Capacity and Volition ~ The Academics and the Arts

~ Experiencing ~ Appreciating ~ Developing ~ Learning ~ Enhancing ~

Paper, scissors, crayons, paint, pencils, rulers, blocks, letters, words, numbers, the call to action for both the academics and the arts. APOGEE Learning™ offers sessions that integrate the academics and the arts, and such experiences and opportunities that bring fuller awareness and appreciation. Enhanced is the (1) capacity for aesthetic perception, the ability to see, hear, and feel what works of art offer, (2) the ability to freely draw, paint, sculpt or write, to create and express artistically in any art form, (3) the ability to interpret works of art, discern what is appealing in them, and draw meaning from them through reflection and discourse, (4) the desire to seek historical and cultural knowledge that enriches the understanding and purposes of works of art. Each goal is offered and presented on a level appropriate to age, development and interest.

Understanding of an experience is codified, feeling the internal touch of color from crayon or paint upon paper, to the feel of clay being molded into a form, into a structure of its own, to the sense of parts to wholes, as pieces, fragments, are newly perceived, used and arranged to express a thought, a concept, an idea in completion. Words upon paper to express query, exploration, discovery, and exposition, are the very gifts of the process. ART is presented as a state of being, as an expression of what is known, what is yet to be known, be it in each art form expressed in mathematics, science, and the humanities. Cultivated is capacity and volition, an ever present preparation to learn, to create, to progress, to soar with success.

Sessions in the academics and the arts are directed toward:

• Motivating students to explore the universal and intelligible expression of art.

• Engaging students in the willful art of sensing, capturing, and re-creating.

• Empowering students to perceive art as it exists in all natural and created form.

• Creating an environment that stimulates the desire for expression.

• Applying the simple, the true, the eternal, seen in natural form.

• Integrating the study and expression of art's form with classroom curriculum and one's own life experiences.

• Expanding the awareness of art as the timeless aspiring creation of beauty in form, word, thought and deed.

image credit: http://www.askart.com/askart/m/gene_mcinerney/gene_mcinerney.aspx

Registration Now being accepted ~ Call for a FREE Consultation.

The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts
~ Soar To Success ~

•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •


For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663
1-866-ACU-TONE

YES, It Can Be A Matter Of Learning Style

"If only they would understand that my child learns best when..." a statement I often hear when parents speak of the difficulties their child may be having in school. YES, it can be a matter of learning style. Understanding a child's learning style, and helping the child to understand his/her preferred learning style can mark the difference between successful teaching and learning and ineffective teaching and learning.

I would venture to say, from the hundreds of students I have had the pleasure of teaching over the last three decades, children have a mix of learning styles. Appreciating the varied learning styles and their mix, along with understanding multiple intelligences, will allow parents and educators to be increasingly effective in their presentations to learners of all types and all ages.

Research, using brain-imaging technologies, has shown that each learning style uses different parts of the brain. By involving more parts of the brain during learning, we remember more of what we learn. Presentations of information, concepts, exploration, discovery, that tap into the multiple sensory modalities of the learner, will necessarily result in greater understanding, integration and application of the learned material.

Some children will insist, 'show me', others 'let me do it', 'tell me again,' 'why,' 'how,' 'when.' Each query to a presentation is a clue as to the way a child may be processing the presentation.

Visual ~ using spatial intelligence, pictures, images, and spatial awareness.
Aural ~ using auditory-musical intelligence, sound, rhyme, and music.
Verbal ~ using linguistic intelligence, words, speech, reading and writing.
Physical ~ using kinesthetic intelligence, one's body, hands and sense of touch.
Logical ~ using mathematical intelligence, logic, reasoning and systems.
Social ~ using interpersonal intelligence, learn by groups or with other students.
Solitary ~ using intrapersonal intelligence, may prefer to work alone, experiment/discover on own and use self-study and self-awareness.

I have found that once a presentation, facilitates a child to become aware of what 'works' for him/her, the child gains confidence in himself/herself as a learner. The child becomes newly motivated to meet the challenge and call for mastery, be it to improve reading comprehension, math-fact retention, spelling, writing, or test preparation.

