Red Mountain Community School

A Parent’s View of Our Shades Creek Jaunt

Melanie — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:40:20 +0000

A few weeks ago our school enjoyed a day with Jim Davenport, local naturalist and author of Nature Journal. One of our parents joined us for the first time. Her narration of the day was so beautiful. We asked her if we could post it here and she said yes!

My daughter, Clementine, has found a new world. It is called 1st grade. Not just 1st grade but 1st grade at RMCS. This is a place where anyone, child or adult (young or old) would delight in spending their day. This is a place where child and adult merge into one. I was a part of this on October 14, the day I had the pleasure of going on the Shades Creek walk field trip.

Let me start by saying I’ve been pleading with Clem to share in a part of their day. ”Can I come in with you and sit back quietly and watch the opening part of your day? Hear some of the wonderful songs you’ve been singing at home?” Clem replies “no.” Being really brave, “Can I sit in your classroom and hear a story you’re reading, just for a few minutes?” “NO.” Then I know where I can get in. ”Clem, can I come to one of your cooking days?” Clem and I love cooking together and she thinks I’m a great cook. She says, “No, Miss Ivey is an expert cook, we don’t need another one.”

Okay, so I understand this. This is her domain. This is her little space of the world. I’ve had these same experiences in which I did not want my mother into a sacred place. I respect that.

Clem is however a child that will tell me about her day. My oldest I can simply ask, “How was your day?” Any other questions are bothersome to her. I can ask Clem hours of questions and she delights in answering them. This I revel in. Hearing about her day at RMCS. She first belts out a few tunes, some I’ve heard often, and some new. We have a favorite we sing together about a desperado from Cripple Creek. She added a new verse yesterday in which the desperado visited Coney Island. That one is now our favorite. She proudly announced yesterday she can spell c-o-m-e. There are many words she can spell now that she couldn’t before and that makes her a proud 1st grader. I hear of walks, talks, play, who shared what from who’s lunch and the list goes on.

So finally being able to share in a day was long awaited. i was so excited about the field trip I talked about it often that week. Clem even seemed happy to have me. I homeschooled the girls last year so I’ve been longing to do something like this with them. The highlight of some people’s day was the botanist that filled us with interesting facts and details about the history of Shades Creek, including the preservation of the creek. He took the time to closely examine the grasses and flowers along the bank, picking them or letting the children gather them. He patiently let the children pick flowers they found interesting and dissected them, explaining the importance of each part of the flower. For an hour or so we slowed down and carefully observed and connected with our environment. The natural curiosity of everyone was alive and stimulated.

After the study the children dispersed to whatever they wanted to do. Most of the older children played in the soccer field and the younger children gravitated to the water. Well, I naturally gravitate to water. So, I spent the afternoon watching the children play in the water. They not only played they continued to observe and these children observe well. They spent hours watching the tiny fish and catching them in their little buckets then creating habitats for them. They found crayfish, an occasional snake, nymphs of damselflies and dragonflies. They made balls of algae, turned over rocks and explored what was hiding under them. We stayed in one space of the river for around 2 hours and every child was immersed in some insect, fish, grass or just how each rock felt different under their feet. I was amazed. There was a magic feel to the day that brought tears to my eyes and warmth to my heart.

I shared with the teachers at the end of the day that this was a unique group of children. I had never witnessed children that so peacefully coexisted. A group of children who were happy “just being.” They have a special thing and now I know why Clem is so protective of it.

Our ‘Book of Firsts’

Melanie — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:55:56 +0000

Earlier this year RMCS collaborated with Night Owl Paper Goods to create what Mason calls ‘A Book of Firsts.’ We choose our kinds of notebooks carefully and intentionally. Mason suggested a variety of notebooks that in using end up training one in habits that will benefit the learner his whole life through. It is never late too start a ‘Book of Firsts!’

