able to breathe.

R: To be a part of a community that is outside!

L: For water.

W: For my dog and food and my school.

K: For water and food. 

R: For friends, and we have the earth. 

L:  I’m thankful for molecules too!

F: Agua. 

N: For earth and my community that takes care of nature.

C: For being happy and having fun!

D: For bugs.