Glitter & Razz Blog

Gianna and Gus create artistic gifts for each other.

It’s a small group but sweet at pumpkin pie.  6 girls and 4 boys all making art and exploring the practice of gratitude during this Thanksgiving week camp.

“What are gratitudes,” I ask the group.  Blank stares all around.  It sounds kinda familiar to most but they can’t quite put their finger on the meaning of that big word.

“It’s like when you have a lot of feelings,” Gabriel, age 7 ventures a guess.  And I really wish that was the answer because I love that answer.

“Well, this is the week of Thanksgiving so I guess that it something to do with being thankful.” Madeleine, age 7, nails it.

So, all day we talked about these gratitudes.  Here are some of my favorites – Being Active, Carrots, My mom, my dad, my donor, kindergarten, movies, pink, blue, and – my number 1 favorite – Glitter & Razz.

In Move & Groove class, we created partner dances based on our gratitudes.  In Magic Messes (art class with a brand new teacher to us this time, Shanel) we created pieces of art for a partner.  I loved this activity.  Each partner had to talk about what he or she liked while the other partner had to listen.  And then, each person had to create a piece as a gift for their partner.  They shared it with teh full group before giving it to their partner.  At the end of the day, Sabine, age 5, said that she was grateful for being able to make a gift for your partner.  I loved hearing that.

In drama class, we began making up our play to be performed tomorrow.  We brainstormed as many gratitudes as we could think of and then created a bunch of little stories based on gratitudes that we picked randomly from the list.  Then, we put all of our ideas on one big piece of paper and attempted to take the best ideas and make them into one play.  We did a pretty good job and we are on our way to creating a play that involves a talking Tootsie Roll who is grateful to have her job at the zoo because, you know, “not very many people want to hire a tootsie roll” (says Sara, age 9).  She is so grateful that she will do anything to keep her job and she won’t let the vampire, the zombies, and the shape-shifters get in her way.  Intrigued?

More tomorrow…

I am so proud to be part of this event.  The Make Something Party sponsored by Project Peace is all about “spending less and giving more.”

From their blog...Instead of participating in the mass buying frenzy that precedes Christmas, we’ll be providing stations where you can hand-make quality gifts for your loved ones. Give a small donation towards the cost of materials, and leave with gifts that are all the more special for the effort you’ve put into them.

I’m going to be there.  Join me.

I'll Lead The Way...Follow Me!

The mood was calm and excited.  One of these special Play in a Day Camps where each and every 4 year old makes it all the way through the long day and no one says “I don’t wanna do the play.”  Perhaps it was because we had a great mix of new and returning campers.  Perhaps it was because the camp was lead by the Glitter & Razz Dream Team of Cassie Powell, Martin Brecht, and Cinda Russell.  Perhaps because it was a rare mid-week camp and kids are just more mellow on Wednesdays (whatever happened to Veteran’s Day being observed on a Monday, by the way?).

Or perhaps, it was a theme…Love ‘Em & Lead ‘Em is all about leadership.  What does leadership look like and feel like from the perspective of young children under 10 years old?  Well, from what I have observed, it looks a lot like learning the importance of following directions.  I think the roots of more complex and sophisticated leadership (Obama-style) start with young children learning how to control their own behavior when someone asks them to do something that they don’t particularly want to do.  And, on the flip side, learning how to use words and actions in a positive way to get others to do things with and for you.

Yesterday, there was a lot of focus on leading and following in creative movement through eye-contact; following the movements of the teacher and trying to match her as best as possible; cleaning up and helping others clean up; and older kids setting positive examples for the younger kids.

We will continue to refine this theme because I believe there is a lot more there.  We’ve done this theme 3 times now and I continue to learn more about teaching leadership to young children.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions!

Here are a few more images from camp…

The 'English Dragon" who's looking for a party

I wasn't kidding when I said we did a lot of cleaning up!

Railey, age 9 is one of our Glitter & Razz All-Stars and was our oldest boy of the day. This reluctant leader finally managed to assume his role and wound up actually enjoying it by the time he sat down for mouse facepaint with Martin.

Some of our younger girls are trying to figure out "what's next?" as Cinda takes them through the schedule of the day.

I am incredibly excited about what’s going on in Go Girls.  We are just past the halfway point in our first ever Go Girls Afterschool Club, an afterschool class modeled after the popular summer camp, and I could not be happier.  Many of the girls in the class are returning campers from the summer and a few of the girls have been with Glitter & Razz programs for a long time now.  Our lifers…the Glitter & Razz All-Stars, if you will.  So, this program is definitely Glitter & Raz 2.0.

On the first day, I told them that we were going to create a play about something important.  Through a variety of games and exercises, we explored which problems in the world were most important to them.  The big three were friendship problems (like friends getting other friends in trouble or not being allowed to play), natural disasters (like floods and tsunamis) and violence (war, guns, car crashes, robberies).  After a great, and quite reflective conversation, the group determined that it was most interested in using our play to help reduce violence.

