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HOW TO LIVE HAPPILY WITH ALL LIFE

Course Overview

Written exercises and experiential learning encourage children:

A. To discover and/or be responsive to their unique purpose.

B. To respect all life.

C. To foster and enhance their sensitivity to the wisdom, communication and cooperation of the Circle of Life in which they live.

D. To think and act with the realization that the Earth is a living being.

Using the Internet with the inspirational text Six Lessons with Delphi , students access web pages with information or activities that emphasize compassionate living and environmental, humane and global education.

How to Live Happily with All Life is the first in a series of online courses offered as a supplementary program to complement homeschooling or classroom studies. Students needing elective credit will find that this course provides them with diverse opportunities for learning and global partnership.

Lesson Summaries

LESSON ONE, The Earth Has a Body, begins the teaching story of a wise and loving golden retriever who shares her magic formula of partnership and communication. In this lesson, you will begin to explore the world of communication and the love of Mother Earth. The lesson concludes with the writing of an Earth Treaty.

In Cyberspace: A hyperlink is included that will give you samples and ideas about writing your treaty.

LESSON TWO, Caring Is Power, asks you to listen to your heart so that you will know what you can do to help others and the planet.

In Cyberspace: You will meet kids of all ages who are making a difference by their good deeds of kindness and caring.

LESSON THREE, The Circle of Life, explores the nature of relationship in the Circle of Life. The idea is introduced that all life is related--much like a family--and connected by love.

In Cyberspace: The hyperlinks emphasize seeing animals as partners. You will read letters from young people who believe in the partnership of all life.

LESSON FOUR, A Story About the Real Laws, fosters respect for Mother Earth and explores the kinds of laws that help or harm our planet. You will learn about the importance of tress and forests, climate change, habitats and keys to a healthy environment.

In Cyberspace: You will visit links about the solar system and learn about its planets as well as expand your understanding of the community of all life.

LESSON FIVE, More About the Real Laws, focuses on applying the Real Laws and tells you about the magic of "thank you": the importance of appreciation and gratitude. You are encouraged to think of other laws that will help Mother Earth and her family of all life.

In Cyberspace: You will meet Earth Dog, whose job it is to help Mother Earth. You will meet young people who are leaders in helping Mother Earth and our animal partners. You will find examples of friendship and partnership between different races and nationalities.

LESSON SIX, A Very Important Message, will give you a new insight into what a smile can do. The creative purpose of a smile is to spread joy and happiness. Delphi writes that even Mother Earth can feel the warmth of your smile.

In Cyberspace: You will find examples of how a smile and a loving heart can make a big change in your environment and in people's lives. And you will visit Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, where there are many dogs and cats smiling!

LESSON SEVEN, Angels, Nature Spirits and Dogs, introduces a study of energy with references and stories about angels and nature spirits. This interesting series of lessons encourages you to think beyond fairy tales to a world of intelligent energy.

In Cyberspace: The value of thank you is presented to you in a different way as you read the thanksgiving address of the Iroquois Confederacy in Central New York. You will visit web pages which answer questions about fairies that have been characters in movies, and you will learn about fairies in the folklore traditions of different countries.

LESSON EIGHT, How to Be a Partner, focuses on partnership and explores how angels can be considered "intelligent energy." Here you can really think for yourself and imagine beyond what anyone has written! Choose an earth mission--to recycle, build or plant--and become a caretaker for Mother Earth.

In Cyberspace: You will explore the differences between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. You will find examples of partnerships that care for animals and the earth.

LESSON NINE, Special Partners, tells you more about partnership, leadership, and global responsibility. You will learn about the gnomes or "good energies," and why they are valued so highly in many cultures and beliefs. And you will learn about famous leaders from many parts of the world.

In Cyberspace: You will visit web pages which introduce garden gnomes, Peace Heroes, kid leaders who help the earth, the Nobel Peace Prize web site and the Global 500 Award. You can be a leader, too, and make a difference.

LESSON TEN, More About Good Energy, includes Delphi's story of a gnome in a garden and the power of saying "thank you." The lesson continues with the story of how the first Thanksgiving began.

In Cyberspace: Review the importance of gratitude and thanksgiving. You will learn how Native Americans inspired and contributed to Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

LESSON ELEVEN, What You Need to Know About the Nature Spirits, explores the relationship between nature spirits ("smart energies") and the environment. Learn how you can help Mother Earth and her four elements: air, water, fire and earth.

In Cyberspace: You will meet the Tree Musketeers, Smokey Bear and Rabbit. Visit the Rainforest Alliance and find out how to help the rainforest. Learn more about how kids are saving Earth and making a big difference.

LESSON TWELVE, Taking Time to Listen, reveals the power of listening and how you can understand much more when you listen with your heart. There are important keys here to peacemaking and living happily with all life.

In Cyberspace: Let Tiki the Penguin introduce you to his friends from many parts of the world, who live in harmony and community. Take a rainforest tour, meet indigenous children, and learn about their stories.

LESSON THIRTEEN, Back to Listening, concentrates on the meaning and value of communication. It introduces you to the United Nations and its programs for young people.

