Greetings,
GreenMount Community,
The third theme has begun and all classes are getting revved up to
learn about this vast period from Rembrandt to Rothko. I think the students are excited and I know
that the teachers are. The kindergarten
students began this theme by describing art in their own words:
Well, art is something that you make that you
really like.
Art is pictures
Art is creating. Art is something you can invent, like a
painting.
Some art is parts of the human body.
Art can be something you find and see and
discover.
People from long ago taught us about art.
Art is making something that is real, like a
painting.
Art is concentration. You have to concentrate
on what you’re doing
Earth. (A kindergartener came up with that)
Ms. Laura can’t wait to see how
these ideas change when this theme is complete.
Speaking of kindergarten, a wise
mentor of mine told me many years ago that when the day becomes tiring, when
you have had enough of paperwork, misbehaviors, phone calls and directives from
the central office, just go to the kindergarten and spend 30 minutes
interacting with the children. Never
have I received better advice. This is a
place of pure joy and curiosity. Every
five or six year-old is just completely immersed in learning about books, why
water freezes, how the calendar keeps track of days in a row, why an /8/ is so
hard to draw. They are fascinated about
history – things that happened a long time ago (like last Thursday) or what
happens when we learn to share. They
learn how to take care of themselves and the things in the classroom that
belong to EVERYBODY. They learn that
when the teacher says that she likes the way a classmate is following
directions they should be doing what he or she is doing. They learn that with a seed in a Styrofoam
cup, the roots go down and the plant goes up and
nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. They make amazing connections about people,
nature, and the way things work. And
they tell us everything – “Mommy has a sippy cup for wine!” Laughter is a natural part of a
kindergartener’s communication tools.
They love new words and try to say them, providing non-stop
entertainment for the adults in the room.
But beyond all the fun and pure joy is a learning curve that will never
be steeper. Let’s all try to keep the
kindergarten spirit in all of our children, and in the adults, too.
Finally,
at our morning meeting today we celebrated the fact that we will finally get to
go outside for recess. And thanks to the
work of parents, the playground is clean and ready for us. However, it may be a while before we are able
to use the fields. A lot of vehicle traffic has left the area a quagmire and it
looks like it will be some time before we are able to play there. I have cones up to discourage vehicles from
going on the field, so please do not remove them. The field is not part of the property we
lease. It is Wyman Park and we have no
right to drive on that property. Once
everything is dried out and we can get the grass growing again we will be able
to sneak back out there to park in time for the theme event in May. Thank you for your cooperation.
Cheers,
Steve