I thought, “Okay…the best way to reduce violence is to make and spread peace.” So, one of the first things we did was a journal activity where they had to write or draw what peace looked, sounded, smelled, tasted, and felt like.  Then, they were asked to create solo performance pieces based on their journal entries.  Remember, these girls are 7-10 years old.  Incredible.  Here are 2 from a couple of the Glitter & Razz All Stars.

Sarah, age 9, did hers as a poem.  In case it’s difficult to hear, the transcript is below:

Peace looks like a friendship just beginning
Peace sounds like silence in a dark room
Peace tastes sweet like ice cream
Peace smells like roses fresh off a rose bush
Peace feels soft like a lamb’s ear

And here’s a different interpretation on what Peace looks, sounds, and feels like as created by Lucy, age 8.  A whole different take on the exercise.

In celebration of Sesame Street’s 40th Birthday, I can’t help but think back on all of the shows that formed my childhood.  I am definitely feeling old as I am having that “shows ain’t what they used to be” feeling going through my head.  PBS was just on fire with shows like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers.

Okay.  I know we are supposed to be celebrating Sesame Street, which I love and love the fact that it is still on TV for our kids after all of these years but…I LOVED Mr. Rogers.  Have you seen him recently?  Have you really listened to the lyric of his songs?

His lessons of peace and community and imagination and acceptance are mind blowing and nowhere else on tv or anywhere these days.  A Fred Rogers quote:

“We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.“

Today, I can’t help (as we are waking up to find yet another state in our country is trying to legally define love in just one way) but think about the lessons that we learned in our childhood from Big Bird and Mister Rogers.  They taught us that it was okay to be exactly who we are.  That who I am is special and perfect.

Now that we are grown up, what happened to that?  What was your favorite tv show from our youth?

On the other side of forgiveness is saying “I’m Sorry” -  Taking responsibility for something that you have done that has hurt, upset, or inconvenienced someone else.  Saying sorry is both over and underused, I have noticed.  And both the over and under use of “I’m so sorry” are connected to a person ultimately not being able to take responsibility for her actions.

I’ll clarify.  Clearly, you can see why the under use is a problem.  Some people go through life with little regard for the fact that they are sharing the planet with others.  They cut people off.  They say mean things.  They generally disregard others as human.  And, because they are not seeing the other people as people, they feel no need to be remorseful.  No need to stand up and take responsibility for the fact that they have hurt another human.  So, they don’t say sorry.

Then, there are people like me.  People who say sorry a lot.  I say sorry usually because I have not returned a phone call in timely manner or I told someone I was going to do something for them by a certain date and I “just wasn’t able to get to it.” (Anyone else out there guilty of this?)  As an overuser, I see that this is not a good thing because, by relying on “I’m sorry” to get me out of trouble (again), I can avoid the hard work of taking responsibilty for me words and actions and changing my behavior.

In the classes I am teaching at elementary schools this fall – Chabot and Cleveland schools in Oakland – I am doing a lot of work with the proper and appropriate use of “I’m sorry.” I am doing my best to coach children as young as kindergarten to notice when they interrupt someone or accidently bump into another kid or use language that might hurt another’s feelings.  This is hard work because I don’t want to turn these kids into under or overusers of “I’m sorry.” So, we also have to stop and practice.  We actually practice talking and listening without interrupting.  We actually practice walking around a small space without bumping into each other (all the while I am sidecoaching, “Notice other people around you.  You are not the only one in this space.) We actually practice asking questions and sharing our ideas and opinions in ways that do not judge or condemn other people.  This is the only way that kids can understand what they are saying sorry for when they make a mistake.

At the same time, I am doing my own practice.  Daily practice of very structured planning and follow-up that allows me to show up on time and keep my commitments – both to myself and others.  And it’s working.  I find myself saying “I’m sorry” much less often these days.

I didn’t complete my task of 37 blog posts in 7 days.  Do you know how hard that is?  It is so hard that I have not blogged since then.  I felt too embarrassed.  But, I have bounced back because I am beginning to forgive myself and because I believe that you will forgive me.

Which brings me to a reflection on forgiveness.  Did you see Oprah yesterday and the story about the young man who attempts to rob a check cashing store in Indiana but winds up praying with his victim and then turning himself in?  This is an incredible story.  It is all about second chances and personal responsibility.  It is all about how making one (or 2 or 267) mistakes does not mean that you cannot get up the next morning and make another choice.  It’s all about the power of forgiveness in the personal development of both the forgiver and the forgived.

