Ask the Girl
My son is four. He’s known for a lot of things—his boundless energy, his enthusiasm for life and the people he loves, his adventurous spirit and the way he wakes up ready to attack the day with gusto. But self-control? Yeah, he’s not known for that. Impulse-control? Not his strong suit. A gentle, tentative, approach to life? Not my kid…
Transylvania Vocational Services and Mountain Sun Students Team Up with Books
Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) and Mountain Sun Community School have teamed up to create a Reading Buddy program that allows first through third graders (Acorns) to connect with TVS clients through reading and storytelling…
December 2017 Classroom Updates
The Otter class is enjoying new homemade play dough and dyed pasta, seashells, and caterpillars for metamorphosis viewing. They are working diligently on their grace and courtesy and respect for self and others. They have been working with tracing paper that they use to create pictures of images from books…
Lucky Us
I had the joy of taking the Acorn Class to the WNC Nature Center on a field trip. It was wonderful!! Breaking the day down into pieces sheds light on so many gifts we have here at Mountain Sun and the region we live in. The order of this list does not indicate anything other than how the day unraveled in my mind…I am so grateful for the Nature Center…
Celebration
‘Tis the season for traditions. Those look very different for everyone. Even with all our difference, we can all feel comfort and connection knowing those around us can all find joy in this cold, dark season. As our Thanksgiving gatherings pass and we get closer to the shortest day of the year we look forward to more reasons to be with friends, family and take time to enjoy good food with them…
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…
Peaceful Conflict Resolution Workshop
Recently, parents of students at Mountain Sun Community School participated in a peaceful conflict resolution workshop. Parents acted out scenarios and were given guidance from three MSCS teachers on how to handle conflict peacefully…
Backpacking with the Coyotes
Plans change and often for the better. On a recent backpacking trip with the Coyote class, we made the decision to delay our departure by a day to avoid a downpour. We managed to miss the storm and maintain the opportunity to exercise our flexibility from staff to students and parents…
Celebration of Life
Birthdays are special for children and adults alike. I have fond memories of birthday celebrations at home with friends and families. I remember eating homemade cake and bobbing for apples on one particular birthday…
Parent and Teacher Conferences
It is finally that time of year! This time of year offers an opportunity for the Owl class to take a deep breath and realize that the school year is in full swing and to relax into it. For the teachers, it is also a time to trust that there are still plenty more hours and days for all of the teaching that feels so vital and crucial to happen…
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…
Finding Connections
If you have ever asked yourself (or your high school math teacher), “When am I ever going to use calculus?” then you will appreciate this. If you ever had to memorize the names of Columbus’ boats or the steps of the scientific method, and have privately thought, “So what?” then you already get my point…
The Capacity to be Kind
I believe that everyone has the capacity to be kind. When working with some of my toughest students in wilderness therapy, this belief may have been momentarily challenged, but in the end I was amazed at how often, when given the chance, individuals will choose to be kind…
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…
Fostering Creativity
Children are all born with an innate need to create: to build, to make, to tinker. Our job as teachers is to foster that creativity and keep that fire burning so that need to create does not get extinguished. Creativity is something we all have within, but it just tends to get used less and less as we grow older…
Parental Personal Time
This morning, we were discussing our health and how we can care for our bodies to promote our wellness. The children all had wonderful suggestions and comments. I shared with them the basic expectations of hand washing (running water as well as creating friction with the hands), drinking plenty of water (we noticed that if running water could help "wash" the germs off the outside, that maybe drinking plenty of water could help the germs move through the inside), eating fruits and veggies (protein and carbs too), and sleep…
Circle Time
Here at Mountain Sun Community School, we like to make circles. This shape is inclusive and lets you see those around you. We are a community made up of all kinds of people with different experiences and ideas. These circles are used to give everyone the chance to hear others and to be heard by others…
It Takes a Village
Many times I have heard the proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child." I have often reflected on that concept and agreed. There are many times when parents and friends help in ways such as driving a child to school or an activity, child care when family members have meetings or unexpected work needs, sharing of clothing items, or materials for backpacking…
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….