Tree & Me Resources!

A book called My Tree and Me

and A song too!

Here is the TREE VOICE of a poem by Maya Angelou
Here she is reading the whole poem:  On the Pulse of the Morning

Today, the first and last of every Tree  Speaks to humankind. 

Come to me,

here beside the River.

Plant yourself

beside me,

here beside the River....

Here,

root yourselves 

beside me….

I am the Tree

planted by the River,

Which will not be moved...

(This refers to an activist song.

Link here to connect to an old folk song of freedom activism)

Lift up your faces, 

you have a piercing need

For this bright morning 

dawning for you….

Lift up your eyes 

uponThe day 

breaking for you.

Give birth again

To the dream….

Lift up your hearts

Each new hour 

holds new chances

For new beginnings...

The horizon leans forward,

Offering you space to place new steps of change...

Here, on the pulse of this fine day

You may have the courage

To look up and out upon me, the

Rock, the River, the Tree, 

your country….

Here on the pulse of this new day

You may have the grace to look up and out

And into your sister's eyes, into

Your brother's face, your country

And say simply

Very simply

With hope

Good morning.

VIRTUAL YEE GATHERINGS for FAMILIES: SUNDAYS at 11am

Please RSVP to join this group by sending an email to the program organizer, Audrey, at YoungEthicalExplorers@gmail.com. 

Newcomers are welcome.

     GROUP: NYSEC'S Young Ethical Explorers
     Time: Sundays at 11:00 AM Eastern Time
     Join Zoom Meeting
     https://zoom.us/j/265436750
     Meeting ID: 265 436 750

For Sunday April 5th, 11am 
You may bring:  
A Paper towel roll, 
an extra paper, 
scraps of string (roots) 
and paper scraps (blossoms)
and scissors & glue


We'll make tree puppet with RRR materials --
which you can use in the daily:
PUPPET SHOW of BREATH
(otherwise known as meditation!)

A suggested script for THE PUPPET SHOW OF BREATH:

"Thank you tree... for air I breathe in!" 
                                             (oxygen!)
"Here is a gift you will like, dear Tree (blow)... air I breathe out!" 
                                                                            (carbon dioxide!)

And here is a lovely song for your tree puppets to dance to!
My Roots Go Down, down to the Earth... 

Here is the same song sung by kids with MOVEMENT! 

We'll name our tree puppets.

In the Comment section, you can tell us the name of your tree!

On April 5th, also plan to come at 1:30 to our FIRST SUNDAYS FESTIVAL:
TREE & ME FEST 
to learn a little bit about a great TREE HERO, follow the links below.
Here are two wonderful age-appropriate stories about Wangari Maathai! 

Click HERE for a story about her: The Tiny Seed! 
AND 
Click HERE for another story about her! Same message, on a different day! 

FIRST SUNDAYS GOES VIRTUAL: 1:30, ZOOM, RSVP

ALL are WELCOME
to FIRST SUNDAYS
To attend, via ETHICAL's virtual ZOOM, please RSVP.

THE NEXT SESSION OF FIRST SUNDAYS IS MAY3rd, 1:30pm

We will be with special author

JR Becker

who is sharing his new book with us!!!

THE WORLD WAS MADE FOR ME

This playful, thought-provoking tale explores life’s evolution
through the five mass extinctions.
Readers will swim with the Earth’s first microbes,
burrow underground just in time to escape the dinosaur’s fiery fate,
and repeatedly laugh as each sole survivor foolishly boasts how
“This world was made for me!”
More importantly, readers will gain a deep appreciation
for our small, yet special place on the fragile blue planet
we call home.

VIRTUAL ZOOM GATHERING

for ETHICAL YEE's 

FIRST SUNDAY EVENT:  

"Tree & Me" Fest

ALL ARE WELCOME

April 5, 2020 

1:30 PM Eastern Time 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/712950928

Meeting ID: 712 950 928

Celebrating the oyamel fir trees of Mexico

(Abies religiosa), upon which the MARIPOSA are awakening for their northern migration from Mexico!

DEED: Plant Milk Weed Beds, which Monarchs need on their northern migration! 

Honoring the life of Tree Heros! Wangari Maathai is the "mother" of our festival, for it is her birthday that governs our festival date.

As we make connections between Monarch lives and Trees, 

we also honor the work of two passionate slain defenders 

of the monarch butterfly reserves in Mexico

Homero Gómez González 

& 

Raúl Hernández Romero 

Boredom.... the Doldrums...

Boredom is a restless sludgy lethargic feeling.
An empty nothingness.

Do you ever feel bored?
What is boredom?
How do you face boredom?
What does it feel like?
How do you help yourself?


The Doldrums ~ This is a fancy word for what some call BOREDOM.
It is the place where the wind stops completely.
Nothing moves.

When the sea-faring sailors of olden days met the doldrums in the middle of an ocean, they panicked since there was no way to advance without the help of the wind. 

But PEOPLE in the doldrums DO HAVE WIND! 

BREATHING ON PURPOSE is our way OUT OF THE DOLDRUMS!

BOP your way out of boredom, if you find yourself there.
Ancient friends call this meditation. Let's keep it casual with BOP!



Once you BOP, you can find some MOVEMENT in your SELF -- you can move and dance and play -- and that my dears, is the way out of the personal doldrums.

Here is what one clever author did to respond to the plight of childhood boredom -- he wrote a fun book with an imaginary landscape (embedded with literary puns and secret learning !!! don't tell !!! )

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster.

Here's a link to chapter one to get you going.
This fine reader from Reading Rescue will read the whole book to you on You Tube, chapter by chapter, day by day, if you want her to.