Tutorials are to be more than mere repetition of unlearned material. APOGEE Learning Enhancement Training Systems™, in its creative and effective supports, applies the understanding of multiple intelligences and learning style to each child's tutorial/learning program.

Website for image: novamind.com

Registration Now being accepted ~ Call for a FREE Consultation.

The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts

~ Soar To Success ~
the summit of purpose and goal

•A Whole Child Paradigm•
•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
•The Whole Brain Approach to Study and Mastery•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •


For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663
1-866-ACU-TONE

FREEDOM - to live the potential within Self

As adults, we may find ourselves feeling constraints and a sense of lost freedom. Freedom is a perception, an experience, an attitude, that we can cultivate, enhance within ourselves, and grant lovingly to each child. The joy of a child's first step, our first step in any endeavor, can be ever present within ourselves. Much of the supportive work of APOGEE Learning™ http://www.apogeelearning.com and the APOGEE Achiever Program™ is aimed at realigning with freedom, the freedom to BE, to explore, to discover, to learn anew, to reawaken, to live the potential within self. Freedom is the disciplined art of BEING.

How to Experience Freedom
What does it mean to be free and what does it mean to be in bondage?

Adapted from Power, Freedom, and Grace by Deepak Chopra (Amber Allen, 2006). www.care2.com

To be in bondage is to be stuck in this or that possibility, having lost the ability to choose from an infinite range of responses. What is the bondage to? The bondage is always to our own boundaries, to our own beliefs and conditioned responses. Boundaries and beliefs are nothing more than ideas or concepts that we have committed to and accepted as truth. And when they are as rigid and inflexible as concrete, we cannot see past them. They become the prison walls that we inadvertently construct around ourselves. You wrap yourself in thoughts the way a spider wraps flies in gossamer. You are both the spider and the fly, entangling yourself in your own web.

Most people live their entire lives in bondage. They are a bundle of nerves and conditioned responses, which are constantly being triggered by other people and circumstances into totally predictable outcomes. To be free of bondage, we have to break down conditioned responses; we have to go beyond boundaries and experience the boundless.

To experience and practice freedom you need to:

•Practice life-centered, present-moment awareness•
•Observe your addictive behaviors without judgment•
•Transcend your fear of the unknown•

Post:http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-experience-freedom.html

APOGEE Learning™

Provides a clean, toxic free, pesticide-free, supportive and comfortable learning environment.

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663
1-866-ACU-TONE

Prenatal pesticide exposure linked to attention problems in preschool-aged children

As a very young girl I remember feeling the ill effects of "bug sprays." As an Educational Consultant/Therapist since the opening of APOGEE Learning Enhancement Training Systems™ in 1983, I have consistently witnessed the ravages of insecticides, herbicides, and the now, all inclusive pesticides on the growth, development and well being of children. In 2005, after reading the research validating all of my own observations and concerns, I launched a campaign to bring my community into greater awareness, greater understanding, and to move to responsible action. This resulted in the, "Rockland County Non-Toxic Land Maintenance Act, June, 2008: Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog » Blog Archive » Rockland Co. NY Legislature Passes Non-Toxic Landscape Act ~ http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=374

We as parents, as educators, as caring members of society, can no longer dismiss the need to protect our children from neurological insults, and compromised immune and digestive systems resulting from exposure to pesticides. This recent report certainly warrants our attention and action for change.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Prenatal pesticide exposure linked to attention problems
in preschool-aged children

By Sarah Yang, Media Relations | 19 August 2010

BERKELEY — Children who were exposed to organophosphate pesticides while still in their mother's womb were more likely to develop attention disorders years later, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health.

The new findings, published Aug. 19 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), are the first to examine the influence of prenatal organophosphate exposure on the later development of attention problems. The researchers found that prenatal levels of organophosphate metabolites were significantly linked to attention problems at age 5, with the effects apparently stronger among boys.

Earlier this year, a different study by researchers at Harvard University associated greater exposure to organophosphate pesticides in school-aged children with higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.