Emily Dickinson’s words, ‘My friends are my estate,’ ring true in the formation and cultivation of our little school. One of our kindreds, Nancy Kelly, has written a blog entry about our ‘Book of Firsts’ that describes it better than we could. Her blog is beautiful and fortifying for Mason students and all who long to live a ‘life well lived.’

Please visit her blog to read the description of the ‘Book of Firsts.’ Here is the link:

http://sageparnassus.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-calendar-of-firsts.html

Then email us at info@redmountaincommunityschool.com or call our Registrar, Elizabeth Jones, at 205-218-4965 to order your copy.

Enjoy!

Awakened

Melanie — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:56:49 +0000

Awakening

“The Poet Dreams of the Classroom”

by Mary Oliver

I dreamed

I stood up in class

and I said aloud:

Teacher,

Why is algebra important?

Sit down, he said.

Then I dreamed

I stood up

and I said:

Teacher, I’m weary

of the turkeys

that we have to draw

every fall.

May I draw a fox instead?

Sit down, he said.

Then I dreamed

I stood up once more

and said:

Teacher,

my heart is falling

asleep and it wants to wake up.

It needs to be

outside.

Our friend and mentor, Charlotte Mason, asked the question of how a “general soul” awakens. She refers to the Greek tale of Undine in one of her six volumes about her philosophy of education, “a soul awakens within a water-sprite at the touch of love, so, I have to tell of the awakening of a general soul at the touch of knowledge.” As we anticipate the opening of another school year, I am reminded of this idea of being asleep in a classroom that Mary Oliver paints a poem about. Mason insists that the child is a person and from that cornerstone we build a school. For many of us, our educational history has been full of “materialistic education.” The cornerstone of this education is the idea that a child is a vessel to be filled. Control what goes in the vessel and ultimately control the vessel. And in an age of large classrooms and decreased funding, certainly, control has become a way of surviving in the classroom. But control limits the personhood of each child. As teachers, we look to the image of the shepherd. We lead the sheep to the pasture but they must feed themselves. An awakening is organic and happens for each child in his own journey. Awakening does not happen through manipulation or motivation out of love, fear, prizes and rewards. This kind of materialistic motivation may provide moments of interest but not awakening.

So, we begin another school year tomorrow! We will heed Mary Oliver’s words and spend many hours outside. You will see us in the neighborhood as we walk and listen to local naturalists from Audobon and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. If you peek inside our school, you might see our new teacher, Erin Keenan, giving our students a math talk. Surprisingly, there really are as many ways to solve 10 + 12 as there are children to solve it! Each arriving at 22 from their own understanding of number. Our friend and neighbor, Christine Wilson, visits with us at snack or stops in for morning time to sing and be inspired. Certain Fridays of the month, we cook together for a day we call “At Table.” This chaotic day ends with beautiful tables and food that has been prepared by children’s hands. Hearts that are alive and a living education can sometimes be noisy and messy!

The school year begins at 8:45 tomorrow morning. A year of awakenings, for teachers and students. If Mary Oliver drops by our school, maybe her poem would be different. ”Teacher, why is algebra important? And the teacher said “Tell me what you think.”

Reference: Dr. Carroll Smith’s Plenary at the 2010 CLUSA Conference, Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, NC.

Candlemas

Melanie — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:44:32 +0000

Today is Candlemas, the day the Christian Tradition remembers the presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Purification of Mary. Many churches have a service in which they bless the candles used in vigils and prayers throughout the year. Since the students had made their own candles at the outdoor classroom last week, it seemed appropriate to head down the St. Paul’s Cathedral and have them blessed. It was a rich service, and afterward, there were plenty of questions for the priest, Father Basil.

