Our next meeting will be Monday, Dec. 17th at 4:00, Methodist Church. We encourage ANYONE who can make the Montessori Board Meeting to come on Dec.10th at 6:30. We will be discussing future plans with them in building a program together.
Also: HOMEWORK...We are giving three weeks before our next meeting so that the following can be accomplished:
Visit both the Waldorf and Montessori Schools in the La Crosse/La Crescent area: Even if you feel drawn to one or the other...we feel it is important to see both established schools. (Just think of it as mandatory Christmas/Holiday shopping time) and READ the attached articles! (Coming soon, probably in the Inspiring Links box in the lower right corner on the blog homepage)
Both the La Crescent Montessori and Three Rivers Waldorf in La Crosse
have excellent websites to visit. (Links on the lower right corner of the blog homepage)
La Crescent Montessori: lacrescentmontessori.com
507-895-4054
Three River Waldorf: threeriversschool.org
608-782-8774
Also, Elma has a charter school that may be worth visiting...more on this later...
Pam and I will be visiting the La Crescent Montessori next Friday, Dec. 7th, if anyone would like to join us....
Also, most Wed. I am available to help with childcare (afternoon) if anyone wants to make a run to see the schools....
At our next meeting, I think we should really decide the direction we would like to pursue...
Hope all is well!
More later!
Peace, love, joy and purpose!
Emily
"The only limit is our imagination!"
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Meeting Notes: Nov. 29
Alternative Education Meeting Notes – 11/29/07
4:00 – Introductions
4:15 – Emily and Pam’s Trip to La Crosse Waldorf school
· 5 – 8 classroom
· Money – Tuition, Fundraiser, Friends group, Store
· Waldorf curriculum – Integrated, Nature…more detailed info. in binder
· Mandatory parent volunteer hours
4:35 – Paul’s School
· Created own curriculum
· Based on the understanding that PARENTS KNOW what their child needs
· Pre-K through 6th grade (but no actual grade levels were used)
· Curriculum
o created around Core subjects
o Reading taught through Whole Language
o Field Trips
o Mixture of self-direction and structured (though non-traditional) group instruction
· Teacher’s role is “Leading by Following”
o Teachers tune in to what the students naturally are interested in and are already curious about and learning, then give the students’ interests and learning a context and a focus
· Teachers were not credentialed. They were evaluated by the parents. (The teachers themselves wrote evaluation questions, which the parents answered openly and honestly.
· Having no system to follow gave them much needed Freedom to create what they needed
· Enrollment was under 30 students. Teacher/Student ratio = 1/8.
· Rented a house (which one family built in the country)
· Consensus-run school. Monthly parent meetings.
4:50 – Pleasant Valley
· Reasons the Pleasant Valley School eventually fell apart:
o Everyone had different ideas about what they wanted the school to be.
o They didn’t have a way to talk to the teachers about issues that came up.
4:55 – Charter School Possibility
· One possible Charter school left in Iowa
· Need school board approval and 50% of public school staff approval
· Must take state mandated tests
5:00 – Discussion about Montessori
· Current Montessori school considering extending program to 6-9 year olds
· Possibility of working together with Montessori Board
· Multi-age classroom
· Learning center – individual rate
· Whole Child
· More group work at older ages
· Discussion about current Montessori school’s strengths and weaknesses.
Time? – Fundraising for our group
· Must get non-profit status or use other groups’
· Clothes Auction
· T-Shirts
· Grandparents
· Bazaars
Upcoming Dates
· Monday, Dec. 10 – 6:30 – Montessori Board Meeting
· Monday, Dec. 17 – 4:00 – Next Alternative Education meeting
· January 19 – 10:00-2:00? – Waldorf Conference (La Crosse)
4:00 – Introductions
4:15 – Emily and Pam’s Trip to La Crosse Waldorf school
· 5 – 8 classroom
· Money – Tuition, Fundraiser, Friends group, Store
· Waldorf curriculum – Integrated, Nature…more detailed info. in binder
· Mandatory parent volunteer hours
4:35 – Paul’s School
· Created own curriculum
· Based on the understanding that PARENTS KNOW what their child needs
· Pre-K through 6th grade (but no actual grade levels were used)
· Curriculum
o created around Core subjects
o Reading taught through Whole Language
o Field Trips
o Mixture of self-direction and structured (though non-traditional) group instruction
· Teacher’s role is “Leading by Following”
o Teachers tune in to what the students naturally are interested in and are already curious about and learning, then give the students’ interests and learning a context and a focus
· Teachers were not credentialed. They were evaluated by the parents. (The teachers themselves wrote evaluation questions, which the parents answered openly and honestly.
· Having no system to follow gave them much needed Freedom to create what they needed
· Enrollment was under 30 students. Teacher/Student ratio = 1/8.
· Rented a house (which one family built in the country)
· Consensus-run school. Monthly parent meetings.
4:50 – Pleasant Valley
· Reasons the Pleasant Valley School eventually fell apart:
o Everyone had different ideas about what they wanted the school to be.
o They didn’t have a way to talk to the teachers about issues that came up.
4:55 – Charter School Possibility
· One possible Charter school left in Iowa
· Need school board approval and 50% of public school staff approval
· Must take state mandated tests
5:00 – Discussion about Montessori
· Current Montessori school considering extending program to 6-9 year olds
· Possibility of working together with Montessori Board
· Multi-age classroom
· Learning center – individual rate
· Whole Child
· More group work at older ages
· Discussion about current Montessori school’s strengths and weaknesses.
Time? – Fundraising for our group
· Must get non-profit status or use other groups’
· Clothes Auction
· T-Shirts
· Grandparents
· Bazaars
Upcoming Dates
· Monday, Dec. 10 – 6:30 – Montessori Board Meeting
· Monday, Dec. 17 – 4:00 – Next Alternative Education meeting
· January 19 – 10:00-2:00? – Waldorf Conference (La Crosse)
Introductory Meeting Notes
As for the "original" meeting notes: I apologize, that I only have 2 or 3 of the slips of paper...
In summary: We felt that we wanted school to be a place where "learning" was fun, and inspiring...that our children were taught not "what to learn" but "how to learn", we wanted enrichment in arts, music, foreign language, and kinesthetics (body movements)...We wanted ceremony and community, joy and civility! Emphasis on the natural world was highly important, and
using inquiry approaches to learning...If you have more from the first meeting to add, please do so....
Thanks,
Emily
In summary: We felt that we wanted school to be a place where "learning" was fun, and inspiring...that our children were taught not "what to learn" but "how to learn", we wanted enrichment in arts, music, foreign language, and kinesthetics (body movements)...We wanted ceremony and community, joy and civility! Emphasis on the natural world was highly important, and
using inquiry approaches to learning...If you have more from the first meeting to add, please do so....
Thanks,
Emily
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