"These studies provide a growing body of evidence that organophosphate pesticide exposure can impact human neurodevelopment, particularly among children," said the study's principal investigator, Brenda Eskenazi, UC Berkeley professor of epidemiology and of maternal and child health. "We were especially interested in prenatal exposure because that is the period when a baby's nervous system is developing the most."

The researchers followed more than 300 children participating in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), a longitudinal study led by Eskenazi that examines environmental exposures and reproductive health. Because the mothers and children in the study are Mexican-Americans living in an agricultural community, their exposure to pesticides is likely higher and more chronic, on average, than that of the general U.S. population.

Yet, the researchers pointed out that the pesticides they examined are widely used, and that the results from this study are a red flag that warrants precautionary measures.

"It's known that food is a significant source of pesticide exposure among the general population," said Eskenazi. "I would recommend thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables before eating them, especially if you're pregnant."

Organophosphate pesticides act by disrupting neurotransmitters, particularly acetylcholine, which plays an important role in sustaining attention and short-term memory.

"Given that these compounds are designed to attack the nervous system of organisms, there is reason to be cautious, especially in situations where exposure may coincide with critical periods of fetal and child development," said study lead author Amy Marks, who was an analyst at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health at the time of the study.

Many of these same UC Berkeley researchers are also finding that children with certain genetic traits may be at greater risk, a finding that is being published the same day in a separate EHP paper. That study found that 2-year-olds with lower levels of paraoxonase 1 (PON1), an enzyme that breaks down the toxic metabolites of organophosphate pesticides, had more neurodevelopmental delays than those with higher levels of the enzyme. The authors suggested that people with certain PON1 genotypes could be particularly vulnerable to pesticide exposure.

In the study on attention problems, researchers tested for six metabolites of organophosphate pesticides in mothers twice during pregnancy and in the children several times after birth. Together, the metabolites represent the breakdown products of about 80 percent of all the organophosphate pesticides used in the Salinas Valley.

The researchers then evaluated the children at age 3.5 and 5 years for symptoms of attention disorders and ADHD using maternal reports of child behavior, performance on standardized computer tests, and behavior ratings from examiners. They controlled for potentially confounding factors such as birthweight, lead exposure and breastfeeding.

Each tenfold increase in prenatal pesticide metabolites was linked to having five times the odds of scoring high on the computerized tests at age 5, suggesting a greater likelihood of a child having clinical ADHD. The effect appeared to be stronger for boys than for girls.

While a positive link between prenatal pesticide exposure and attention problems was seen for 3.5-year-olds, it was not statistically significant, a finding that did not surprise the researchers.

"Symptoms of attention disorders are harder to recognize in toddlers, since kids at that age are not expected to sit down for significant lengths of time," said Marks. "Diagnoses of ADHD often occur after a child enters school."

The UC Berkeley researchers are continuing to follow the children in the CHAMACOS study as they get older, and expect to present more results in the years to come.

The findings add to the list of chemical assaults that have been linked to ADHD in recent years. In addition to pesticides, studies have found associations with exposure to lead and to phthalates, which are commonly used in toys and plastics.

"High levels of the symptoms of ADHD by age 5 are a major contributor to learning and achievement problems in school, accidental injuries at home and in the neighborhood, and a host of problems in peer relationships and other essential competencies," said UC Berkeley psychology professor Stephen Hinshaw, one of the country's leading experts on ADHD, who was not part of this study. "Finding preventable risk factors is therefore a major public health concern."

Other co-authors of the paper on attention problems are Kim Harley, Asa Bradman, Katherine Kogut and Caroline Johnson at UC Berkeley's Center for Children's Environmental Health Research; Dana Boyd Barr at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health; and Norma Calderon at the Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas.

The authors of the PON1 paper include Nina Holland and Karen Huen at UC Berkeley's Center for Children's Environmental Health Research.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety helped fund this research.

