A Kindergarten Query for the beginning of the school year

Query writing: We took on a large job in kindergarten and wrote the first Query of the school year. 

A query is a Quaker kind of a question. It gives us something to think about and use as a tool to help us find ways we might grow, help each other, or help our community. 

How do we do this with 5 and 6 year olds? It begins with careful (almost radical) listening. As the children share ideas about our classroom, play with each other, work to solve differences, and manage our busy days, I listen and study and watch. I'm listening for "the thing" or a "thread." I am seeking the idea that pops up and seems to linger in our midst.

As we went about our learning, I noticed some interesting and beautiful ideas that felt like the beginning of a query. The excitement of the new year and all the newness of our classroom provided some joyful highs while also creating bumps along our path. My students are kind (an abundance of "please" and "thank you"), they are willing to include a new friend, and are happily sharing their individual ideas. Even so, we had some friends who did not feel "at home" in the classroom or within the group. We talked about how important it is to feel like you belong, to feel that you have a place in our classroom family. This sparked some ideas.

I wrote their ideas on the white board as we brainstormed ways to make the belonging happen. We can be respectful. We can make others feel happy. We can befriend others. We can play. (Absolutely!) 

We revisited our list day after day and added to it. One morning, I blended our ideas together as a question. I posed the question to the class as a Query and it was widely accepted. Some of the children made small suggestions abound words choices - is "everyone" better than "everybody?" We settled on a good draft. And that is how the Marigolds and Dandelions (my kindergarten class) wrote the first Lower School Query of 2025!

Query for September 9/9/25

How can we make sure everyone in our community feels that they belong? 

Marigolds & Dandelions )

Note about queries: Classes and groups of children/adults will write queries for the community throughout the year at my school. During this process, the children share their thinking through brainstorming, connecting, being inspired by each other’s ideas, and (in our case) allowing me to sum up, rephrase, and offer some vocabulary advice. Each class has their own process, however there are many similarities, varying by age and developmental phases.

I am proud of my Marigolds & Dandelions and their big ideas!

Meeting for Worship

Robert Smith describes in The Quaker Book of Wisdom:

 “Friends believe that each individual has access to God through the powerful illumination of the light within, they worship in silence, joined in waiting for God to speak to them directly…” 

This week my kindergarteners and I shared our first Meeting for Worship together. We learned that Meeting for Worship is a time for silence, for waiting, for listening to our still small voices for any messages, and for reflection. 

Meeting for Worship is a part of our school curriculum. We believe in its important contribution to the school community. We teach and practice ways to use moments of silence effectively. Our youngest learners begin this spiritual journey at Sidwell Friends School by learning how to be silent. What does it mean to be silent? What does it mean to be quiet? Are they the same? As we grow and learn, we add to our Meeting for Worship toolkit - lessons on speaking into the silence (discernment), radical listening to messages, and ways to listen more deeply to our still small voice.

Children and Grown ups enter the space and gather around a central table.  No one leads the group in ceremony.  Quakers believe people can guide themselves toward their own truth, and that silence is the context in which this process can occur.  A first-time observer of an adult Quaker Meeting for Worship might say, “Nothing is happening.  They just sit there.”  Likewise, a visitor to an elementary school Meeting for Worship might say, “The children are wiggling. They can’t possibly be getting anything out of this.”  We're on a journey. It's a long, thoughtful, challenge-filled journey. There are bumps and there are slides. We are learning about ourselves, our community, and striving for growth. It's a practice.

At our school Meetings for Worship, there is always a centering table with three elements on top:

- a plant or flower to connect us to nature, 

- a collection of rocks with various messages to remind us that we are waiting and listening for a message (a thought or idea to help us grow and learn), 

- a candle to show that we each have a beautiful and unique Inner Light. 

One morning each week, our entire Lower School is engaged in Meeting for Worship for a period of about twenty minutes.  During this time, the teachers or a designated student will read the monthly query. Queries are open-ended questions which are stated simply and have many possible answers.  Classes take turns carefully formulating a query each month for the entire school to consider and reflect upon.  Sometimes the teacher may choose to read a story or poem to their class before or during the silence in order to give the children an idea to focus on.  But the silence is cherished for its own power.

In addition to the weekly Meeting for Worship, each class begins each day with a period of silence.  During these times teachers help children become comfortable with silence and encourage them to make good use of it.  Simply establishing silence for a few moments is quite a powerful accomplishment for any class of 4 -10 year olds.  

