Former Chicago First Lady and After School Matters Founder and Chair Maggie Daley died today at the age of 68, after a battle with breast cancer diagnosed in 2002. I am grateful for Maggie's efforts to engage and inspire teenagers. I am grateful that after school mattered to her; for her commitment to Chicago's youth. And I am grateful for the opportunities her dedication afforded: to work with some amazing teenagers via informal science education. Photo of a visit from First Lady Maggie Daley and Mayor Elect Rahm Emanuel to our After School Matters' Science Squad on March 31, 2011.
In the midst of cooking turkeys and tofu, smashing potatoes, opening cans of cranberry sauce with the ridges on the jellied-cylinder, drizzling honey on cornbread, baking pumpkins into pie, and opening the wine early...you might be thinking "with all the thanks for all this food grown from the Earth, how could I possibly connect to nature any more?!?"
How could you possibly not find more ways to connect to nature!?! Tis the season when plants sprinkle the landscape with their seeds, and evergreen trees (conifers) drop cones (their reproductive organs). I think pine cones are one of the perfect natural treasures to collect while out and about.
With a pine cone, pipe-cleaners, small objects for eyes, some glue, your imagination, and the inspiration pictured below...you (and the kids in your life) can connect a little more to nature with a teeny-tiny turkey! Turkeys pictured were made today by some of the creative and inspiring teen Ambassadors of Urban Wilderness that I work with in an After School Matters' science program in Chicago.
Former Chicago First Lady and After School Matters Founder and Chair Maggie Daley died today at the age of 68, after a battle with breast cancer diagnosed in 2002.
