Programs

Programs & Workshops

EDUCATIONAL CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS IN

ART, MUSIC, GARDENING AND ECOLOGY

Through the arts, children begin to see themselves as capable and talented human beings responsible for their own lives. Our children's programs draw on the child's natural sense of wonder, infinite imagination and respect for creation.

In our art room, we strive to create a working environment, an accepting atmosphere in which the children can feel safe, comfortable, and emotionally secure. We want their art experience to be exploratory, to be unthreatening and fun.

How an adult responds to the child's artwork is extremely significant. It's important that a grown-up not project his or her own ideas onto the work. Asking a five- or six-year-old what his painting or drawing represents can be confusing. The painting or drawing may have one image along with many additional shapes and lines, added for the purposes of design. The teacher must strive to understand the child's aims and can accomplish this by paying close attention to what is happening. Many teachers ask the kids to explain what they're doing. We try not to do this because the work itself will tell us loud and clear if we look at it carefully. Active and close observation helps one get in touch with the child.

Play is the work of childhood. It is the foundation of creativity in thinking. For the young child, play is a way of understanding the world and is vital for emotional and future intellectual development. The inner forces of imagination, creativity, and flexibility that are developed during play strengthen each child's capabilities for later learning in school and career. At The Dome Education & Gathering Center, children are afforded rich opportunities for creative play.

Walking on fire is found in most
cultures and religions from across the world. It has been done for thousands of years. The reasons for doing it are numerous; the ability to do it and not get burned is hard to believe. For many it was a spiritual rite only preformed by the high priests and/or shamans. In other groups it was the climax of a spiritual ritual mixed with song, dance and drums. Even corporate America has used it as part of team building events and for personal growth platforms.

For more information on firewalking,

Click here.

FIREWALKING

We drum to reconnect to the
rhythm of life, we recall our mothers heartbeat ...our first harmony in this life. We drum as a group and practice our own rhythm while remaining in relationship with someone in a different rhythm.
Drumming creates understanding without the restraints of common language. Drumming may begin with a feeling of chaos but through community and energy the harmonic rhythm is found and formed.

Drumming for Peace

DRUMMING

CHILDREN'S DRUM MAKING

AND RHYTHM CIRCLE

Come spend an afternoon and learn to make your own drum. After our drums are made we will learn how to make rhythm together. Learn why rhythm was so important to past cultures and is still today. Come learn about the rhythm deep inside you.

www.drummingforpeace.com

EARTH WISDOM EXPERIENCE

Finding Healing and Empowerment in Our Sacred Story of Life.

The ways of nature can teach us practical solutions in facing life's struggles and in healing the earth.

Join with others for a weekend or a day of exploring deep ecology, awakening the senses, rooting deeply in earth's energies, celebrating the flows of the cosmos, and honoring the Great Mystery at the source of it all. The process includes: talking/sharing circles, rituals, creative expression, and encounters with the non-human beings of our bioregion.

HOLISTIC HEALTH & HEALING

We are dedicated to promoting holistic principles: honoring the whole person (mind, body and spirit) and encouraging people to actively participate in their own health and healthcare.

We offer classes and workshops in:

~Tai Chi
~Yoga
~Meditation
~Chi Gung
~Aromatherapy
~Nutrition
~Herbs
~Ayurveda

If you are interested in teaching a class in one of these areas or a related field, give us a call.

COMING SOON:

HOLISTIC HEALTH FAIR ~ Fall ‘08

If you are a holistic health practitioner and interested in being a part of this fair, please contact us.

“If the success or failure of this planet and of human beings depended on how I am and what I do . . .

How would I be?

What would I do?” ~R. Buckminister Fuller

“Early experiences with the natural world have been positively linked to the sense of wonder. This way of knowing, if recognized and honored, can serve as a life-long source of joy and enrichment, as well as an impetus or motivation, for further learning.”

Ruth A. Wilson “The Wonders of Nature: Honoring Children’s Ways of Knowing”

“Without continuous hands-on experience, it is impossible for children to acquire a deep intuitive understanding of the natural world that is the foundation of sustainable development. A critical aspect of the present-day crisis in education it that children are becoming separated from daily experience of the natural world.”

Robin C. Moore and Herb H. Wong,

Natural Learning: Creating Environments for Rediscovering Nature’s Way of Teaching

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”

Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Leave no child inside

A Chicago Wilderness initiate

The Dome Education & Gathering Center, in cooperation with Chicago Wilderness and more than 200 organizations are working together to promote Leave No Child Inside. Experts believe giving children unrestricted playtime outside fosters creativity and healthy childhood development while helping prevent childhood obesity and emotional stress.

In the future The Dome will offer more programs with this initiative in mind. For more information on Leave No Child Inside, visit www.kidsoutside.info