I have been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately.  Last month, I went to seminar by Dr. Fredric Luskin, a leading researcher and practitioner on forgiveness.  Before I went, I honestly didn’t know that I had a lot to learn about forgiveness.  But I did.  I do.  We all do.  Luskin said that the practice (yes, it’s ongoing) of forgiveness is learning how to bounce back when things don’t go the way you wanted them to.  How many times does this happen to us…that things don’t turn out the way we hoped?  How often does it happen to the children we work/play/live with?  What can we learn for ourselves and our children if we really practice forgiveness regularly?  What can learn if we stop blaming others or ourselves for all the things that happened before and ask ourselves instead, “What am I going to do about it now?”

The woman, the victim in the above-mentioned news story was on Oprah yesterday and had the opportunity to look the young man who had put a gun to her head in his crying and remorseful eyes and say, “I forgive you.  You know that you did wrong and that you have to pay the price for that.  But, don’t let what you did get in the way of what you can do in the future.”

If she can bounce back from that and he can bounce back from committing this crime and spending time in prison, then I sure can forgive myself for failing to write 37 blog posts in 7 days.

Do you see me blushing?

I’m embarrassed that I likely will not reach my goal of 37 blog posts before the end of Monday.  This one is only 8 and 29 in 3 days seems tough.  Who knows, there is still time and I am sitting here on my couch with my computer and my dogs with not much else to do today except this.  So, I might finish.

But, I may not.  And, according to recent studies, if I blush to show you that I am embarrassed by my transgressions, you will be more likely to forgive me.

This post is one of the 37 I have challenged myself to post in one week (in celebration of my 37th birthday).  Join me in the challenge.

The movie opens this Friday, Oct 16

Is anyone else as excited as I am about the upcoming release of Where the Wild Things Are?  There really isn’t a better storybook for kids, when you think about it.  It’s simple and it’s beautiful and it’s the ultimate adventure story.  It’s the same story as The Wizard of Oz, right?  A kid is growing up and getting sick of the adults who care for him/her.  “They just don’t understand me!”  It’s time for her to strike out on her own.  Explore new lands.  Meet new and interesting characters.  This experience forever changes him.  It is a necessary experience for his development.  And then, she takes all that she has learned from all of the characters she has met and goes back home…

“…to find supper waiting for him.  And it is still hot.”

There really isn’t a better allegory for real life, when you think about it.  And this adventure never stops.  We keep going in a series of these kinds of adventures throughout our lives, taking risk after risk to venture out in the world, expand our visions, learn new ways of being, and bringing all of that home to our families, our community, ourselves.  We are changed and we change the little space of world around us by our example.

Yes, we are playing games and singing songs and making up dances, but this is actually what we are teaching at Glitter & Razz.  We are supporting and celebrating the spirit and the skills that it takes to make this kind of adventure.  To step out from your current “known” into the scary “unknown” and allow yourself to be changed by the interesting characters you encounter there.

This week in our Itty Bitty Theater Workshops, the classes were focused around the story of Where the Wild Things Are.  I am asking kids “Where is your favorite place to go on an adventure?”  I have heard answers such as “Fairyland,” “Green Valley,” “My neighborhood on Halloween,” and “the ice cream shop.”  Then, we are using our bodies and imagination to explore all types of adventurous locations: the desert; the beach; the snowy mountains; the jungle; the city; and the farm.  This exploration will allow us to come up with a location or series of locations that will provide the foundation for the play that we are creating.

We are also reinforcing the idea of neutral bodies.  One of the first skills that young performers have to learn is when to stop and when to go.  They are working on how to keep their body in a focused, relaxed neutral position.  A neutral position establishes that they are “ready for anything.”  From neutral they are asked to run, jump, twirl, climb, move and groove (any action really) and then show that, on cue, they can come back to neutral as quickly as possible.  Thus, being ready for the next thing.

Like the Wild Thing adventure, neutral is home.  Young actors are learning that they can explore scary and exciting lands in safe ways if they start from a relaxed and focused place.  And there is always a time to come back to this place.  Where the food is always hot.

This post is one of the 37 I have challenged myself to post in one week (in celebration of my 37th birthday).  Join me in the challenge.

There is quite a bit of interesting research on the practice of gratitude showing that it really is the key to happiness.  On your birthday or otherwise.  Today, on my 37^th Birthday, here are 37 things I am grateful for in my life (in no particular order):

