Expressions of Understanding convey the personal significance of the work that has been done in the entire series of four modules. We have the results of this unique and powerful transformation in being with children.
Here are examples that show the variety of languages open to personal expression and the uniqueness of each person's journey.

Kimiko Hihara returns to painting, something she has not done since she was a child, to express the transformation that has occured from "before" the Connecting to Children modules to "after". Click the picture to view.

Noriko Kuriyama expresses her journey through the four modules of Connecting to Children in a series of overlays.

When my son was very young, I developed a resentment of the demands on me that motherhood had brought. My time was not mine anymore. Everything I did involved him, and I had to consider him in everything. Although being a mother is the most amazing thing I have ever done, I didn't start out knowing how to do it. It has been one of the most challenging experiences of my life.

My son has a strong will. He knows what he wants. He takes after his mother. We were quick to fall into the typical power struggles. The problem, I now realize, was my inability to talk with him. I didn't understand why he was doing the things he was doing, and I didn't know how to take the conflict out of our relationship.

The first thing that began to change was starting to teach at his school, the Cooperative Children's Center where he had been enrolled for 2 months. The Co-op is a wonderful place where a community of families and caregivers strive everyday to provide a safe, respectful, nurturing environment for children.

Now I bring what I have learned in these Modules to the Co-op. I am not only a more effective and loving caregiver to the children in my class, I have an improved and enriched relationship with my son. I can now provide a fun learning environment for all "my" children, while teaching them to be respectful of themselves and the people and world around them.

It has been a long time since I felt out of control. Being with children is now the amazing experience I always dreamed it would be.

Growing Flower

There is a growing flower
Hoping to bloom brightly many times in the world

There is a growing flower
Standing rigid when heavy winds blow

There is a growing flower
Where the rains and soil bring nourishment

There is a growing flower
Where the bees and butterflies pollinate surrounding flowers

There is a growing flower
Where the heat and light of the sun causes the petals to open wide

There is a grown flower
Beautifying the whole world

Dear Tony,

Hi! This is Teacher Marlene. I wanted to write this letter to you to say how happy I am to be in the same classroom as you. You have brought a lot of new experiences for me. Both of us have been working to learn new ways in taking initiative and cooperating. I have learned to change my way of talking to you and also to have patience. You are a big part of our community.

I want to say thanks to your mommy for working with me and with the other teachers here. We still have the rest of the year to continue to learn new things.

Sincerely,

Teacher Marlene

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 The enlightenment and awareness that I have gained from this particular module was by far the most transformational for me of all of the other modules. It opened my eyes to the benefits not just of mere cooperation, but the value in cooperative activities that I didn't necessarily value very much before. I was able, even, to find meaning in small exchanges, and now look at them not as small, but as intricate details in a complex designation of social networking.

Conversations are now cooperative, and the mere act of concerning oneself with following a five-year-old's conversation focuses my mind on discovering other important fine details that I find intrinsic to early childhood development.

Moments of perseverance are truly beautiful, if for any reason, in that they are so rare. When a child takes the initiative to begin and then complete a project for herself or himself, that child's sense of accomplishment and pride is what make teaching these kids so exceptional. The artwork stands out as an immediate thrill for the kids- they can start a project and see it through to the end, then take it home with them and enjoy their own works of art for extended periods.

To see a child do something that he or she knows is going to be a temporary situation, like doing a puzzle or building a block skyscraper, and finishing the puzzle, or modifying the skyscraper until they have to destroy it for clean up time, is probably more thrilling for the adults, because it show us that there are more important things than constructing permanent structure, and like a Zen Buddhist, creating those lasting impressions not with permanent goods, but with temporary, cognitively and aesthetically satisfying materials, and not being precious about every little thing. For some kids, nothing is more satisfying than destroying that which they have spent the last hour constructing, and that to me shows real insight that that child has toward the future of their being. And that is a most important realization.

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Tomoko Michikawa
from Japan, found this English poem to convey what she came to understand. Those who complete these modules know exactly what this means in our being with children.

You, Reading This, Be Ready
by William Stafford

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world than the breathing respect you carry wherever you go right now?
Are you waiting for time to show you some better thoughts?

When you turn around, starting here, lift this new glimpse that you found,
Carry into everything all you want from this day.
This interval you spend reading or hearing this, keep it for life--

What can anyone give you greater than now, starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?