This newsletter is my gift to you in the hopes of creating a worldwide chain of people who are committed to empowering children by honoring and nourishing their inner lives.

Pass it along to others who would like to join us.

"We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’m listening to the boisterous giggles, squeals, singing, and shouts of a gaggle of girls celebrating the last day of fifth grade in our backyard. Pizza, make your own sundaes, and backyard play is the order of the afternoon. They are leaping, running, playing hide and go seek, and spontaneously hugging each other. This is indeed a joy-full day.

The end of a school year is a big milestone for kids. I encourage you to mark it in a special way. Honoring the transitions in our children’s lives nurtures their spirits. When we pause to celebrate our children’s passages we show them how important they are to us, we bring ourselves to this day, this event, and this transition.

I picked my daughter and her friends up from school today with such excitement – I vividly recall that throw off the heavy cloak of school feeling—don’t you? A few parents looked at me oddly as I rolled down the car windows and blasted the horn, but the girls squealed right along with me.

Here are some ideas you might use to mark the end of school:

*Take time to write a note to your child’s teacher, bus driver, librarian, or mentor to thank them for the energy, effort and encouragement they provided your child with this school year.

*Ask your child to write a letter to someone who has sparked him in some way. Sure he might grumble and say it’s weird and no one else writes notes to teachers, but stand firm. Help him brainstorm SOMEONE who has gone the extra mile and then help him to articulate a sentiment of thanks on paper.

*Create an end of the school year tradition with your kids. Go out for ice cream, have a special family dinner, give them a gift certificate from the local bookstore, or take the day off from work and surprise them at school with a car full of balloons.

*Talk about what your child would like to release from the year – an unpleasant experience, mistakes, regrets. You might even encourage her to write these things on a piece of paper and then bury it in the backyard. Whew…she can let it go and move on into the summer – unencumbered.

*Discuss upcoming events that lie ahead these warm relaxing months. Make sure to weave open-ended free time into your summer calendar. Support your child as he pursues his hobbies. Does he have a hobby? The school year is full of achievement-oriented duties so make sure to downshift into other more soulful interests this summer. Pick up the book, “Rocks in His Head” by Carol Otis Hurst, Greenwillow Books, to read to children of all ages. This sweet simple picture book illustrates how our natural interests and hobbies, if pursued, ultimately become our passion and when we are following our passion we will be successful and happy no matter what others say.

*Marking the end of school is a great way to give your child a sense of completion. Graduates often throw their caps into the air. Is there some tangible way your child can let the past year fly? She could fling confetti, a Frisbee, pebbles on the pond, balled up old homework into the trash.

*Make your child a custom designed diploma on the computer or using your artistic flair. Create it from your heart honoring all the things you are proud of from the passing school year.

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