1. I am grateful that Allison, my wife, is looking up the coconut cake recipe that she will use to bake a from-scratch cake for me today.
2. The goofy face of my dog, Rufus
3. The morning kisses from my dog, Roxie
4. The fact that my brother and I have gotten close enough (both in terms of geography and in terms of friendship) that he called me last night at my birthday happy hour just to send me best wishes (since he couldn’t be there himself)
5. Sally Woodhouse and her willingness and ability to love me and support me just when I need her the most
6. Just now, I heard a whole gaggle(?) of geese flying over head in a big dramatic display of nature and flight.  Somehow, I am grateful for having experienced that.
7. Allison’s enthusiasm for making my birthday a big deal
8. Allison for having this idea in the first place that I think of 37 things I am grateful for
9. Allison, in general
10. For the fact that, in the birthday party department of Glitter & Razz, business is picking up
11. A bunch of people registered for our Play in a Day Camps yesterday
12. Even though I just discovered that our cable is out at home (no tv or internet…seriously), I can go into Glitter & Razz where the internet is working to get online.
13. I am so grateful to the College Avenue Presbyterian Church for having us as tenets, supporting us when things go wrong, and being patient with us when we are late on the rent.
14. In fact, I am grateful to all of the folks I owe money to right now…their patience and understanding.
15. Getting to go to the theater tonight to see a MUSICAL…hey Wicked, here we come…
16. Teaching.  After almost 20 years, I can still find joy in teaching and learning from kids.
17. I get to drive a pick-up truck today through City Car Share (what a great program).
18. Facebook Birthday Wishes.  And E-mail birthday wishes.  And text message birthday wishes.  I don’t care what people say about technology killing human interaction.  In my life, it’s just not true.  I feel more connected to the people I care about than ever.  And I mean honest-to-goodness real human connections.
19. Peter Carpenter. What a tremendous amount of love and soul and genius in just one mere human.  Thank you so much for reaching out to me during this time (if anyone reading this is in Chicago, you must check out his new show which opens tomorrow!)
20. Maple Bacon Donuts from Dynamo in San Francisco
21. Claire Shaffer for her deep friendship, her passion and commitment for helping Glitter & Razz grow and thrive, and for introducing me to the Maple Bacon Donuts
22. My parents.  Of course.  Not only did they love me and provide for me in a way that all parents try to do (and we know that many don’t succeed), they also continue to be a source of support into my adulthood.  My 10 day retreat in their home last month was so joyous and relaxing.  Not only did I swim every day, I also wrote that article that I had been meaning to write for years.
23. Every kid I have ever taught.  Even the difficult ones.  Well, especially the difficult ones.  They taught me how to be a better teacher.
24. All of the parents, schools, and other customers of Glitter & Razz.  Not only do you keep us in business, you are also making the choice to join us in making this world a more creative and more connected place for us and our children.
25. I am especially grateful for our “big fans” and regular customers who keep coming back again and again and feel more like friends than customers (you know who you are…Sharon & Shawna, Hilary, Jill, Sarah, Heather, Annamaria & Will, Ioana & Matthew…the list goes on…)
26. To Rebecca Schultz and Kevin Rolston, my fellow ensemble members of OutLook Theater Project.  I am grateful for this artistic outlet, to be able to create theater that is exciting to me and allows me to engage in meaningful ways with a diversity of folks in the LGBT community.
27. My nieces, Ella, Sadie and Lilian.  And my nieces and nephews Devon, Tatum, Hagen, Keali, and Aidin.  And to their parents, Nellie, Chrissy, Shelley and The Mikes, for making me an auntie.  It is a blessing in and of itself to be an auntie.
28. To my aunties – Robin, Pat, Joanne, Judy – for being such cool aunties to me
29. To the radical community of spiritual progressives at the First Congregational Church of Oakland.  I am grateful for how lovingly you hold my wife and me.
30. All my old friends/my peeps/my posse, who I can call or email or FB even after a long time apart and feel just how we felt in the old days, but better, deeper, wiser…I am thinking of Bryan and Kelly this morning…
31. To all of the old employers I have had who have helped shaped me to become the professional I am today.  I am proud of my work and my business and grateful for the professional path I have traveled.  I especially want to thank the Community Network for Youth Development for giving me a framework for how and why I do what I do in the world and the opportunity to teach that framework to others.
32. To all of my past relationships who taught me the proper way to love a mate (and myself).
33. The Alameda Small Dog Park, the only place in the world where my little Yorkie can really be free
34. To Glee.  Enough said.
35. The combination of audiobooks on Audible and my iPod for inspiration and information on my walks to work.
36. I am grateful for my home and that I live close enough to walk to work.
37. To the fact that I have reached my 37^th gratitude and that, if I had to come up with another 37, I am sure I could easily keep going.  I am grateful for how much I have to be grateful for today.

I just read this list to Allison.  She asked me, “How did it feel to write that list?”  I said, “Great!  I have a lot to be grateful for.  My heart feels full.  I feel very happy.”  She said, “It strikes me how your list is so focused on people.  You have such a strong community of folks who love you so much, both locally and around the country.  There are a lot of people out there who don’t have near as much as that kind of support.”

I am grateful to her for pointing that out.

This post is one of the 37 I have challenged myself to post in one week (in celebration of my 37th birthday).  Join me in the challenge.