Inside schoolroom spaces, children see hear touch move freely experience discover and respond! As children engage with schoolroom spaces, learning becomes an active pursuit rather than a passive process. Schoolroom spaces provide opportunities for the child to practice deep concentration.…

Van Gogh chimes in, celebrating Da Vinci Summer II: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” Can’t make it to the art museum this summer? Well, create your own museum at home! This is a…

Last week Søren decided to copy a Van Gogh drawing. He pulled out a sketchbook, sharpened some pencils and spent an hour studying line and texture, shape and value. The result is stunning. This reminded me of the wonderful creative…

California history projects Our Waterhouse cooperative school began in Kim’s 900 square-foot, flat roof house. We hosted a diversity of characters during those early years. There was Mikalya, the darling recumbent student who taught us about her individuality as she…

A great story has something for everyone. As a kid, I was jealous of Claudia. I mean what girl wouldn't want to stowaway in an art museum? And not just any art museum, we're talking the Met!  “Claudia knew that…

Summer is a great time to acquire some habits that have been deemed extracurricular, habits that I believe are not supplementary at all, but a vital part of learning. Making recipes with your children provides them the opportunity to learn…

“There are several words that sang above the rest in my high school science classes. From botany, photosynthesis is the one. From marine biology, Echinodermata and Coelenterata. From chemistry, stoichiometry. And, from cellular biology, mitochondria captured my imagination.” So begins…

It's that time of year again: Standardized Test Season. I've had students want to crumple, rip, burn, chew, even fold and fly their standardized testing bubble answer sheets. But this year Taylor takes the prize, "I am going to turn…

Writing begins with words. Enacting poetry is a great way to get excited about words. Rainy days were bittersweet when I was in elementary school. While the playground was sorely missed, watching the rain run like a waterfall down the…

There simply is not enough time. I panic and move faster through another day, tackling the stacks set before me. This time every year I get the itch to plant a garden, but, “…there are children to care for, grades to…