The Meeting for Worship ends when a previously selected member of the group (Meeting for Worship clerks) turns to a neighbor and shakes their hand.

Meeting for Worship is a time for listening to that still small voice for vocal ministry. Quakers are waiting for messages from God that might give the Meeting something to learn or grow from. What aspect of your faith identity might be your still small voice? We hold a long silence between messages to give them (the message) time to “settle.”

 

Practical Notes around our expectations for and of Meeting for Worship:

• Meeting begins as soon as the first person enters the Meeting space – silence should grow from that (although we teach members of our community to transition into a Meeting for Worship frame of mind as we line up to head to Meeting for Worship.
• We are sharing active silence and expectant waiting as we wait to receive a message that is appropriate for the group – something we can all connect with or learn from.
• The reason we face inwardly is so that no one is the teacher/minister – we are in community together – we are all potential teachers/ministers.
• Someone will serve as the clerk to close the Meeting with a handshake or a wave, indicating to others that they should also wave and smile at each other – many members of our community follow the “gentle transfer of heart to hand” literally as the close of Meeting.

Marigolds and Dandelions in Kindergarten

I was inspired by a visit many years ago to a Quaker school in which the classrooms were named for important and inspirational Quakers. I immediately felt the desire for my own elementary school division to do the same... 

Fast forward years later and that didn't exactly happen. However, I did do something in my own class. We became the Foxes and the Fells. (We often need to split into half groups - hence the two names.) There was double meaning in that designation. We have George Fox and Margaret Fell and we have the animal which would eventually go on to become the school mascot (fox) and the little rocky outcropping in England that Fox stood upon Firbank Fell (fell). Later, my teaching partner would add the "Fell pony" (fell) as a way to give both groups an animal. 

I loved my little Foxes and Fells. 

Fast forward many more years and the school adopted Star the Fox as the school mascot and suddenly foxes were a little too "on the nose." Additionally, we split our larger classes into smaller classes so I left the Foxes and the Fells behind with my former teaching partner and moved to a new class and the possibility for new branding...

After way too much thinking, I settled on Marigolds and Dandelions. While not immediately connecting to Quaker history, this new naming connects in a more powerful way. It describes a way of being for my young students. It names our big class testimonies in flower format.

Here is how I describe that to families and caregivers:

Marigolds and Dandelions: 

This year, your children will join (my teaching assistant) and me as Marigolds and Dandelions in room #107. 

Why Marigolds and Dandelions? 

Marigolds are flowers that are excellent companion plants - we grow marigolds near other plants because they help protect against harmful critters. If you plant a marigold beside another plant, that plant will likely thrive - it will grow big and strong and healthy. It is supported and protected by the bold, sunny marigold. That makes a beautiful metaphor for who we will strive to be in room #107 - people who support each other and help them thrive while we bloom. 

Dandelions are equally cheerful and also persistent and resilient. They grow through the cracks in a sidewalk, they stand in small bunches in a carefully tended green lawn (their own form of activism). They remind me of my childhood (how about you?), made into flower crowns, pulled apart gleefully, and rubbed on our chins - playful! We make wishes on dandelions once they produce their fluffy white seed heads. Those little fluffs float and fly and spread throughout our yards and communities. Another powerful metaphor for who we hope to be - sunny, resilient, joyful, and hopeful beings who will spread it around! 

Feel free to become “marigolds and dandelions” with us this year.

And that is the story of how we became Marigolds and Dandelions in kindergarten.

Do you name your class? What do you call your students?

Reflections on 1652 Country

Pendle Hill

This past June I headed to 1652 Country (once again) to see what questions might bubble up, whether any answers might be lurking, and to make new connections as I continue my journey… I have a hard time staying away.

"1652 Country" refers to an area in northwest England, specifically in Cumbria and Lancashire, associated with the early years of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. It is the region where George Fox, experienced spiritual awakenings, tested his ideas, was challenged and punished, and gathered his first followers in 1652. 

1652 Country is a beautiful part of the United Kingdom which features narrow lanes, soaring mountains, babbling brooks, and endless flocks of Herdwick sheep. 

I traveled to this area of England with Friends Council on Education and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting as part of the Quaker Pilgrimage 2025. I have been before and I will hopefully go again. It is a powerful thing I do as an educator at a Quaker School, as a Quaker at Bethesda Friends Meeting, and as a human living this current timeline. You can read more about why this trip is so powerful to me here. In the past, this trip was made by Denise the teacher and by Denise the Quaker Education clerk at a Friends School. This time, the trip was simply made by me. That made it more than a trip, it was a true pilgrimage.