And from Paul Tukey of SafeLawns.org

"OF MAJOR PERSONAL INTEREST TO ME was a study that hit on Aug. 17 linking exposure to pesticides in utero as a cause of ADHD. As a father of a son with severe ADHD, I’ve carried around that burden of guilt for almost 18 years. He was conceived during peak pesticide application season and to have this study come out after all these years is validation of my worst fears. Read this one and spread the word; it’s important: http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2010/08/yet-another-study-links-pesticide-exposure-to-adhd/. Direct link to article: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/life/health/certain-pesticides-linked-to-attention-problems-in-young-kids-study–101055084.html. "

Be informed - awareness - responsive action - change -

greater assurance for well being.

For additional information and recent research findings:

Beyond Pesticides - Pesticide-Induced Diseases

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/health/index.htm

Pesticides 101 - A Primer | Pesticide Action Network
http://www.panna.org/issues/pesticides-101-primer

A Wake-Up Story

www.Awakeupstory.org

A Wake-Up Story is a must-see video for every parent and anyone that cares about the health and development of children. Watch it. Share it. Join the movement.

APOGEE Learning™

Provides a clean, toxic free, pesticide-free, supportive and comfortable learning environment.

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663
1-866-ACU-TONE

Green Cleaning ~ Keeping It Safe For Children

BeyondBeds.com

A viable alternative I have come to use and value:
Activeion ionator HOM™ Chemical Free Multi-Surface Cleaner
For more information:
Activeion ionator HOM™ Chemical Free Multi-Surface Cleaner
Call Toll Free: 888-774-4046
Visit: BeyondBeds.com

When one has the opportunity of being introduced to a most viable alternative to toxic cleaners and finds it to be exceedingly effective and safe, one has to pass on the GOOD NEWS! Keeping all work, play and learning surfaces clean and safe is a long standing policy of APOGEE Learning Enhancement Training Systems™. I have used the "Ionator" for several months now and I am thrilled with the results. To clean with the natural smell of water processed by the "Ionator," is to feel the freshness of a sweet rain. Nothing artificial, noting harmful, all safe and effective. For more information and to place your order ~ click here: Activeion ionator HOM™ Chemical Free Multi-Surface Cleaner I most certainly encourage your consideration of the "Ionator."

APOGEE Learning™

Provides a clean, toxic free, pesticide-free, supportive and comfortable learning environment.

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663
1-866-ACU-TONE

• Cleaning products contain petroleum-based chemicals that can exacerbate asthmatic symptoms and cause other health problems. Safe, effective and economical bio-based "green" cleaning products are good alternatives. Watch the video: http://www.grassrootsinfo.org/clean_green.html

Excerpts from a posting received from:

Grassroots Environmental Education
http://www.grassrootsinfo.org/



Introduction

"Environmentally-mediated illness is a growing, yet preventable public health threat. Emerging science links many of these illnesses with exposures to chemical toxins, which has precipitated an increased interest in “green” cleaning products for use in schools and other facilities where children spend time.

Why Children Are Uniquely Vulnerable

Children are at greater risk from toxic exposures because of their immature and rapidly developing physiology and their natural behavioral patterns. They live in their environments in ways adults do not; they play on floors, sprawl on desk and table surfaces, and engage in hand-to-mouth behavior. Pound for pound, children take in more contaminants than adults, increasing their risk. Researchers have found that early exposures to environmental toxins appear more likely to produce chronic disease than similar exposures encountered later in life. (Studies also show that a developing fetus is particularly at risk from maternal exposures to certain chemicals – a special concern for pregnant women working in schools.)

Furthermore, most schools and child care facilities are cleaned every day, leaving behind fresh residues of cleaning chemicals on surfaces with which children come into direct contact. Some chemicals found in cleaning products become airborne when used and can trigger asthma attacks in affected individuals and possibly contribute to the onset of the disease.

How Exposure Impacts Health

Routes of children’s exposure to cleaning chemicals include inhalation, skin absorption and accidental ingestion. Health impacts from cleaning products used in schools can result from either acute or chronic exposures. Acute exposures (significant one-time exposures) may burn the eyes or skin, cause blindness, poisoning, headaches and respiratory and gastrointestinal ailments. Chronic exposures (frequent low-dose exposures over a longer period of time) can lead to asthma, allergies, certain types of cancer, learning and behavioral disorders, endocrine disruption, chemical sensitivity and kidney or liver damage.

