Adventures: Upstairs Ski Program and Downstairs Cozy Fridays
February 2, 2024
US Ski Program
This is the perfect time of year to tackle something new. We have settled into our learning communities, developed skills and honed our capacity for facing the unknown. Now, its time to spread our wings, or click into our bindings, and fly.
Learning to ski is hard. It requires stamina, determination and resilience of body and mind. Not surprisingly these are the very same skills that are often mentioned in research that describes effective learning environments.
Every year in the doldrums of late January we collectively embark on a new adventure. Our ski program is another example of how our curriculum constructs a supportive and responsive environment to enable children grow as individuals and learners.
Our school philosophy values educating the whole child, and on ski days we bring this intention to life. Each child pushes themselves to the best of their ability and we revel in their achievements as a community. We all learn together, encourage each other and ultimately persevere through challenge. Teachers model life long learning as they strap on their skis and take to the Bunny Hill along side young children. The evidence is clear each week as we see children gain confidence in their ability and build new relationships within our community. A chairlift ride with a new friend, the sheer joy of making it to the bottom of a run upright and the comfort in knowing someone will be with you if you fall down or need help. We celebrate it all and are so grateful that the adults in our community embrace this work along with us. Thank you all for being our partners!
Cozy Down with the Bug Bunch
Last Friday marked the inaugural week of our Cozy Cooking Fridays! When the older children are out on the slopes, we have the run of the school. We like to wear our pajamas for extra coziness and tackle some more involved cooking projects. Our first week, we made Banana Nice Cream, spearheaded by our resident vegan Jules. As we have shared before, cooking is a multi-sensory project that weaves together skills from many different developmental domains. Click the button to the left for more cooking photos as well as a peek into our latest outdoor adventures!