Each time I have made this trip, it has been powerful. I have filled my heart, brain, and soul with so much joy, power, love, inspiration, and learning. This was no different. Except that it was. I began this pilgrimage with so much weighing on my heart and brain after a difficult year. I put a whole lot of weight (too much?) onto what I might discover with and from my fellow travelers. What follows is a simplified account of what I received.

I gave myself some queries to guide my reflections during my journey. I’ll try to weave within some of those queries as the warp and weft of my tapestry (or embroidery;)).

What does pilgrimage mean to you? What draws you here?

A walk can be an opening. The earth beneath our feet, the clouds floating above, the “stuff” in between, perhaps the rain making us uncomfortable… I think that I must have felt nervous the first time I made this trip - not because of the actual rain. I’m just not a risk-taker. Solo traveling! 😳  It must have felt important at the time or I wouldn’t have taken the risk. I do recall that I returned fully energized as a teacher in a Quaker school with a list of teaching ideas. I seek a bit of that each time I sign up. But it’s the larger possibility of the opening that draws truly me back. 

Note: It’s tricky for me to define “opening” in words here. I know what I mean. However, for readers who need a little more, here is the Google definition: An opening is not a rational deduction but a spiritual experience where a truth is revealed. It might provide a sense of direction or a call to action.

As I travel along this journey, what am I noticing? What feels familiar? What is unexpected or surprising? What questions are bubbling up?

Colthouse Meeting House

I value the pace and pattern of this particular journey in June of 2025. Each day we travel by bus, chatting and connecting - these bus rides are simultaneously overly long and entirely essential. There are silent meetings, moments of silence, and periods of silent exhaustion (the good kind). There is a routine to our meals, toast on a little wire rack at breakfast, assembling a picnic lunch each morning, and sitting with fellow travelers to sustain ourselves with delicious food and laughter at dinner. There is the darkness of night that waits until the very last minute to fall. 

I am surprised at the learning that is offered during this particular trip. Our local guides are joyful, knowledgeable, and generous. We eat, sing, laugh, and learn. They led me to deeper understandings when I boldly thought I knew so much. A great reminder to remain open.

In what ways am I open to divine guidance, even when it challenges me?

This query is a good reminder to remain open to having my mind changed. I shouldn’t go forward with one right way in mind. There are so many possible right ways…

How am I connected to those who walked before me? In what ways do I sense the spiritual presence of others - past, present, and unseen?

Swarthmoor Hall

During one morning meeting, vocal ministry in the form of song - a beautiful voice singing into the silence - pulled me back and forth into the past and out to the future. I thought about hardships and violence that early Friends must have faced. The voice sings of determination. I think of the challenges and injustices that we are called to face / reckon with today. The voice sings of humanity and love. My heart wonders about the future. The voice sings of peace and action. I will never forget this meeting and this message. I keep this voice and this song as one of my favorite souvenirs. 

What seeds of peace am I gathering and planting as I walk cheerfully over the earth? What do I hope to grow? What unplanned growth might sprout?

This is where my path takes a turn. It’s time to make sure that I am acting on the journey. It’s not meant to be a vacation with pictures in an album. It’s a provocation…

I am a teacher. That makes me an activist. (After all, teaching is a form of political activism.) I plan to plant a new Quaker garden for and with my young learners. I’m reflecting on how to make our garden inclusive, hopeful, expansive, and full of action. I’m moved by the vocal ministry to gather songs of peace and justice. (Please send me recommendations!) I’m thinking about the ways a walk might be an opening. Should I / we be walking through the Quaker garden? What does that mean? Who pollinates the garden and how? Is there compost in a Quaker garden? What would it be? 

Brigflatts Meeting House

I’ve given myself this small big first step of re-versioning the Quaker garden in kindergarten. I’m intending for this to be the first step in my continuing journey. Stay tuned… (and send me feed-forward)

*I cannot recommend this pilgrimage strongly enough. Consider joining the 2027 Friends Council on Education (in cooperation with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting) Quaker Pilgrimage. Just do it.

Disruptive Art

 

At the start of the school year, we began our conversation about environmental stewardship by noticing that our school community, including us, was not taking care of our playgrounds. Every time we went outside to play or to go for a walk, we discovered lots of trash. We felt called to action. 

We had many discussions about this and about what we might do to change it.

