“I can be an artist, you can be an artist, we are all artists!” ~ Barbara Rabin You didn’t know you’re an artist? You needed, need, Barbara as your teacher. Barbara is an art expert. She could easily grace the halls of any art museum as its docent. In this episode, learn how Barbara introduces art to children in a meaningful way, creating a supportive artists’ environment where they can let their inner artist's creativity shine!

In this week's episode THE RULES, how Patton inspired Barbara in her teaching - how did he do that?! - and the use of Glinda's magic-wand... Barbara gives deep insight into how and why she created her classroom rules and how to implement them with children at school and in the home. The first rule is: "Enjoy yourself!" Find out why Barbara made this her first rule and how it impacts the children in the classroom or home environment. We also discover the meaning to Barbara of Glinda the Good, Ms. Frizzle, and General Patton. We apologize for the slight crackle that can be heard on occasion. I edited the sound to the best of my ability. A little crackle remains like the sound of waving a magic wand which you will also learn about the use of towards the end of the episode.

This is the inaugural episode of SunGems Podcast - "Rocks in the Basket!" SunGems Podcast’s mission is to share methods developed over a forty-year career by teacher Barbara Rabin to support the creation of a happy classroom or home environment. When asked what they want for their children parents often respond, “I want my child to be happy.” Sungems Podcast will discuss Barbara’s methods to help teachers, parents, and humankind raise successful, confident, happy children. Barbara is an expert in primary education. Her innate wisdom, artfulness, and mastery of teaching were forged over 40 years as an educator. She has taught in many fine schools. She helped found a successful holistic school in California based on her principles and practices of education. She has been the driving force, primary curriculum resource, and inspiration behind other educational ventures. She has an artful, magical approach to educating children. In this episode, Barbara shares the story behind the creation of her quietly revolutionary classroom practice of "Rocks in the Basket!" The creation of “Rocks in the Basket” was a pivotal moment in Barbara’s teaching career. It came during the 70s when she worked in upstate New York in a rural area of low socioeconomic status with families struggling with poverty. This is an inspiring true story you won’t want to miss! It's definitely worthy of a scene or two in a movie!