Circles

Walden believes in questioning the status quo in a thoughtful way. Every day, we challenge our students to think for themselves because tomorrow’s leaders will need to be thoughtful, deliberate, and compassionate stewards of the world. Children are innately curious and ask a lot of questions. With limited life experiences, by virtue of being children, there is a void in information and history in a child’s knowledge base. Knowing that nature abhors a vacuum, Walden teachers begin and end each day in class circles, inviting questions and filling in the gaps in information for students. While the circle might look different from class to class, the idea is the same; give children a safe, consistent forum to get the answers they crave. By teaching children how to get the information that they seek, Walden students develop vocabulary and confidence in asking questions.

Director Matt Allio likes to tell visitors to Walden that our school wants students to go home at the end of each day with more questions than when they arrived:

“Asking questions simply means the child wants to learn more. They want to further and deepen their knowledge. The teacher prompts that sense of inquiry.”

Circle time is an important part of the child-led inquiry process. Whether sharing important news with peers, asking for clarification on the day’s schedule and expectations, or sparking a conversation about a new idea or concept, students at Walden have opportunity each day to come together collaboratively in their class circles.

Subnivian

Do you know what “subnivian” means? Sophie Collins (Walden class of 2012) can tell you that there is a thin layer of air between the snow cover and the actual surface of the soil, where life can sustain itself through the long winter in Grand Teton National Park. With her science teacher, Drew Gagne, and her classroom teachers, Danica Dermott and Marcia Van, Collins and her fourteen classmates flew to Jackson Hole, Wyoming on January 29 to spend a week at Teton Science School. Six days of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, while studying different habitats of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem gave Walden students real-life field experience in collecting data for science.

A simple game of “hide-and-seek” became an adventurous data sample collection exercise, as students made predictions about which habitat would be the best place for elk to hide from predators in the winter. After hypothesizing, the students scrambled on their skis to hiding spots, while the Teton Science School guide counted to twenty with her eyes covered. After playing the game in a field, an aspen forest, and a fir forest, students determined that elk would probably have the best cover available in the fir forest.

With evening education programs on tracking, wolf sustainability, night adaptations of animals, and communication, the students concluded their weeklong study by presenting their data and analyzing the results. Days were spent in the field with lunch carried in backpacks and waterproof field journals were used to document their studies each day.

Will you play with me?

“What do most Nobel Laureates, innovative entrepreneurs, artists and performers, well-adjusted children, happy couples and families, and the most successfully adapted mammals have in common? They play enthusiastically throughout their lives.”

-Stuart Brown, Institute of Play

At Walden School on a recent Friday night, over 125 kids and parents came together to enjoy a fried-chicken dinner and to play games.  Classic board games like Checkers, Scrabble, and Apples to Apples were being played in the Toby Hayward Community Room, while down the hall there was standing room only in the Grade 1/2 classroom temporarily converted to accommodate Bingo. A third room was devoted to quiet games and reading. Games can foster communication, teach sportsmanship, and reinforce social skills like manners and taking turns.

Walden parent Jennie Robles (mother of Gabriel ’14 and Lillian ’16) organized Family Game Night because it is a fun way for families to spend time together and enjoy each other’s company. Her mom, Carrol Wong, also helped organize the well-attended event. Robles says her husband, David, is famous for his annual bingo calling. “It made me feel like I was young again!” said Anthony Kyriakakis, class of 2012. “Probably playing Bingo was my favorite game of the night.”  With a variety of games to choose from, everyone had a chance to play games of skill balanced with games of pure chance.

Taking risks

Walden School believes in educating the whole child and the school’s Outdoor Education Program is rooted in experiential education influenced by John Dewey’s philosophy of purposefully engaging with students in direct experience and focused reflection in order to augment learning, comprehend consequences, and acquire skills.

On January 18, Walden School’s entire fourth grade class trekked to Astrocamp in the San Bernardino Mountains for three days of outdoor activities and dedicated instruction from physical and earth science instructors. Walden students applied their study of physics to build and launch rockets; discussed space exploration; and marveled at the wonders of the universe viewed from an astronomical telescope.

Additionally, the group of 25 outdoor learners tested their physical and mental strengths by rock climbing, hiking, and completing a challenging ropes course. Students encouraged each other to take risks and experimented with new strengths. Gabriel Robles ’14 hesitated on a platform thirty-five feet in the air strapped to a zip line with his partner, Noah Matheu ‘14.  Frozen with fear, Gabriel did not think that he had the courage and confidence to make the leap from the platform.  Taking a deep breath, Gabriel voiced his fear to Noah and asked Noah to force the jump.  After successfully and happily landing a few exhilarating moments later, Gabriel confided to his teacher, “I think I just overcame my fear of heights.”

