This morning, the Owls attended their first full Meeting for Worship! Meeting for Worship is the catalyst for which Quakerism is built, because it is a time where people come together and sit in silence for a sustained period of time. For our Lower School, Meeting is a time where (typically) grades K-4th get together in the meetinghouse and share silence. They are encouraged to reflect on actions and happenings in their classroom, in their lives, and within the larger world. Of course, this comes easier for some and more difficult for others, and meeting can either be a very enriching time, or a time to count the windows as many times as they can.
Although this act is not the easiest thing for a preschooler, we were asked to come because today's meeting was an important one, with the theme of light being lifted up so that friends can think about what the light is in their lives. Although none of the Owls shared, we listened to other community members share about their families and their experiences that help bring them light. Our presence was absolutely felt though, because we were so excited to be in the meetinghouse with the rest of Lower School that we had a hard time staying quiet (whoops!).
Each class was also asked to make a board that represents light. We made ours last week by mixing yellow paint powder with shaving cream and letting friends mix it all together on the board.
Other boards looked like this:
The teachers even made one! Can you guess which squares were made by the Owl teachers?
We also received a visit from Wills' family. They read us a story called "The Elf on the Shelf", and the elf visited our classroom!
Wills' family brought sugar cookies that they had made with them, and we got to decorate the cookies! Yum!