Here are some pictures…

Sauntering (by Mandy Deter)

Melanie — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:43:28 +0000

“The world is so full of a number of things, we should all be as happy as kings.” This line of poetry from R.L Stevenson is often recited by Mrs. Walker in our school. So this Friday when our excursion was cancelled because of weather, we were as “happy as kings.” We bundled up with coats, scarves and gloves and headed out for a walk. Thoreau writes about the art of walking, the ability to walk for the pleasure of the sauntering. So we sauntered in the cold up the side of Red Mountain and found ourselves walking above Red Mountain Expressway. We learned that the cut through this mountain has been designated a National Natural Landmark and we heard the children say “I’ve always wanted to do this!” and “This is so cool!” We felt the difference from the southern side of the Red Mountain and the northern side as we walked back and were hit in the face with a cold northern gust. Then we played a game of “I Spy” with Birmingham’s beautiful skyline and historical architecture. When we returned to the school, the children drew maps of their journey on large pieces of tracing paper. A two hour walk, a beautiful neighborhood, a geological wonder, mapping. . .just another fine day at RMCS. See some pics below…

More scenes from Epiphany

Melanie — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:48:24 +0000

Epiphany

Melanie — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:11:28 +0000

Each year on the night before the Christmas holidays, the school has ventured to the Lewis’ property in Chelsea for a Creche, letting the children act out the Nativity by the lake. Because of the weather we had to cancel this year. So when our other winter tradition was in the works (our Epiphany celebration), we decided to move it from the school out to the Lewis’s.

The evening began just at sunset. Each child was given a lantern and a map of the property, and off they went to search for treasure. It was so dark out away from the city lights, that their little lanterns could be seen way off in the distance. It also made for a startling view of the night sky, and as we sat on the grass, Dr. Lewis described the constellations we could see. He told us about Venus and the bright sliver of moon just visible above the horizon.

The children dressed in their royal robes (an Epiphany tradition), and we all processed by candlelight down to the point. Surrounded by the chilly lake, we sang favorite carols and read the story of the visit of the Magi. Then it was time for the Persian feast.

Gee’s Bend

Melanie — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:06:04 +0000

From Mandy Deter, our 1st and 2nd Grade Teacher-

This Friday we travelled to Gee’s Bend, Alabama. It was one of my very favorite excursions. I often find that other people articulate emotions that I find moving and inexpressible. I read these words of Frederick Buechner from The Faces of Jesus. ”So hallowed and so gracious is the time–these lines from the first scene of Hamlet in a sense say it all. . .On the dark battlements of Elsinore, Marcellus speaks to his companions of the time of Jesus’s birth. It is a hallowed time he says, a holy time, a time in which life grows still like the surface of a river so that we can look down into it and see glimmering there in its depths something timeless, precious, other. And a gracious time, Marcellus says–a time that we cannot bring about a happy time or a sad time but a time that comes upon us as grace, as a free and unbidden gift.”

The moments spent in the sparse but welcoming community of the Gee’s Bend Quilters was one of these precious, other moments. The women shared their stories, their art, their warm companionship with each other, their years of lives intermingled with suffering, poverty, and wisdom. And then, at Melanie’s invitation, they sang. And truly, time stood still, as these women sang “This Little Light of Mine.”

Thank you to our school that makes time for relationship and story and thank you Gee’s Bend Quilters. Now we can add your faces and songs to our quilts.

Advent Hour

Melanie — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 02:49:57 +0000

Each year during this season, we set aside a portion of the day called Advent Hour. Several songs and a special story are chosen, then the children can use material from their own collecting, or select materials provided by the school to make unique crafts and ornaments. This year they are felting and working with tin, among other things.

I get by with a little help from my friends…

Melanie — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 23:35:14 +0000

We just had our annual Folk Song Program with a tip of the hat to the Beatles. For this year’s program, Mrs. Walker led us in several English folk songs, and then the Yahoos jumped in to add a few Beatles hits. It was the same day that itunes released the Beatles for sale, so it seemed serendipitous. Joanna Laney gave a clogging demonstration and Miss Pat showed off some quilting (working on the quilt the 7th graders began this fall.) Our silent auction was a success, and so was the bazaar, where each student sold crafts that he/she had made.

Here are some pictures from the evening…