Week 2, Day 4: September 26, 2008

 

Our day began with our morning circle lead by Leora. We read a book called PowWow: A Good Day to Dance by Jacqueline Dembar Greene. The book explained the summer powwows that many North American Indians attend to keep the old ways alive. We spoke of how native people are different from each other in that their customs and stories are unique. We spoke of how our government took their land away from them (“That was mean!” “That wasn’t nice!” “That’s not fair!” were the cries from the circle.), and that they come together to keep alive the old ways—to dance, pray, and care for each other and the earth. We spoke about community.

We will welcome Annika VonSchoeler-Ames (5 YO in January) to our learning community on Tuesday. We spoke of how to welcome a friend by introducing yourself, and inviting them to play along.

We lost power for three hours (from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) but managed to have a picnic snack in the entry room, and then went upstairs for our lessons. We worked with letter boards today and reviewed the signs and sounds for A, C, D, M, S, and T. The younger friends worked on decoding small words and we finished by reading two very short and sweet “Bob” books. (Thank you, Tony(a), for this resource!)

The older friends practiced their signs and sounds as well, and then read to each other for 15 minutes. We finished the lesson by the two older friends helping each other read the book, Spot Bakes a Cake.

After lunch, we read a story called “The Boy Who Lived with the Bears,” retold by Joseph Bruchac. We worked on our totem flags that were sent home today. These flags were a culminating project on a creative visualization that we did on the first day. Friends used creativity and many fine motor skills preparing a flag for themselves and each friend, tying ribbons onto their flags, and string them onto a hemp rope using a measurement ribbon. They seemed to be very proud of the process as well as the end product. Please display them proudly!

After finishing the totem flags, we worked on our play that we have been doing called “The Earth on the Turtle’s Back.” Friends are enjoying the process of dramatizing the action of the story.

 

Oversight: Our Big Home by Linda Glaser (We read this on Tuesday, September 23.

 

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Week 2, Day 3: September 23, 2008

Today we celebrated the Autumnal Equinox by making sparkling crowns, having a spirit walk, and then saying good-bye to summer, and hello to autumn. We all said good-bye to the long hot days, swimming in the lake, no school, being with our families a lot of the time, feeling the sun on our skin, playing in the river, catching fireflies, and warm nights. Then we sat and talked about what we love about the autumn.

 

They said:

*Raking up leaves and running from far away and jumping in them.

*Jumping in the leaves and hiding in them, and then jumping out!

*I like running and catching the leaves as they fall.

*I like going on long hikes and seeing the beautiful colors and picking up leaves to take home to my Mom and Dad.

*I like swinging on my swing in the barn.

*I like making wooden bowls.

*I like all the holidays: the Autumn Equinox, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, and all the fun things we do to celebrate.

During lunch, we read several Native American tales from a book called Feathers and Tails as retold by David Kherdian. We spoke of stories and how they can teach if we look for the lesson in each of them.

After lunch, we worked on finishing our totem flags so we will be able to assemble them on Friday.

 

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Week 1, Day 2: September 19, 2008

We followed our regular routine of morning play until 10 a.m., and then had a snack. We did our morning circle upstairs (above the garage) in my special study. We did this because I wanted to  set the stage for our beginning of “Peace Travelers,” as we discussed the concept of “peace,” and my study is decorated in such a way that denotes peace for me. There are pictures of special people, paintings of angels, my art supplies and photographs I have taken throughout the years. I wanted to find out how each of the friends thought about and spoke of peace.

 

Here are some of their responses:

- If someone dies, the person who dies know that the living person still loves them. That is peace….Someday, when I die, I want to know that people still love me.

- When my grandpa died, I was sad, but I knew that he really loved me. And I knew that he was alive, just somewhere else. 

- Peace means being very kind. You can look at someone’s eyes and they’re kind, and they have peace.

- Peace is when you really care about people, and you help them when they need it, or when they might be hurt.

- Peace is when someone comes up to you and sits next to you, and hugs you. That is peace.

 - Peace is just being quiet.

- Peace is being giving to other people. Sometimes just making stuff for them. It’s being kind to people that you don’t know.

 - Making capes and having spirit walks is peaceful.

 - When a baby wakes up and smiles a happy smile, and then the baby nurses. Both the mama and the baby feel peace.

 

After our discussion about peace, we read again “Earth on the Turtle’s Back” (An Onondaga story of creation as told by Joseph Bruchac in Keepers of the Earth.) We enacted the story, and will perform it at a later date.