Moreover, a significant percentage of a student and school staff population may have a specific or general chemical hypersensitivity; that is, they react adversely to extremely low levels of one or more types of chemical exposures. For example, many cleaning products contain fragrances which are common triggers for asthma attacks. Sensitive populations include those with allergies or asthma, individuals with upper respiratory infections (colds, sore throats, etc.) and those
on medication for chronic illnesses.

Conclusion

A growing body of evidence suggests that children are more vulnerable to toxins in their environments than previously known, and that the effects of exposure may not be manifested for years. While scientists continue to probe for more answers to these complex issues, parents and school administrators should be aware that their decisions in this area may have profound impacts on the health and well-being of students, long after those students have left the classroom."

BeyondBeds.com
Activeion ionator HOM™ Chemical Free Multi-Surface Cleaner
This product is indeed one that meets all standards of safety.
A viable alternative I have come to use and value.

Sporting Safety ~ Playing It Safe

The concept of T~E~A~M, Together Everyone Achieves More, has most certainly proven itself. It has been documented, through both personal experience and research, that sports and team building contribute positively to the development of children across the age span. Sports in all their diversity, promote cooperative play, teamwork, while refining gross motor development and skills. With appropriate and supportive feedback, self esteem is enhanced, cooperative play is valued, goals and success are envisioned. We of the adult community must assure that where our children play assures their health and well being.

Our children are consistently being exposed to a wider array of chemicals and toxic pesticides. The game of life is our most important play. Let us appreciate that the true meaning of "Let's Play," is to provide the best of opportunities for the health, growth and development of each child. The physical, mental, social, emotional and cognitive development of our children are to be supported and enhanced, not compromised and diminished. PLAY Yes, Let us make it a safe run!!

For additional information on policy and action see earlier post:
http://apogeelearning.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html

• Turf pesticides have been linked to both acute and long-term health problems, including neurological and endocrine disruption as well as certain cancers. Natural or organic turf management can be easily implemented for school grounds and playing fields. Watch the video.

http://www.grassrootsinfo.org/playingitsafe.html

APOGEE Achiever Program™

Prepare for Success!!

“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance...”

Albert Einstein

Registration Now being accepted ~ Call for a FREE Consultation.

The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts
~ Soar To Success ~

•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •


For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663
1-866-ACU-TONE

A Path of Constant Awareness ~ Mirror, mirror on the wall...

To be aware, to know what is one's own truth beyond the misperceptions of others, is indeed a life long pursuit. It is the pursuit of the independent thinker, the innovator, the child who knows the depths of his/her held dream. What hundreds of students have taught me, what thousands of pages have recorded, what we as parents, educators, members of our world community are to be ever mindful of, is that it is every child's right to be himself/herself. Let each child be freed of our misunderstandings, our misgivings, let us as caretakers be ever in a state of awareness, exploration, discovery, and fulfillment. The initiative, the intention, the purpose, the mission, of APOGEE Learning is to develop, support and enhance each child's power of awareness through the academics and the arts.

The perspectives here presented are in resonance with those expressed by Deepak Chopra, "How To Know God."

"The saint sees that we are all hooked into the same level of infinite intelligence, creativity, and love. God and your soul are in perfect communication. The message breaks down for reasons we have been detailing at length: ego needs, distortions of perception, lack of self-worth, and all kinds of traumas and wounds that defeat our best intentions.

If lumped together, these impurities are called avidya in the Indian tradition, a Sanskrit word that breaks down into two components, the root word for “not” and the root word for “knowing.”

By not knowing who we are, by not knowing what God is, by not knowing how to connect with the soul, we fall into sin and ignorance. In everyday usage, avidya is sometimes called both sin and ignorance, but these pejorative terms hide the essence of the truth, which is all that such obstacles exist in consciousness and can be cleared away.

What’s the one thing you can do today to grow in spirit? Stop defining yourself. Don’t accept any thought that begins “I am this or that.” You are not this or that. You are beyond definition, and therefore any attempt to say “I am X” is wrong. You are in passage. You are in the process of redefining yourself every day. Aid that process, and you cannot help but leap forward on the path.

