Mountain Village School News

Caught in the Rain Please don't tell your children this. Pinky promise? Okay. I am no fan of the rain. While I appreciate it for all the goodness it brings, I have never particularly enjoyed being out in the midst of the rain. I don't like soggy shoes, I don't like sweating in a rain coat. I don't like it when the rain interferes with all my (super important grown up) outdoor projects. Give me 20 below, give me wind, a sandstorm? Sure. Now, with that said, my "poker face" regarding the rain is quite good. I never bat an eye, nor do I complain that I'm just plain uncomfortable and want the sun to please, oh please come back. We play outside in any weather, and we make the best of it.  On Thursday, as we headed out for our afternoon play, the weather called for a mere 20% chance of rain. Pah! We needn't bring Tuffos! We shall bask in sunshine! And then, from the west, came dark clouds, a single clap of thunder and the deluge followed. We were caught o

Recommended Reading: Permission to Parent Recently we've been reading the book Permission to Parent . The book focuses on the work of establishing clear understandable boundaries for children and how doing so fosters loving and respectful parent-child relationships. Here's a blurb from the author, Robin Berman MD regarding her process: "Many parents, still feeling the emotional bruises of their own childhoods, rejected their parents’ old-school style of discipline. But rather than injecting more love into their leadership, they ceded too much of their parental power. The whole family hierarchy has collapsed, leaving children in charge, bossing their parents around. Somehow giving children self-esteem has been construed to mean giving kids a trophy for showing up, hovering over their every move, pouring on excessive praise and never saying “no” for fear of hurting their feelings. There is a graceful place in the middle of these parenting extremes. A hybrid approach in wh

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” -Henry James While I agree with Mr. James, it's been a hot and muggy week here at school, and we've been finding many creative ways to beat the heat: Classroom Happenings You'll note the names of the classroom spaces has changed to accommodate the new configurations.  Other teachers spending time downstairs are Leota and Megan (upstairs some mornings). Sam and Shannon upstairs. Infant I (Danielle, Jasmine, Karla): Many welcomes! We have two new babies here at school as well as two new teachers working with our youngest children. You'll see Jasmine here during the morning hours, and Karla in the afternoons. Please be sure to introduce yourself! This week we have been trying to get acclimated to all the changes, and so far the room has been calm and the transitions have been smooth. Our main goal this week has been helping the infants figure o

We Don't Play with Guns Here. The week gone by has been filled with soundbites and news coverage surrounding a number of heart-wrenching tragedies. In fact, the summer season thus far could be characterized by the unfortunate saturation of stories regarding a mass shooting here, deaths as a result of police use of force, or the ever-rising gun induced homicide rates in urban areas across the country (including my own hometown of Chicago). As a culture, we talk a lot about guns. We see a lot of guns. Some of us have guns and enjoy using them. Some of us wish all the guns magically disappeared. Whatever our feelings on firearms, the fact of the matter is, they aren’t about to go anywhere, nor is our collective fascination with them. I say fascination simply because of how apt it is. There is a reason Law and Order was on for 20 some years...and it’s not just the theme music and fact that all is wrapped up in an hour. The thrill of the cop show is tied to the use of weapons. Star Wa