 

At lunch we read When the Moon is Full by Penny Pollock and we spoke about the seasons and how Native peoples mark the time with what is going on around them. We discussed how we are all part of the great web of life, and looked at some paintings of Susan Seddon Boulet that depicts people and their totems.

 

We also began work on our totem flags that will become a series of small banners that each friend will contribute to, so that each will bring home a chain with all seven of our totems. We have practiced many fine motor skills by punching holes, using colored pencils and tying knots. The friends seem very happy about this project and proud of their work. It has also been nice to notice friends asking if they can help each other, and allowing help to given by each other.

 

Our final book of the day was My Granny Went to Market by Stella Blackstone and Christopher Corn.  We had fun trying to remember what was bought in each city around the world as a granny flies a magic carpet from place to place.

 

 

 

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And we’re off…..

Our day began with free play. Three stations were set up: blocks and dominoes, puzzles and matching games, and the kitchen. As friends arrived, they greeted each other and got right into the routine of free, unstructured time.

At 9:55, we tidied up, and began our morning circle with “Four Directions,” by Sarah Pirtle and our “Good Morning Ritual”. Afterwards, we talked about the jobs that we have to do, and then launched into our discussion of a new year of school. I asked the friends to think about the question, “What is different this year?” Friends began commenting on the physical space, and eventually launched into a discussion of the people that they miss. We shared our feelings and spoke of many of the good times that we shared in the woods, in the snow, and in the river. We looked at pictures of them from last year’s cape ceremonies (that hang framed on the wall). We also spoke of the jobs we have in our learning community, and how we will accomplish what we need to in order to respect our space, environment, and each other. We also used the talking orb, and answered the question, “What was fun about your summer?” We had our snack and read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. We talked about how sometimes everyone gets a little bit excited and nervous about new beginnings–teachers, too. We had a discussion about starting something new, and the changes that occur as the seasons come and go.

 

What was fun about your summer?

Zoe: I liked when I went to Red Gate Farm. I went into the lake even though it was cold outside. It was perfect and very fun. I had fun one day at the Farmer’s Market and everybody got a ride in a wheel barrel. 

Maia: I got to play with my friend, Kayla. She lives right up the driveway, and I get to watch her get on the school bus.

Jayden: I liked miniature golfing at Pirate’s Cove. We were in the White Mountains.

Sebastian: I liked when I went camping out in Vermont for four days, and I liked when I went Cape Cod, too.

Elias: I liked swimming in the ocean and boogie boarding. I like the shell driveway, and my grandpa has a golf cart, and I liked that, too.

Leora: I liked going on a horseback ride with my Papa in front, and Elias in the middle, and I was in the back. When we went up a hill, Elias had to hold on tight to my Papa, and I had to hold on tight to Elias.

 

We had our first spirit walk and learned a new song that we sing to the hills and sky from our mountain view. (This simple act was inspired by Sarah Pirtle, and we have continued the tradition.) Its tune is from the Nields Sisters’ HooteNanny “Hello Song.” Its words are:

“Good Morning Gaia

Our earth so green and blue

Thank you for your bounty

All things so good and true

 

Good morning Big Sky

The wind, the rain, our air

We will take good care of you

And show you that we care”

 

(We got a couple of “first day of school” photos, and some shots of our first spirit walk of the year. Check out our Flickr website by getting in touch with Tony(a) Lemos. 

After our spirit walk, we came inside quietly, and drew a picture of what we experienced and shared that with the group as everyone finished.

At lunch we read Possum’s Harvest Moon, and spoke about last year again, and how we did a play about possum’s party last year at the beginning of the year. We spoke of the Harvest Moon on the 15th, and how some friends saw its beautiful assent into the sky, and how some friends were already fast asleep! We spoke of the end of summer, and the beginning of the autumn. Friends played outside for about 35 minutes, and rediscovered our forsythia house and the play structure.

After lunch, we began our first phase of “Peace Travelers,” a program that Tony(a) and I are developing that is designed to teach positive social skills, conflict resolution, and the understanding of many cultures around the world. Each friend will receive a “World Citizen” passport that will document our “journey” through eight countries beginning here in America with our own indigenous people. The countries that follow are: India (Oct.), Mexico (Nov.), Sweden (Dec.), Australia (Jan.), Tibet (Feb.), Japan (Mar.), Bolivia or Peru (April), and Kenya (May). (If you have stories, craft projects, or ideas about various celebrations in terms of the cultures mentioned, please let us know! Thanks!) We will explore one culture a month through festivals, storytelling, food, crafts, housing, and transportation. Reading, writing, math, art projects, and music will be integrated into the Peace Travelers curriculum.