In Cyberspace: The hyperlinks connect to web pages that elaborate on why and how communication spins the web of life. Visit the United Nations web site for kids and learn how you can become a partner in bringing peace and love to the planet.

LESSON FOURTEEN, Living Truthfully, tells you how helping others (kind deeds) can bring you happiness. There are examples throughout this lesson of how kindness can influence global peace as well as cooperation in your school and community. Delphi's Pink Ribbon Club International encourages and fosters global friendships and expressions of kindness worldwide.

In Cyberspace: Web sites connect you to organizations and programs actively engaged in kind acts. You will visit an elementary school that celebrates A Day of Kindness, and you will be asked to create your own Good Deed Chart.

LESSON FIFTEEN, The Community of All Life, emphasizes the contribution of animals as partners in the community of all life. You will explore the meaning of trust, friendship, and love in your life and your world. And you will learn how to build a Friendship Circle.

In Cyberspace: you will meet new animal friends and discover how they serve as teachers of peace, rescue workers and loving companions. You will visit a web site to hear the sounds of animals and imagine what they might be saying.

LESSON SIXTEEN, Special Partners, explores the importance of respect as a means of communication with all life. There are many ways that you can express kindness and respect to your family and neighbors, environment and animal friends. Helpful suggestions are given of how you can make a difference by your kind deeds.

In Cyberspace: You will learn how kids saved a mountain, how recycling can help our planet, and how animals and insects teach us about community.

LESSON SEVENTEEN, Rats and Cats, addresses the beliefs that foster distrust and conflict, and reviews how partnership and friendship help Mother Earth. You will be introduced to ways you can contribute to a more peaceful world by developing partnerships, practicing teamwork and honoring the community of all life.

In Cyberspace: Web pages introduce you to animal communities, life in the rainforests, caring for nature's habitats, and global partnerships.

LESSON EIGHTEEN, My Peace Plan by Delphi, invites you to explore the meaning of peace and unity and what it is to be a partner with all life. You will learn about the Iroquois Great Law of Peace and the Peacemaker, and the contribution that Native Americans have made and are making now in our world. With the completion of this course, you will be given a certificate recognizing you as a partner in the circle of life.

In Cyberspace: Visit web pages that emphasize visions of peace. Learn about the Iroquois Confederacy and its Great Law of Peace, the Peacemaker, and the Tree of Peace. You may want to continue your studies concerning this Law and its influence on the United Nations Charter and the Constitution of the United States. If you are interested, The Sanctuary School can provide additional materials.

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Excerpts from Three Lessons

Aurora Learning -- an online course delivery system -- provides the student-teacher interface for How to Live Happily with all Life. To view lessons, the browsers which you'll need are either Internet Explorer Version 5.0 or higher, or Netscape Navigator Version 4.0 or higher. Each lesson is accessed individually, space is provided to answer questions online, and students submit completed lessons to their teacher via the world wide web. Excerpts from three lessons of the course are provided on this page to demonstrate that students scroll down one page as they progress through a lesson.

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Excerpt from Lesson 12 TAKING TIME TO LISTEN  The power of listening must be taught in schools so you can grow. How do you ever expect to grow if you don't listen? That is very important. Listening and growing go together. I can't imagine not listening first before I speak. Then there is ALWAYS AN ANSWER. Because answers come from listening.

Question: What does Delphi mean when she says that answers come from listening?

If you have a question and no one is nearby to give you an answer, try Delphi's way. Listen to your heart. Wise thoughts may come that are surprising and even exciting.

Do you have a question? Write it below. Be still and listen. Take a few minutes, then write your thoughts or insights.

Now let's talk about listening and why it is so important in your life.

When you listen to people you can hear what they are really saying. They are not always saying what you think they are saying, so you had better listen with your heart and your ears the way I do.

Exercise:

There are many wise Native American sayings, but to "hear" the wisdom that they contain you will need to "listen with your heart." Choose one of these sayings by clicking here.

Question: What does Delphi mean when she says that answers come from listening?

Answer:

Question: What does this saying mean to you? How does the saying help you to care more for others?

Answer:

If people would stop to listen to each other, there would be more UNDERSTANDING on earth. We could use a little more of that, don't you think?

The first thing for you to know about listening is that you are respectful of a person when you listen--and that person will respect you back. This RULE applies to all of life, even the little crickets!

Learn About Crickets

Have you ever seen a cricket like the one you see when you click here?

Have you ever heard a cricket's song? Click here to hear how it sounds by selecting "cricket" from among the names on the web page and clicking LISTEN.

Delphi tells us on page 57 of Six Lessons with Delphi that crickets are communicating with their songs. She says that they have lots of important information if we listen with our ears and our hearts.

Question: What kind of information would a cricket have to communicate?

Answer:

Hear the Songs of Nature

Go outside and listen to the cricket's song. If you do not have crickets where you live, listen to the birds,
cows mooing, a rooster crowing, or a coyote calling. But LISTEN!

Question: What thoughts come to you when you listen in this way?

