LYNNWOOD — Although the preschoolers tried to stay focused, a couple of them stole glances toward the strangers who filled the room.
“Put your hands in namaste,” said Lisa Holliman, director and teacher of Living Wisdom Preschool in Lynnwood, to the group of 3 and 4 year olds.
The children played games, sang a song and held yoga poses, all of which are usual practices at the preschool. What was different was the extra sets of eyes watching with interest.
A group of educators from Thailand heard about Living Wisdom Preschool and spent the morning of Nov. 11 visiting Holliman and the students, much to the interest of the children.
Holliman, who has run the preschool for three years, focuses on teaching calmness and peacefulness as a means to enjoy life, and she believes working with young children will set the groundwork for this positivity to carry through for their entire lives.
Children learn from units on topics such as space, music, trees and endangered species, but they also do yoga and meditate in this alternative program.
The group of a dozen or so educators and a Buddhist monk spent two weeks in the United States and Canada on a “spiritual and educational pilgrimage.” After visiting schools and monasteries in San Francisco and Vancouver, B.C., the group arrived in Seattle.
Holliman said they visited several other schools, including the Clearwater School in Seattle and also spent time at Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism close to the Greenwood area of Seattle.
Their visit to the Lynnwood preschool was initiated so that these teachers, who run two new Buddhist schools in Thailand, could find out more about incorporating meditation and yoga into school activities, said Witit Rachatatanun, the trip’s coordinator.
Although many Thai claim to be Buddhist, he said, it is not a common practice to incorporate the religion into schools.
The Buddhist monk who accompanied the group, Ajahn Jayasaro Bhikkhu, is the spiritual teacher for the educators at the schools.
Living Wisdom Preschool is not religious, Holliman said, and it welcomes children from all backgrounds.
“We’re teaching children how to live their lives, how to be compassionate,” Holliman said.
Parents who enroll their students at Living Wisdom do so for a number of reasons, she said. Some are looking for smaller classes, others are interested because of the yoga and meditation.
“Parents are looking for alternatives,” Holliman said.
Holliman incorporates many aspects of nature and art into her curriculum. Her teaching style is based off of a program called “education for life,” and a book written by J. Donald Walters.
Terry McGilloway, a spiritual director of Ananda Seattle (which also has a center in Lynnwood) along with his wife Padma, welcomed the visitors upon arrival and further explained that the teaching methods work to provide a balance to children.
“The education system isn’t really a system,” McGilloway said, “it’s an acknowledgement of the unique individuality of each child.”
After learning background on the preschool, the Thai visitors sat in with the preschoolers for part of the morning.
Holliman said it took time for a couple of the children to warm up to the visitors, but the experience was a wonderful way for all of them to share their thoughts and methods with people from around the world.
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