If you take a clear look at yourself, you will find that your mind is more like a swarm of bees than like an arrow shooting straight for the goal. A swarm of bees can travel from point A to point B, just like an arrow, but it does so in a vague, swirling, fuzzy way.

Thus we hold in our minds all kinds of shifting attitudes, many of which contradict each other. Our love is bound up with hatred, our trust with suspicion, our altruism with selfishness. Because this is so, the only clear path to God is a path of constant self-awareness. You must see through your own mask if you want to take it off."

Care2: Adapted from How To Know God, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2000).

And so... Mirror, mirror on the wall...


APOGEE Learning™
The Academics and the Arts

Provides a creative, nurturing learning environment.

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663
1-866-ACU-TONE

Inspirational Speech by Dr. Randy Pausch On the Oprah Winfrey Show

Dr. Randy Pausch has given us his 'last lecture' and ever present be his words. And so he states, "Childhood dreams call for good parents..." His words, so much in reflection of my life's work and ever present mission.

Dr. Randy Pausch was overtaken by cancer, yet he has left a legacy of living faith for each of us. I know the ravages, I am a 27 year survivor of cancer, and know how impassioned his words are. Our children deserve that we know. This the purpose of APOGEE Learning Enhancement Training Systems™. Join the dialogue, BE the smile, the knowing guide, our children deserve no less.

APOGEE Learning™
The Academics and the Arts

Provides a creative, nurturing learning environment.

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663
1-866-ACU-TONE

Khalil Gibran on Children (The Prophet) ~ Ancient Teachings and the Modern Educator

photo credit: http://www.playengland.org.uk

To weave the wisdom of the ancient teachings, philosophers and poets, artists, explorers, inventors, creators, scientists, the arts and the academics, is to fully embrace the principles of growth, development, creativity, learning and teaching. To integrate long standing wisdom into a present day experience for learners across the age span has been the mission and purpose of APOGEE Learning Enhancement Training Systems.™ Embracing all that defines potential, providing meaningful experiences and opportunities for exploration, discovery, and development, define the working intentions of each activity. Shared here today are the words of Kahil Gibran, 1883-1931, Poet, Painter, Sculptor, Writer, Philosopher, Theologian, Visual Artist, author of "The Prophet."

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

"Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable."


APOGEE Learning™
The Academics and the Arts

Provides a creative, nurturing learning environment.

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663
1-866-ACU-TONE

A Child's Heart Sings ~ The Prayer ~ Rhema Marvanne

Today these gifts have been brought to me. I expressed in a number of posts our need to more fully understand and embrace the knowing, so deep within the souls of our children. To hear the resounding grace of a child's song is to be reminded of what we as adults have within ourselves.

As parents, as educators, as one who is to reach out, guide, coach, teach, a child, let us be mindful of these words shared:

"In their best selling book “The Vortex”, Esther and Jerry Hicks, through the wisdom of Abraham, discuss the role of parents and the many misconceptions of parents and their role in their children’s lives. In describing their perspective of a joyous and valuable parental approach, they state the following:"

“I understand that my child is a powerful creator who has come into this physical environment, not unlike myself, to carve out a wonderful experience. My child will have the benefits of sifting through the contrast of life in order to determine his preferences. Each time my child has an experience that amplifies his awareness of what he does not want, a Vibrational request for the improved opposite will emanate from him, and will be held for him, in his Vibrational Reality, in his Vortex of Creation. And as he pays attention to the Emotional Guidance System within him and seeks the best-feeling thoughts he can find, he will gravitate into alignment with who-he-has-become and will know the fullness of who-he-is. And, in all of that process, he will feel the
satisfaction of being the creator of his own reality. And, as his parent, I will support him completely in his becoming." ~Abraham-Hicks."

To sing, to dance, to draw, to paint, to sculpt, to create, to think, to imagine, to vision, to BE ~ to DO ~ to HAVE ~ these the gifts bestowed to our children. Let us be graceful gate keepers. The academics, the arts, the sciences, technology, are all operative this day. When we bring to this and to each child, right intention, unconditional love, truth, and beauty, all the the world will come to know the meaning of the Celebrated Life.