Answer:

Project:

Would you like to hear the sound of a tiger or a whale or a horse or a peacock? Click here to go to a web page where you can hear the sounds of many different animals.

Question: What animals' sounds did you listen to? Write their names here.

Answer:

Question: Did you notice anyone being helpful and kind today? If so, write about that person and your experience. What did you learn?

Answer:

Dogs are well known for their good deeds. They have saved people from burning buildings; assisted people who were blind and deaf; helped the police to investigate, guard and rescue. They have been honored in many ways as heroes.

Optional Project:

Question: Think of an example of a canine hero and write about him or her. What did the animal hero do? How did this make a difference for others?

Answer:

You may be interested in learning more about organizations that train and sponsor animals who serve in the fields of healing, rescue, education and detective work. Pick one of the following organizations and share what you have found out about it and why you chose it.

1. Optional: Humane Society of the United States Disaster Dog Program and the World Trade Center.
"When the World Trade Center towers collapsed on September 11, 2001, one of the immediate concerns was a search for survivors. The best search-and-rescue teams in the country were mobilized to the scene. These rescuers possess an uncommon focus and agility: They can traverse over the most unstable ground, they can ignore stimuli that would distract lesser souls, they know how to avoid dangerous situations, they can even detect the faintest sounds and scents."

Optional: If you decided to read about the Disaster Dog Program, what did you learn about the work that disaster dogs do?

Answer:

2. Optional: Pet-Assisted Therapy

"The program is designed to share animals with people of all ages in facilities such as convalescent homes, hospitals, mental health centers, abused children's homes and juvenile detention centers. Volunteers bring warmth and love to people who aren't able to experience the joys of pet ownership."

Optional: Are there any pet-assisted therapy programs where you live? If there are, write a paragraph about how one of them helps your community. If there are not any pet-assisted therapy programs where you live, how might such a program serve your neighbors and friends?

Answer:

3. Optional: Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc.

"Since 1946, the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. has provided guide dogs free of charge to blind people who seek enhanced mobility and independence."

Optional: What interests you about guide dogs?

Answer:

A GOOD DEED always comes from a KIND HEART. That is really where it all starts, the kind heart. If you WANT to help people, they will feel it in their hearts. Then they will smile. Happiness is a good thing to have on the earth. If you can help people be happy, that would be a real, solid contribution.

So my plan for today is to wish you a happy heart and then to ask you to record your good deeds -- at least one per day minimum. I wouldn't ask you to do this unless it was important.

We All Are Partners

Hi! My name is Delphi and we have met before. Now I would like to talk about RATS AND CATS.

When you think people don't get along, they almost never do. Take, for instance, Rats and Cats. You probably have an idea that they don't like each other very much. What if I told you that they actually work together in partnership on our planet?

We all are partners in the animal kingdom. As a matter of fact everyone, including me, is agreed that we are partners. Well, almost everyone. You see, we have a problem with some people because they are not partners yet. Maybe a few are, but not too many.

Questions: When you think of someone as your partner, do you have a different feeling about them? What does partnership mean to you?

Answer:

Question: Do you know any animals that are partners? If you think about this, there are quite a few. First, think of animals who are partners with one another. Then think about animals who are partners with human beings.

Answer:

Partners Everywhere

Have you ever noticed how ants seem to work together? Some people say that ants act as if they have one mind or a "collective mind." That means that they think together.

Click here for a story about how ants work together in partnership.

Question: What is the quality that ants have that enables them to work together to finish their tasks?

Answer:

Question: Why is this quality important in developing partnerships and working together in community?

Answer:

Enrollment and Payment Information

Online Curriculum

• For student: $50 per course (plus $35 for each additional student enrolled within a family). Curriculum Fee is due in full at the time of enrollment.
• To enroll: complete the online enrollment form or telephone 435-689-0784.
• For group pricing policy, please contact the school office.
  

Tuition and Teacher Services (Includes teacher fee per month)

Experienced and dedicated teachers interact with students throughout the course, checking their work online and maintaining contact by e-mail. Choose from two levels of teacher assistance.

1. Teacher Assisted ($25 per month or $125 for 5 months): Parent and teacher join in this program to bring the very best to the child. The teacher will encourage the student to contribute original, creative thoughts and ideas, and will be available to parents who wish to discuss the course and their child's interaction with it. It is suggested that the online lessons be submitted weekly. If more than 5 months is needed to complete the course, the teacher will be paid for the additional month(s) requested.
2. Teacher Guided ($35 per month or $175 for 5 months): This service is recommended for parents and students who would like more frequent feedback and support from the teacher. E-mails and/or telephone conferences are encouraged as ways of benefiting the student and furthering understanding of the course and its purpose between parent(s) and student. For the parent who is unable to commit to a teaching schedule with the child, or who has a child needing special attention, the teacher guided service is ideal. At this level, a conference between parent, teacher and student, by phone or in person, may be scheduled once a week. If more than 5 months is needed to complete the course, the teacher will be paid for the additional month(s) requested.

Note: A certificate of completion is presented at the conclusion of the course, with a letter of recommendation encouraging further studies and activities.