MSCS Students Exploring the Natural World
Backpacking trips, bird banding, paddling 28 miles on the French Broad River, learning primitive skills, and spending a night in a tent: these are some of the things Mountain Sun Community School students do throughout the school year…
April 2019 Classroom Updates
The Owls and Otters are deep into their studies of Thailand. The children have taken an imaginary flight to Thailand and are learning about the culture, art, food, and climate. Carol and Virginia Watkins (Sebastian's grandmother and mom) visited to talk about their trip to Thailand and shared stories, pictures, and souvenirs…
March 2018 Classroom Update
The Otter class has fresh, homemade play dough and new sidewalk chalk. They have enjoyed a lot of outdoor playtime. In the classroom, they have been practicing making and eating PB&J sandwiches. The students use the sandwich making to work on their problem solving skills and their hand-eye coordination…
January 2018 Classroom Updates
The Otters have increased their focus on handcrafts, an excellent use of time indoors during the winter. The children have made cuff bracelets and pillows. They are working on their button-sewing technique. During the “arctic blast,” the Otters studied liquid and solids by freezing ice ornaments outside…
Why So Many Bake Sales?
I love baking. Since I can remember, I've always wanted to be a baker. As a child, I spent summers in Iowa with my grandmother on the farm my father grew up on. And we baked. She was your quintessential farm wife and grandma. Everywhere we went, we brought baked goods with us to share…
Experiential Learning at Mountain Sun Community School
Our journey began with a silent hike down a steep and winding trail, minds full of anticipation and excitement for a different kind of school week. As the trail came to an end, the landscape opened up into the beautiful valley of Buffalo Cove Outdoor Education Center…
Raising Monarchs
As a teacher, sometimes you feel a calling in your inner core towards something you must do in the classroom. This summer, I began dreaming about Monarchs. While I dream about students quite often, I’m referring to actual Monarch butterflies. Ever since we named the Monarch class in 2009, I’ve collected Monarch paraphernalia, mostly as gifts from students or parents or friends…
Mountain Sun Students Work with Birds at Southern Appalachian Raptor
Mountain Sun students trekked to the the Big Bald Banding Station to aid the Southern Appalachian Raptor Research Center (SARR) in their conservation practices. On September 14th and 15th, the Monarch (4th-5th graders) students participated in raptor trapping, owl banding, hawk watching, and songbird migration monitoring…
6th and 7th Grade Backpacking Trip on The Foothills Trail
I often reflect on how grateful I am to have a job where I get to spend time with kids backpacking in these beautiful mountains that surround us. I love seeing their faces light up when they finally see the wildflower that they have been researching or when they find a cool beetle in the middle of the trail…
Monarchs Journey to Cataloochee
The week before Spring Break, the Monarch Class went camping in Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Remote and picturesque, Cataloochee has an abundance of biodiverse flora and fauna. This is why the valley was the perfect place for us to explore, as our overarching theme this year has been biodiversity…
Teachers Host Positive Discipline Book Club
Over the past six weeks, Tina and I have facilitated a Book Club based on the the book Positive Discipline: The Classic Guide to Helping Children Develop Self-Discipline, Responsibility, Cooperation, and Problem-Solving Skills by Jane Nelsen, Ed.D. We, along with a group of about eight parents and teachers, read two chapters per week and came together on Wednesday evenings…
Mountain Sun Students Explore the Universe at Asheville Museum of Science
This year, the formation of the universe has been the overarching theme in the Elementary school science classes at Mountain Sun Community School. On March 2nd, the Monarch (Upper Elementary) class went to Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS) to tie together their recent themes of geology and the states of matter…
Mountain Sun Students Learn Life Skills with Eight Owls Farmstead
Digging with pick axes and shovels isn't a common curriculum feature, but for the sixth and seventh grade students of Mountain Sun Community School, it is. Every Friday afternoon, Mountain Sun students get this opportunity. For these students, working up a hard earned sweat affords a multitude of lessons…
Mountain Sun Embarks On Autumn Backpacking Trip
Mountain Sun Community School students in the sixth and seventh grades had the opportunity to be heroes on their backpacking trip that began at Butter Gap trailhead and ended on Brevard Music Center's campus on Oct. 28…
Mountain Sun Students Volunteer At Raptor Center
On Sept. 15, Mountain Sun Community School's fourth - sixth grade class, the Monarchs, had their first overnight backpacking trip at Big Bald Banding Station located on the Appalachian Trail at an elevation of 5,500 feet. They studied bird migrations with Southern Appalachian Raptor Research…