"The playground should be green and brown and stuff, not papers.”“Stewardship is    important. It’s because this is our school.”“It’s a Quaker school.”“It’s also because this is our beautiful world.”“Yeah and we need to take care of it too. And my yard."

Teacher:“What might be some ways we can solve this problem?”

“We can pick it all up.”“Except for glass at the playground in the neighborhood.”“We should show everyone at school what we find! That’ll make them so shocked!”

We began to pick up the trash we found on the playground. In order to see how much of a problem we really had, we decided to collect the trash and measure the amount. After two weeks of collecting, we had two large bags full!

As we were noticing and collecting and measuring trash, we were (coincidentally) having conversations about how art tells a story. We looked at some pieces of art that told powerful stories about change or action. This led to a decision to use art to share our message about environmental stewardship with the larger school community. Disruptive art to disrupt ideas about our stewardship of our playgrounds…

Using sense of the meeting, a Quaker decision making process around unity rather than unanimity, we settled upon a plan for our artwork… We would paint a view of the earth as it should be, the greenest greens and the bluest blues and one perfect tree. We would cut a hole or pull back our perfect tree to reveal the truth that we had discovered: litter.

We began by gluing all of the trash we had collected onto a large board. Next, we painted our tree on a background of green and blue on a paper canvas. 

Finally, we explored several ideas for combining the two: draping the painting over the surface of the trash board, pulling back one corner of the painting, and rolling up the bottom of the painting. We eventually decided to cut out a part of the painting to reveal the trash behind. 

*Using the exact-o knife to cut out the tree and using the glue gun for the trash board were the only non student-led parts of this project.

To accompany our work, the students came up with some queries (driving questions):

How can we be kind to the earth?

How can we be mindful of our surroundings?

How can we be mindful about not throwing chalk and toys around the playground?

How can we be kind to others?

How can we make sure we are grateful for what we have?

How can we be mindful to not throw trash on the ground?

How can we take care of nature?

How can we make the school a better place?

We decided to install our artwork with a thinking routine and a message box to find out what our community thought as they interacted with our piece.

We asked:

What story do you see in our artwork?

What message might we be sharing?

We were thrilled to receive thinking from our friends at lower school!

“I can’t believe you saw this much trash!” Second grader

“It makes me feel that we can do better as community members of earth to cherish it more.” Fourth grader

“I think that this may be a message about the environment. I see a tree that could replace items that seem to be things that you might find in the trash. I love this and think this is a really neat piece.” Visitor to campus

“I see that there is so much pollution in the world and that you’re trying to stop it.” Third grader

“I see a lot of trash where a tree should be. If we had less trash, could we grow more trees?” Science Teacher
 

“It’s weird, cool and awesome!” Second grader 

“Our world is all tied together so we need to take care of it and love it like we would our family.” Fourth grader

One of the fourth-grade classes borrowed our art and spent some time thinking about its meaning. Using a combination of the See Think Wonder and Main Side Hidden Story Routines, their thoughts included:

“I think the story is that you can take something like trash and turn it into something amazing.”“I think that the tree is being hurt because a lot of people are littering and it’s hurting nature.”“I thought that the kindergarten art was showing how many things trees can make.” 

Our friends in prekindergarten also looked carefully at our disruptive art using the See Think Wonder routine.

Teacher:“Share something you notice or see.”

“I see paper all over it.”“I see a sticker.”“A plastic thing. A knife!”“I see a piece of a beach bucket.”“me too.”“They painted it.”“I see that there’s stuff inside the painting.”

Teacher:“How did this shape happen?”(the tree cut out)

“Maybe they cut it out.”“It’s a tree!”

Teacher:“What story do you see in the artwork?”

“Imagination stuff”“That our environment is important. Because there’s a tree.”“That it’s not good to leave trash on the ground.”“You shouldn’t leave trash around because it might ruin the trees.”

Teacher:“Is there anything you wonder about?”

“I wonder why they made… why they picked a tree.”“How long did they make the trash stay?”“Maybe they glued it on?”“I am wondering what is that piece of silver thing and I am wondering how they didn’t run out of glue?”“Why didn’t they cut the whole thing out?”

After we read the ideas from our lower school friends, we thought about our connections:

What was in line with our thinking?

What was surprising?

What next?

We were surprised that some of the fourth-graders thought different things than we did. We were really glad that so many people seemed to think that our disruptive art had an important message. We wondered what would happen if we put our piece somewhere else? Would different people see it and what would they think? We were inspired to make more disruptive art and to find other ways to "teach" about big ideas.