We read two afternoon stories. The first, MoonFlute by Audrey Wood was about a girl who takes a journey in her dreamtime and visits with the moon and animals in various venues (the hills and valleys near her town, the ocean, and the jungle). We discussed flying journeys and visits with animals which was our introduction to our second afternoon story entitled “Earth on the Turtle’s Back” (An Onondaga story of creation as told by Joseph Bruchac in Keepers of the Earth.)

We talked how people make stories to speak of their lives and pass that knowledge along to the children and then, their children.

We spoke of totem animals, and later we did I took them on a guided visualization (after they were all tuckered out near the end of our day). The visualization was used to have them identify an animal that feels special to them, and we will have “totem time” throughout the year, and compose a “research book” filled with art and facts about their special totem animal.

The visualization went something like this (accompanied by the “beating heart” made by a drum. Thanks for the idea, Tony(a)!):

“Picture yourself under the canopy of a large tree. The sunlight is shining down on your body and you feel warm and cozy. You open your eyes and you see that are in large golden meadow and you stand up and look around. You notice that far off in the distance you can see and hear the big, beautiful, blue ocean, and you can feel the sandy soil beneath your feet. You look around and see a path that will take you down near the water. You walk slowly and quietly through the woods. You open your eyes and ears all around you and hear the sound of birds overhead, and hear the chatter of all the creatures that live in the forest. As you arrive on the beach, you notice the ocean’s rolling waves, and the small waves that wash over your feet. You feel happy and peaceful as you look across the ocean’s surface and see fish, dolphin, and whales. You look out over the waves and back to the path from which you came. You listen to all the sounds and take in all the colors around you. Slowly, you go back up the path to the beautiful tree where you began your journey. You sit quietly and think about the animal that has come to greet you and offered you a gift.

When you are ready, you can open your eyes and come back to this room, and we will share our special totem animal.”

 

The animals that spoke to friends are:

 

Zoe: dolphin

Sebastian: turtle

Leora: horse

Maia: deer

Elias: river otter

Jayden: turkey

 

At the day’s end, we sang our good-bye song that you heard a couple times last year. I wrote the music to the words from the Tibetan prayer that we learned from book, Tenzin’s Deer. We gathered our things and got in the car very smoothly and were down the hill by 3:05. (The scheduled time is 3:15, but I wanted to be sure I was there for Liam’s bus!) A reminder to be sure to take all your child’s items from the trunk! Thanks!

 

Our ending song from Tenzin’s Deer is:

 

May no harm come to us

May we love each other well

May we be kind to all the people of the earth

 

“May no harm come to us

May we love each other well

May we be kind to all the creatures of the earth.”

 

We will also sing “See Ya Later Alligator” from Lui Collins’ Kids’ Jam program that goes as follows:

 

“See ya later alligator

Bye-Bye Fly

After awhile crocodile

Time to say goodbye

Toodaloo Kangaroo

Chau Meow

Adios nanny goat

Goodbye for now

Bye-bye (name), Bye-bye (name), Bye-bye (name)

Bye, Bye, bye.”

 

 

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Peace Travelers- Conway Massachusets

Peace Travelers is a twice-weekly home school program that highlights multicultural studies, geography, and social skill development through “travel” around the world. Children, ages 4-9, receive a passport and explore a country and cultures through festivals, storytelling, food, crafts, housing, and transportation. Reading, writing, and mathematics are integrated throughout the curriculum.

 

The cost for the program is $35.00 daily for a ten week semester program. Semester commitment required.

 

Call Kate O’Shea at 413 369-4700 for more information and application. First semester program begins Tuesday, September 16 and runs through December 19. (Second semester begins Tuesday, January 6, 2009.)

 

peacetravellers1

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Spring 2008

Winter softened into springtime, and it was a wonderful time at the Mountain View. After a long, cold winter, the spring came, and enabled us to go back outside for longer periods of time. By that point in the school year, we had got into a regular rhythm for the days. The beginning of the day was really all about structure and routine. Most of the time, we had free play, tidied up, had our opening circle, and had our snack. After snack, we began our morning lesson, which was the “sitting down” and “focusing” time of day. For the younger children, it was a time of school readiness. We began some elementary writing skills—we learned to hold a pencil with a grip. We used “dot to dot” puzzles from one to five or one to ten, as well as mazes. We began a tally sheet for each day, and we called it teamwork. I would set the clock, and we would work quietly side by side. A teacher would visit each student, offering encouragement, and pointing out what the student was doing well. (The books we used were by a company called Kumon that I would recommend. They are clear and accurate, and they build skills gradually. (They are available at Barnes and Noble and online.) At the end of our 15 or 20 minute block of time, we would to around and count the pages we did, and cross them off on a large grid. Most of the time we would far surpass the goal we had set in the beginning of the time period, simply because they were having fun. The object of counting up our work together was to get friends to start working as a team, and see how much we could accomplish together. Friends who worked slower generally worked neater, and they were praised for that as well. Friends who worked faster tended to be a bit sloppier, and they were encouraged to pay attention to the lines, and staying within them, and stay in control of the pencil. The main emphasis, however, was on learning to work quietly for brief periods of time, and work together as a team to accomplish a lot together. We played lots of board games as well. Most of them involved counting and moving beads, game pieces, and spinners. Taking turns, encouraging each other, and adhering to “the rules” were important parts of learning during this time. We played games to completion, meaning that each friend had a turn to arrive at the given destination, and they were greeted with high fives, and a welcome. We used the games mancala, the Ladybug Game (invented and published by a first grader), bingo with letters, shapes, and colors, the Goldilocks and the Three Bears Game, Shake the Cherry Tree, and others. Marcelle continued her work with friends in finger plays, poems, and rhymes that celebrated the changing seasons, the forces of nature, and some nursery rhymes. Many stories were read, settings were built with blocks and scarves, and small plays were enacted. Ask your friend about “Silly Soup,” a game they played with little stone blocks to build counting and memory skills. Older friends were working on math and word skill building. During math lessons, we counted everything! We counted by twos, by threes, by fives, by tens, by hundreds, and by thousands. We were working on getting the basics down—and trying to help them learn about the “big picture” associated with math and getting it all in order. After lessons, we got ready for lunch, and had outside time. In general, our outside time was at least an hour long, weather permitting. This gave friends lots of time to play pretend games on the rocks and hills. After our outside time, we came indoors for cozy time for reading aloud and depending on time or unit, an art project. At least once every two weeks, we did a short hike in the neighboring woods. It was good for the soul, we usually had a brief naturalist/science lesson from Marcelle, and we began a bit of training for Mountain Day–our end of the year hike from Kate’s home to Marcelle’s home. At the beginning of May, Marcelle led us in making a forsythia house that we then expanded to include a tunnel connected us with a second house. (If we are lucky, the forsythia will take root, and next year we may have a blooming forsythia house complex!) This spring we continued reading chapter books aloud during our rest time. We began reading the trilogy that includes My Father’s Dragon, Elmer and the Dragon, and The Dragons of Blueland. They are wonderful lessons in planning ahead, the cleverness of children, and contain lovely imaginative ways of problem solving as inspired by a young boy named Elmer. (Note that we did not finish The Dragons of Blueland. It was not as enjoyable as the first two, and some of the younger children were showing some a bit of trepidation.) Little Bo was a better fit for what they liked. So, at this point, we also began reading a book that Marcelle found for us in a local library called Little Bo by Julie Andrews Edwards. Playing the cat and dog game was a normal occurrence during free play, so this was an excellent choice! Thanks Marcelle! (As soon as the older friends learned what was going on, they also wanted Little Bo, so that became our afternoon book for reading aloud. You witnessed the enthusiasm for all things feline at our Summer Solstice Potluck. Following Little Bo, we began Little Bo in France. Tony(a) gave us several books on tape called Catwings and Catwings Return (by Ursula K. LeGuin) that were also greeted enthusiastically, and carried us through several days of extreme heat. Thanks Tony(a)!

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Week 8 (Feb. 5-8)

Thanks to a delayed opening, Liam and I were able to make fresh dumplings (more like whole wheat clazones) filled with yummy vegies for February 7th, and we ate them for luck for our upcoming year. We read Tenzin’s Deer by Barbara Soros (Thank you Tony) about a boy who nurses a deer back to health by listening to his dreams, the voice of the deer, and his own heart. We have echoed the prayers we learned in this book, and will continue to do so. They are: “May no harm come to us. May we love each other well. May we be kind to all the creatures of the earth.” Today we did an abbreviated spirit walk against the backdrop of the magical snow covered trees and mountains, and we uttered the prayers as we walked quietly into the splendorous, glistening world. Blessed be this learning community.Usually with a delay, we stick to the basics of our day, and have art projects, outside time, our circles (with reading aloud) and our eating times and that’s that. The snow has been magical up here (with no wind and the snow outlining all the amazing trees) and we’ve spend time building snow structures, sledding, and reading about snow. Our book entitled Snowflake Bentley of Jericho, VT has been a favorite.An aside of graditude: Thank you to all who have really pitched in with cleaning and helping, especially on Fridays. I know that all of us have busy, overscheduled lives although we really try not to, and we appreciate all you do for us. Thank, too, to those of you who check in with me about my life. If I had my way, MVEC would be all I did, but college life has its perks as well, and I am doing both. It has been crazy and wonderful, but stressful. Doing this for the first time and all the planning it takes can be overwhelming, but I am grateful to my co-teacher Marcelle, and all in the community who really assist in “picking up the slack.”Blessed be!

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Week 7 (January 29-Feb. 1)

With the upcoming Lunar New Year (This year, the Chinese New Year and the Tibetan New Year fall on the same day, February 7: The year of the rat.), we have been reading stories about dragons (friendly and a sign of good luck in Chinese culture) and the customs associated with the New Year. This is, literally, one of the biggest celebrations in the Asian world. Folks travel far and wide to be with their families and sweep out the old year and welcome in the new with special food, fireworks, and age old customs. (It holds the importance of our Thanksgiving in terms of being with those we love.)We have also begun our Chinese lanterns, and will began planning some of the special things we will do to celebrate the new lunar year. We have also begun planning for Valentines Day—a day to celebrate friendship in our learning community.

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Week 6 (January 22-25)

 Happy 7th Birthday to Liam!  Our writer’s workshop continues with the older friends telling stories to each other.  There are lots of components to a story, so they have dictated them to me on my laptop, and then we’ll spend time listening to each others’ stories. Each friend listens after their story while we ask questions for clarification or make comments about what we like about the story. We then use these questions and comments to improve our stories.We have used dominoes in math to also get to sums up to twelve. The older friends have had fun recognizing sums and being able to call them out as they come up. Marcelle and the younger friends are working on shapes and how to recognize them. For example, she has made lots of different kinds of triangles and the friends will be able to count sides and recognize them as such although they look different from one another.

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Week 4 (January 8-11)

Sledding This week has been spent getting back into the routine of our learning community. Most days we split up into similar age groups for a period of time, and engage in “lessons.” For the older students we usually read aloud and work with reading and writing or play games that have to do with learning math. Manipulatives are always a big part of lessons, and we’ve begun using both dice and dominoes to figure out additions problems. Any games that you have that reinforce adding and subtracting through use with dice and counting are wonderful ways of practicing together.The younger students engage in similar play with manipulatives and build, count, and play with identifying shapes, numbers, and colors. With all the students, we are working on collaboration, and learning to do our best as individuals as well as being a part of a community.Many games and projects are engaged in as teams, and friends learn to negotiate and work together as they learn and play. In math, we have started to play a game we call “The Bean Game.” All you need is a pair of dice, beans that are small enough (uncooked) that you can hold ten of them in your hand, and a cup or bowl for holding the beans that are given to “the pot.” It is a progressive game with “rounds” to it. The object of the game is get rid of all your beans first. In the meanwhile, it’s important to try and keep track of who has the fewest beans without letting anyone know how many you have in your hand…The most important thing in this game is learning sums up to twelve, and each friend has a turn rolling the dice and saying the sum out load.Round 1: Every time a one is rolled, one bean from your hand goes into the pot. Every time a six is rolled, you give one bean away to someone else.*If any doubles are rolled, you put two beans in the pot, and you roll again. If it is a double one, you give two beans to the pot. If double sixes are rolled, you give two beans away—you can give one to a player or a two, AND two go into the pot.Round 2: Same as above, AND if you roll a one and a two, it’s “acey-ducey.” Three beans are placed in the pot, and you get to roll again. Also, if you roll a 5+3, the person who goes next loses a turn.Round 3: Same as above, AND if you roll a nine or an eleven, you have to take one bean from the pot. (With 6 + 5 or 6+3, you take one bean from the pot, and you give one to someone else.)Round 4: Same as above, AND if you roll any combination of seven, you get to give put three in the pot. (Remember if you roll a 6+1, you get to give one away plus put one in the pot, plus the bonus three.Round 5: Same as above, AND you give one bean to the person on your right, and one bean to the person on your left.The most important part of this game is saying the sums aloud. If the player gets the sum wrong, coach them by going to the die with the most dots (For instance, six + three), and count 7, 8, 9 for the other three. (This is a shortcut so they don’t have to count all the dots each time!) Important Note: The way that you win is to NOT have any beans available to give away on your turn. So if at the end of your turn you have no beans, you do NOT win. You must wait to roll again, and have the opportunity to give away a bean and not have one.

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