HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
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Do, Be, Do, Be... ... the importance of quiet time in the developing child.
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From the mouths of...
... your lovely babes.
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Winter break...
... join River Crew for a terrific schedule of activities to celebrate the cultures of the world.
the 2013 DECEMBER ISSUE
RIVER CURRENT A MONTHLY PUBLICATION FROM RIVER MONTESSORI CHARTER SCHOOL
Message from our Executive Director Happy Holiday Season, River Montessori Families!
Parent
UNIVERSITY Community Conversation Meetings are a dedicated time to talk with River’s Montessorians about supporting children in their growth and learning! Come ask questions, give and share perspective, meet new people, and get a little support in the process. Each meeting is hosted by our administrator and/or a guide and includes a loose topic for inspiration and time for agendafree questions and discussion.
WHAT CHILDREN NEED:
DECEMBER 19 Neuropsychology's approach to education
Community Conversation Meetings are held just before the Foundation meeting.
There are many reasons to celebrate this season and our beautifully diverse community of families literally includes a world of different traditions. We wish you wonderful time spent with your families, seeing each occasion though the eyes of your children, and safe and joyful celebrations. There are a few recent school happenings that merit a bit of celebrating as well. Top of the list, of course, is the approval of our renewal charter. This was no small undertaking for the community and although we just keep moving in our daily work, a celebration is in order nonetheless. Many ideas have been bandied about for such an event — what do you think? A renewal party? A five year anniversary event in May? Ice cream with the children? Children and Family Dessert & Dance? If you have any great ideas, please let us know. Secondly, we have made it through our last Site & Program Review Visit with the California Department of Education. Once again, River Montessori Charter School demonstrated a peaceful and warm community in which children can work their own individual path of self-development with responsibility to the group and where the adults — guides, staff, parents,
and volunteers alike — work collaboratively to ensure the consistency and integrity of our Montessori program. Here’s to you, River Montessori! During the process of renewal, our Upper Elementary children wrote letters to the Old Adobe Union School Board explaining their thoughts for why RMCS should be renewed and what is special to them about their school. There was much commentary about individual learning, having time to really understand their work, small group and large group collaborative lessons, and other meaningful particulars about a Montessori program. We were so glad to hear their perspective on their freedoms and accomplishment. However, it was their words about the spirit of our school that we found to be so very inspiring and affirming. We know that school culture is the key that allows children to relax into who they are and embrace their individual learning. During this season of gifting, we’d thought we’d share a few of the gems that we received from the children, in their own words… see page 3 May the season and new year abound with peace, Kelly
MONTESSORI
Matters Written by Maren Schmidt
Quiet Time is Important Do Be Do Be Do. We get so busy doing that we neglect to stop and consider our being. A quote from Kurt Vonnegut reminds me of that innate human need to maintain balance between doing and being.
“To be is to do.” SOcrates “to do is to be.” Sarte “DO be do be do.” SINATRA When we get the balance between do and be, life is improvisational.
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Doing gives us experience. Being helps us take the time to assimilate all that we have learned through doing. Taking the time to reflect about what we have done, and where we are going, let’s us decide what to do next. It gives us time to make sure we are doing what we want to do and making the progress we want--not just keeping busy. If we’ve taken a wrong turn, pausing to “be” will help us make some important realizations — if we’re headed in the wrong direction we don’t need to go faster. We need to stop. Our be-ing informs our do-ing. Quiet time is important for our children to take their experiences — their doing — and assimilate those experiences into their being. We, child and adult, need a place and time to simply “be.” A place where we can stop in solitude and gather our thoughts while having time to examine those thoughts. Children need opportunities to simply sit, rest, observe, quietly explore and be. We need to offer a balance between activity with tranquil and undisturbed time. Children bustle off to gym class, to swim, to dance, to lesson after lesson in order to maximize their learning or prevent them from being bored. Instead of trying to cram learning with activity after activity, it is better to have an environment where children can quietly explore, investigate and inquire with help from a guide. If a child is interested in looking at rocks, an adult to offer a bit of information by perhaps pointing out the different structure of the rocks — igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic — and then to retreat, offers the child the quiet opportunity to do
further exploration, thinking or simple consolidation of new and old information. A child’s learning is deeper when it comes from within versus being forced by using flash cards, worksheets, questioning and on and on. If we each look at our individual style of learning, we’ll perhaps see that we learn best when we choose our activity, do it to our satisfaction and then have a period of rest or contemplation to unify our thoughts. When I’m mentally stuck during a project, a quiet walk helps me consolidate new ideas and incubate my impressions into intentions. Children’s learning and growing also need this time to consolidate new experiences and then to choose what activity to do next to create meaningful learning. By the process of selecting what to do, our children reveal to us who they are. With time to choose, learning becomes personal and powerful. Through their choices, our children are telling us their likes, their dislikes, their interests, their passions, their weaknesses and their strengths. It all begins with being quiet and having time that is unencumbered with activities that aren’t evaluated, judged or prioritized by adults. When we fill up our children’s days with busy work that does not tap into our being’s powerful way to learn through quiet reflection and choice, we do our children a disservice. Our children need quiet time to let actions and thoughts sort out and result in robust learning and growth. For optimum development we each need quiet time, to sit and think, and time to do nothing. Quiet time is important. Do Be Do Be Do. A reminder to take some time to simply be.
FROM THE CHILDREN'S LETTERS TO OAUSD
Music: The Montessori Way “The main goal is peace. We even made 1,000 paper cranes for International Peace Day.”
“What is really important about Montessori is that we care about peace.”
“We work together, we learn from each other.”
“I’ve always wanted a school with Laughter, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, heart, determination, and a bit of Magic; this school has proved that it has what it takes. And maybe a little ‘Time’ to see what it takes for a little girl to think of a dream, let it soar through the sky, and one day, see it come true.”
“When I first came to this school in second grade, the first thing I learned about in this school was peace and kindness… The most important thing about this school is changing the world by singing peace and love… I love this school!” “We all learn and function together as a community” “When you are feeling unsure of yourself, you may go to another student and collaborate with them on the answers. They don’t do it for you, you work together to find the answers.” “I know I am not just here to learn math and language and so on, I’m here to find out who I am and what I will become.”
“My school means everything to me, as for a place to learn, a place to make friends, both kids and adults… I am proud to learn and grow in this peaceful, Montessori environment, where we’re all friends who know each other very well, where no one is put down. I wouldn’t be myself without this school.” “I like this school because it is very peaceful and you make a lot of friends… I’m so happy my parents picked this school.”
GRATITUDE FOR OUR TERRIFIC VOLUNTEERS
Many Thanks... Karen Griswold & Tony Arendell for picking up and delivering our new dishwasher and for Gary Guest for installing the dishwasher.
Christy Chandler for a large copying job.
Our Montessori Guides for their unending energy, dedication, and many nights and weekend hours preparing their classrooms and lessons for the children.
David Buckley and Gary Guest for fixing the locking mechanisms for our gates and donating new locks. John Zimmerman for the new sand and Klamath families for filling the sandbox with ALL THAT NEW SAND!
UNIVERSITY December 19 Montessori & the Future of Education. A Neuropsychologist’s Approach to What Children Need January 16 Life After RMCS: An Alumni Panel February 20 Vulnerability Creates Success March 20 Book Review: Montessori Madness: A Parent to Parent Argument for Montessori by Trevor Eissler April 17 Bring on the Learning Revolution! May 15 The Happiness Advantage
Montessori
SAID “The
role
of
is
to
education
Keith Sigg for repairing the laminator. The Guides are so happy to be able to make materials again!
Rupali Babu for straightening our Lost & Found on a daily basis and Dixie Durham for our break-time donation of forgotten items to Alphabet Soup.
P a re n t
Our Montessori Assistants who take the important but not always visible support role with such enthusiasm and dedication. Families for their generosity in wish list items and anything that our Guides think that would be helpful for the children.
interest
the
profoundly
child in
an
external activity to which he will give all of his potential.”
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DECEMBER Calendar 12.19 Community Conversation, 6:00 p.m. RMF Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
CELEBRATE DIVERSITY WITH RIVERCREW
Winter Break Join us this Winter Break for our CELEBRATIONS OF THE WORLD. Come for an exclusive gift making extravaganza!
12.20 – 01.03
We will be highlighting traditions and recipes from around the
Winter Break: NO SCHOOL
world and not only will we be making gifts but we will be baking them as well. Join us anytime. Drop-ins are welcome.
JA N UA R Y Calendar 01.09 River Coffee Social 6th year field trip to Rosicrucian Museum & Tech Museum of Innovation 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 6th year parent night @ PJHS 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. 01.10 6th year elective tour @ McKinley, 11:30 a.m. Music assembly for 6th year at Grant Elementary School, 1:30 01.16 Community Conversation, 6:00 p.m. RMF Meeting, 7:00 p.m. 01.17 Lower Elementary “Watch me work”, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 01.20 No School, River Crew closed 01.23 PJHS and KJHS 6th year visit 01.25 RMF Pancake Breakfast 01.30 Upper Elementary Trip Night, 6:30 p.m.
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RIVER CREW CLOSED DECEMBER 24, 25, 31 & JANUARY 1 Sign up today!