Nurturing the Spirit of Our Children
Montessori education is often characterized by what is readily visible to us. This may be happy children using beautiful didactic materials such as the pink tower of cubes or the golden beads used in math curriculum. Or perhaps it’s the aesthetically pleasing child-sized classrooms housing mixed age groups working busily…
December 2019 Class Updates
The Owls and Otters are wrapping up their studies of Africa as we head into the holiday break. Days are spent hard at work, exploring works in more complex ways and paying attention to the seasonal changes happening around us…
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…
The Montessori Philosophy: Cultivating Peaceful Independence
More than a century ago, Dr. Maria Montessori pioneered a method of education rooted in the observation that each child is a unique person who is naturally curious and has a desire to learn experientially. When a beautiful educational environment is intentionally created, children find their passion for learning and are able to fully develop intellectually, socially, and emotionally…
Mountain Sun Works with Ellie Elzerman to Develop Curriculum
Over the past school year, Mountain Sun Community School worked in partnership with Ellie Elzerman, Educational Consultant and Montessori expert, to develop and improve the school’s academic curriculum…
December Classroom Updates
The two younger classes have had parent and teacher conferences. Both classes are taking opportunities to go out and about with trips to the Library, Care Partners, and Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education…
November Classroom Updates
The Otter class is exploring the theme of autumn. They read a book by Jane Yolen about the change of the seasons. They spend outdoor time collecting colorful leaves, seeds, nuts, lichen, moss, and rocks. The kids enjoy collecting sticks to build pretend campfires…
October 2018 Class Updates
For the International Day of Peace, all of the students made white paper flowers and performed songs of peace for special guests attending Elders Day. The students served snacks and drinks. The Elders were then able to view the classrooms in action…
Mountain Sun Community School Raises Trout with Trout Unlimited
Each year the Monarch class (grades 4-6) at Mountain Sun Community School raise trout from eggs in the classroom. The local Trout Unlimited chapter provides the class with all the materials needed to raise trout, and this year the class successfully released 80 trout into the Davidson River on February 6th…
Follow the Child
Dr. Montessori did not believe that she invented a method of education. She simply studied children. And what she found was that every human being develops through a unique process of self-construction…
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…
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…
A Word for the Real
Several years ago, I was visiting a friend who was getting her Ph.D. in counseling at a large state university. Part of her commitment included working with the student services counseling program. She was telling me how difficult it was for the college “kids” to overcome their social anxiety and go out and have a good time without self-medicating….
Back to School Excitements!
You wake up, jump out of bed with more energy than most mornings, eat a hearty breakfast and put on the outfit you have had picked out for weeks. Your backpack is packed with fresh pencils and glossy folders; you are officially ready for your first day back to school…
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…
The Joys of Literature Circle
I feel so fortunate each day that I can find the deep beauty of the simple routines that the Acorn Class is engaged in. It is a reminder of how even the most basic of our actions has the power to enhance or detract from our daily experiences. It’s a good way to “check and balance,” making sure I am staying true to the Mountain Sun Mission Statement and practicing the core actions…
Exploring Geology with the Acorn Class
Studying science is so much fun with this age group. The Acorns are, developmentally speaking, curious, eager, creative, and less encumbered by assumed expectations of results. These children practically write my lesson plans for me as I see them oozing with excitement at the mention of "rocks" or "land forms" or even the word "geology." While my goals are simple, their learning is complex and fascinating…
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…