Since its inception in the mid-nineteenth century, the Baha'i Faith has been the target of persecutions in Iran. The persecutions continue today with the arrest of 7 Baha'i leaders, and the prevention of Baha'i students from having access to higher education.
We're being asked to take action to create awareness of this situation.
Students, faculty and academics around the world are protesting the treatment of Baha’i students in Iran and creating international pressure.
James and I have written our University media with a request to publish an article about this and are trying to do whatever else we can to create awareness.

There's more information at these websites:

House Resolution:
www.bahai.us/house-resolution

Persecution of Baha'i in Iran:
www.question.bahai.org

Current situation:
www.iran.bahai.us

On CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/05/16/iran.bahais/index.html


In other news: James and I had been wanting to adopt a child for a long time. We went back and forth on this decision for various reasons. But a couple of months ago we finally decided for sure that this is what we wanted to do. We are overjoyed by this decision! This process is not as lengthy or difficult as we had been told in the past. We've been talking to several people who have already adopted and I've had a lot of questions answered. We've found a really good adoption agency and have started the paper work!

Sasha and I were sick all last week. We ended up staying home from school and "getting lots of rest" (as Sasha says). We're feeling better now, although still a little congested. After being stuck at home for most of the week and over the weekend, on Monday we decided to take a drive to the beach. It's too cold to go for a swim, of course, but Sasha was more than happy to play in the sand.
Here are some pics from that outing, as well as some others:





Even though our landlord takes care of these pine-needles with a leaf blower, Sasha loves helping by sweeping them up:




Helping daddy make apple crisp:



Helping me cut the dead parts of the leaves:





And vacuuming them up:



We discovered that her favorite color is red, and she was delighted to find a beautiful red dress hanging in her closet:



Making herself some breakfast:








Daddy's are for counting stars!

Various activities

Learning to make shapes with rubber bands on her pegboard:




Using a small rolling pin on her play dough:



Learning to role things up:



And make balls:



Her new thing is to put on a twirlly skirt and dance in front of the mirror:



We've started a new activity to learn life cycles. We started with the butterfly and frog, and will continue with a ladybug, a chicken, a bean plant, etc.

After talking about each stage in a butterfly's life, she matches the picture on the right with the one on the left.



I found little figures to go along with this activity!



I just love this concentrated expression:



We made chocolate chip cookies this evening. Here she is carrying the last tray of uncooked cookies to the oven:
(She loves using the oven mitt)



They're ready!!



Using the spatula to transfer the cookies to a plate:



I asked her to go wash her hands after helping me make something. After a while, I started to become suspicious because she was taking a really long time. I went to investigate, and this is what I found: She had plugged the sink and filled it with soap and water! I came in just as the water started overflowing onto the floor! :/

Apple and Pumpkin picking!

Concentration

I recently finished a book called "How to Teach Your Baby To Read", by Glenn and Janet Doman. I enjoyed the first few chapters because it goes into depth on how children are actually geniuses. Buckminster Fuller stated that all children are born geniuses, but that we spend the "first six years of their lives degeniusing them."
Like the Montessori method, the authors of this book explain how children learn through all of their senses and they learn best when allowed to explore their surroundings. But we often limit their ability to explore their world by putting them in playpens, giving them plastic, non-breakable toys, and not letting them touch things. This isn't to say that we should let them break everything of course, but that we should be more aware of the child's hunger for learning and respect that desire.
The authors go into detail, explaining how ready children are at a very young age to take in more information than we can imagine, and they explain this from a psychological as well as a neurological perspective. Most of us underestimate their capabilities. They talk about the human brain and how unique it is in that "it is the only container of which it can be said that the more you put into it, the more it will hold."

The authors also address the subject of concentration. Many of us often draw conclusions about our child's lack of concentration because we see them go from one activity to the next, without spending very much time on any one thing. Too many times, children get labeled with terms like A.D.D. because of this. But the authors' view is that children are actually concentrating on EVERYTHING and that the problem lies in the fact that sometimes there just aren't enough things to hold that concentration.

This was a concern for me for a long time, because, ever since Sasha was a baby, it was extremely hard for me to find things that held her interest. Montessori has addressed this with the precise toys/activities for each stage of development. They also suggest things like having toys made out of wood, instead of plastic, because wood has different textures, weights, smells, etc. It is an enriching experience for the child because it stimulates the senses and it keeps them interested for longer periods of time.

I think that, due to her Montessori school environment, and maybe her age as well, this has been changing recently. I had a group of things at the table that she could work on, and she went through each activity, spending a good amount of time on each one.
It was so nice to see her focusing. The first few pictures are of her sweet expressions, and her little concentrated frown:

Coloring:






Tracing her name:




Cutting along the lines:



Using paperclips:





She helps Daddy cook and bake all the time. Here she is stirring a brownie mix!



She loves tracing her hand:



Baking in her "oven"




Waiting for a "wee ride" (a term used by my dad referring to a fun bump in the road)



Going for a walk: