Quote of the Week and Photos

"We are faced with the paradoxical fact that education has become one of the chief obstacles to intelligence and freedom of thought."
- Bertrand Russell


Brother Kenya came to share music as part of the Jena 6 day of resistance.


Kim explaining what has happened to the Jena 6.


Harley flashing the peace sign.


Sean molding his cornstarch dough.


Evan and Ellie making miniature cornstarch dough creations.

For more pictures please follow this link.

- Ellie, Staff Member

Bubble, Bubble Toil and Trouble

Sometimes if the kids bring money we walk to the store down the street to buy something. Today I took a few of the little ones and they pooled together their dollars to buy a package of those plastic bubble/balloons. Once we raced back to the school (taking the "shortcut" as is always requested) everyone got a chance to blow some long-lasting bubbles, teach each other how to use it, stick them together to form shapes, and experiment with combining colors.


Amanda


Seth


Troy


Caleb


Evan


Abba and Troy

To see more pictures from the school click on this link.

- Ellie, Staff Member

Young Children as Research Scientists

This is a photo of William and Diego painting with watercolors. Later Amanda glanced over at William's painting and exclaimed, "Oh! You made a wheel but it is flat because there is a hole letting the air out!" William beamed at this correct interpretation and I stood there gaping. Sure, I had presumed he was painting a wheel - my adult eyes saw the circle with lines crossing to represent spokes. But my narrowed understanding attributed the trail of paint coming from one point of the circle as totally meaningless, if not just an accident. I was astounded at how these kids have this amazing ability which I unfortunately have lost. They are constantly searching for meaning in their environment and analyzing the world around them. It reminds me of how John Holt describes young children as research scientists in his book, "Learning All the Time":

Children are born passionately eager to make as much sense as they can of things around them. The process by which children turn experience into knowledge is exactly the same, point for point, as the process by which those whom we call scientists make scientific knowledge. Children observe, they wonder, they speculate, and they ask themselves questions. They think up possible answers, they make theories, they hypothesize, and then they test theories by asking questions or by further observations or experiments or reading. Then they modify the theories as needed, or reject them, and the process continues. This is what in “grown-up” life is called the–capital S, capital M–Scientific Method. It is precisely what these little guys start doing as soon as they are born.
If we attempt to control, manipulate, or divert this process, we disturb it. If we continue this long enough, the process stops. The independent scientist in the child disappears.

- Ellie, Staff Member

Quote of the Week and Photos

Quote of the Week: "I remember spending the greater part of my childhood wondering about adults. Were they ever children? From their behavior towards children it seemed to me quite clearly that they could never have possibly been children." - Ashley Montagu


Diego running with a sword, Isaac showing off the moves he learned in his martial arts class, and Evan preparing the stuffed animals to watch the movie.


Evan and Amanda requested I take a picture of them with the puppies.


The kids always arrange the most comfortable, lazy position to use the computer. Here Justin is sitting in the armchair that managed to find a semi-permanent home in front of the computer desk, but currently as I type the kids have shoved the entire couch by the desk.


Caleb told me that he would play with the "fancy ones" and "the...cars" were for me to play with.

For more pictures please follow this link.

- Ellie, Staff Member