Glowstick

Rona (Class of ’13) reads her personal narrative at the December 9th assembly. Click the link to view on Youtube:  Glowstick

PreK Student Perspective on School

Written by a Guest Blogger from PreK Cheetah class:

Some people find [school] hard to do. I don’t find work hard. I’m four and four-year-olds can do anything! Well, when you’re four, you like to play and almost always don’t take a nap. Because, well you are old and you want to play with your friends and stuff. I don’t really know how I’ll feel when I’m five.

teaching gratitude

What are you thankful for?

How do you teach gratitude to a child?  Some psychologists assert that until that frontal cortex has fully developed (not until mid-20’s) gratitude and compassion do not fully develop.  Can this be true?

Today, we are celebrating a national day of gratitude: Thanksgiving. How do we talk about giving thanks with our children?  Some families may practice the ritual of saying grace before today’s feast.  Others may ask everyone at the table to recite something for which each person is grateful.  Volunteering at local soup kitchens and food banks can be expressions of gratitude for all that we have.

However your family celebrates Thanksgiving, pause with your children (no matter how old they are!) and remind them of their unique gifts.  Thank your children for being your children!

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

- Cicero

Writing matters

Every other week, Walden staff come together for a Faculty Writing Workshop.  As a community of learners and a community of writers, we believe that practicing our own writing in a collaborative setting prepares us to better support the student writing process in the classroom.  A Walden teacher is equally expert and learner. We are empowered to lead by example both in and out of the classroom.  This growth mindset not only informs our teaching, but also reinforces our core value of life-long learning.

This week, we brainstormed a list of Big Ideas that we know about children:

Children see themselves as writers.

Everyone has a story.  One can discover own self through the process of writing one’s story.

Write what is inside you….it matters!

We are teaching children skills to make choices in their writing.

Children want to share their ideas as writers.  We are not fixing their stories.

Teach them when they are ready.  We meet children where they are.

Being a courageous writer – being brave! – can change people.

Children have endless ideas and we are giving them the tools to express their best selves.

Readers are Writers. Writers are Readers.

The pen is mightier than the sword. Writing is powerful – promotes peace through expanding viewpoints.

Writing is a reflective practice – and a processing tool.

For over 40 years, Walden School has challenged the 19th century notions of the school paradigm.  We continue to expand opportunities and access to learning in a process of life-long learning.

“The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.” (John Schaar)

mindfulness

“When you walk, just walk. Let the walk walk. Let the talk talk. Let the eating eat, the sitting sit, the work work. Let sleep sleep.”

-German monk Muho Noelke,
abbot of Antai-ji, a Buddhist temple in Japan

Mindfulness.  Many definitions of mindfulness are used in contemporary psychology here in the United States.  At Walden School, educator Ann D’Angelo trains faculty in mindfulness techniques that can be applied in the classroom.  Bringing one’s full attention, perhaps with an audio cue, to this moment is one example of intentional mindfulness.  Teaching children to take three deep breaths to center and focus their internal thoughts as they transition from one activity to another is another example.  Paying attention to feelings and thoughts, without judgment or action, is also a standard practice in mindfulness.

Do you ever think about intentional mindfulness?  Promoting peace, compassion and tolerance through inner reflection is a noble goal.  While historically rooted in Buddhist traditions, the concept of meditation to deal with stress is common to many disciplines, religious and secular. Jon Kabat-Zinn codified a collection of adapted techniques in his book Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life.

Recently, Perspectives on Psychological Science published a study by Britta Hölzel of Justus Liebig University and Harvard Medical School. The journal article describes beneficial outcomes of mindfulness, including attention regulation, body awareness, emotion regulation, and increased sense of self.

Try a meditative breathing exercise.  Take a moment to just sit still, listen, and be.  Open yourself to new awareness.  Be mindful.

H2O

In the film, “Live and Become” a nine-year old Ethiopian refugee arrives alone in Israel and is astonished and horrified to see water being wasted in a shower drain.  The scene is arresting, as we understand the distress the panicked young child feels as this most precious resource is squandered.

How many of us think about our privilege of clean fresh water each time we turn on the tap?

Walden installed a rainwater harvesting system on the North Building several months ago.  The demonstration tank fills with hundreds of gallons of water with only half an inch of rain.  After testing for water safety, we expect soon that students will be able to collect the water from the tank for use in our school gardens.  Recently, a plaque describing the tank and its system was installed as a gift from the Class of 2011.  Take a moment to read the inscription and think about the questions posed on the plaque.

“Man is not an aquatic animal, but from the time we stand in youthful wonder beside a Spring brook till we sit in old age and watch the endless roll of the sea, we feel a strong kinship with the waters of this world.”

-Hal Borland (1900-1978), Sundial of the Seasons, 1964