Summer at the Sangha 2026 – Week 1

Week 1 Sessions

MONDAY JULY 6TH

AM – Long Island History In Your Own Backyard – LI Quakers with Thereze Madison, History Educator

Sangha Education Center will kick off our summer season with one of four Long Island History In Your Own Backyard inclusive community classes, Long Island Quakers of the Jericho Preserve. Thereze Madison, Public School Educator and History Enthusiast, will guide this educational experience. Through family ties, friendships, and a shared mission, Quakers, free African Americans, and enslaved people collaborated to free those held in slavery in New York State before 1827 and many from the South throughout the 19^th century. Today, we will embark on an educational presentation, interactive activity, and historic walking tour of the Quaker Meeting House and cemetery across the street from our center at Historic Malcolm House. 

PM – Nerf Teams, Tag, and Target Lessons with Brian Autar, Mentor

We are excited to facilitate a request from program participants to offer a second class session of Nerf Teams, Tag, and Target Lessons. Based on the creation of previously built barriers and target boards, we will break into teams and build visual-motor skills through target practice with soft Nerf darts. Participants will also embark on a team-building opportunity through tag strategy options developed and guided by Brian Autar and others. Combining education and skill-building, young people will learn while enjoying this guided outdoor adventure on the premises of Historic Malcolm House.

WEDNESDAY JULY 8TH

AM – Medicine Wheel Garden Signs & Ceremony with Christine Keller, Educator, and Malcolm Hall, Carpenter

We are excited to explore ancient Medicine Wheel teachings in certain Native American cultures and relate their application to the world today to bring balance and harmony to our lives. We will embark on hands-on activities in the Medicine Wheel Garden at our Meadow Farm, including the installation of kiosk signs and the specific placement of colored rocks that have symbolic meaning. Participants will take part in reading the messages the wheel has to teach, and form the circle with mosaic tile stepping stones they made last year. Lastly, all will partake in a dedication ceremony, applying what we have learned about the history of the Medicine Wheel, leaving the Meadow set up as our own sacred space to honor our ancestors and inspire future generations.

PM – More Woodworking Wonders with Malcolm Hall, Carpenter

We are happy, as always, to have our community partner and carpenter friend, Malcolm Hall, back with us to create more woodworking wonders! Malcolm will guide us in making uniquely lettered inspirational signs. We will select and sand wood pieces and choose from a grab bag of wisdom sayings or determine our own to be painted onto the appropriate-sized wood piece. We will be instructed in the art of decorative lettering and apply what we learn on our signs (one to take home and another for the Meadow Farm). Lastly, we will leave them to dry and seal them at a later date. This hands-on learning experience combines philosophy and art, building critical thinking skills while enjoying time with peers. 

FRIDAY JULY 10TH

AM – Humorous Animal Homes & Habitats with Steeve Sproul, STEM Educator

Have you ever wondered who builds palaces on cliffs or who lurks in the deepest point on Earth? Learn about some of the weirdest and wildest animal homes. Explore extreme conditions and the extraordinary animal friends who can live in them. During this class, STEM Educator Steeve Sproul will explore a range of humorous animal homes and habitats that will impress and surprise us. Animals of the globe are an important part of our ecosystem. We will take a look at the places where they flourish and the results of their successes.  

PM – Sound Story Song Musical Storytelling with Lisa Mischke, Vocalist & Musician 

During our afternoon session, we welcome back Lisa Mischke, musician and vocalist, for a unique musical storytelling class. Lisa will offer an interesting array of musical activities connecting humans to the natural world, providing an educational framework that incorporates the power of sound as we learn about and actively engage with instruments from various world cultures. Instruments include a harp, whose origins evolved across diverse cultures over time; the Indian harmonium, originating in West Bengal; and several other special instruments, one for each participant. The culminating story will be an education in itself, providing a deeper understanding of the power of sound in community collaboration.

Location