Tag Archives: education

The Kindergarten Economy

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Everyday I pack a snack for Primo in his green metal lunch box. He goes to half day Kindergarten so the snack is just something to get the kids through the morning and keep them alert. Early in the year I put two things in his lunch because there were a couple of kids that didn’t have anything and he liked to share with them. Once all the families got the snack memo I didn’t need to send two things in his box but I liked to give him the choice and he usually had something left over to share with his brother on the ride home. Lately I’ve started to notice that the snack he has left over is not the snack I sent him with in the morning. Take yesterday for example when I sent him with a cheese stick and an orange. When I picked him up he had a cheese stick but it was a different brand than I gave him, and in place of the orange was a grilled cheese sandwich. I asked Primo where this new snack came from and he told me how he shared his orange with one kid and gave his cheese stick to another in exchange for the sandwich. Then he got another cheese stick from a different kid because he shared his cashews with her last week. There seemed to be this whole snack time market place that Primo maneuvered like a wall street trader. He turned fruit snacks into cookies and orange slices into gluten-free grilled cheese. I was never good at trading food in the lunch room economy but it looks like Primo is making good use out of his negotiating skills. These are the real life skills that will serve him well once he finishes school.

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PCPO Conference: Building Lifelong Learners

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Tower built with kids on my helper day at pre-school

I am on the board of Segundo’s Co-Op Preschool and one of my jobs is being the schools representative to the PCPO ( Parent Child Preschool of Oregon). The PCPO is a non-profit umbrella organization for more than 65 Co-operative Preschools in the North West and every year they have a conference for parents and teachers with workshops like Early Math Concepts, Positive discipline, and Enhance you Marriage, Improve you Parenting. You can see a full list of the workshops available this year by checking out the Conference Brochure.

This years conference is Saturday March 3, 2012 at Athey Creek Middle School in West Linn, OR. The day is broken down into three workshops, two in the morning and then one after lunch. For each of the workshop times there are a number of options to choose from and something there for everyone. The goal is to build lifelong learners with us as parents and with our kids. The Co-op model works on the principle that we learn as much as the kids do by participating in the class room and taking that out into our days.

If you are a parent or teacher with preschool to first grade age kids in the Portland area then I highly recommend this conference. The price of $50 if registered by February 24, or $60 at the door is an incredible deal for the wealth of knowledge in each of the workshops. Modeling lifelong learning starts with us as parents, and the opportunity to tap into all of these great sessions will keep us on that journey.

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He’s got a ticket to ride and he don’t care

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Last year, as a birthday present, I was given the board game Ticket To Ride by my Sister and Brother in Law. We played the European version while on summer vacation the year before and I loved the game. It is an easy to learn strategy game that can be played with two to five people and depending on the way the cards fall anyone can win. Those with the better strategies do better in the long run but the same person doesn’t win every game. After getting the game for my birthday we hadn’t had a chance to play it until this Christmas when we dusted off the box and taught my family how to play. Over the week that my brother and his family were here we played ten to fifteen games. Beautiful won more than anyone else but everyone had at least one win to call their own. After the holidays ended Primo asked to play the game that we were all having so much fun with so I set up a modified version of the game to play with both boys.

Segundo does not have the patience to play even a toddlered down version of the game so we let him do his own thing, placing trains down willy nilly. Primo on the other hand took to the game like daddy takes to a fresh hop IPA. He was quickly able to figure out where he needed to go to get his trains from Duluth to El Paso, and after a couple of games even started to pick up some secondary strategy. He knew to grab cards he would need later if the card he needed now wasn’t available. Ticket To Ride turns out to be a great game, with some minor rule changes, for a five and half-year old to pick up some critical thinking in a fun environment. I worked it so he won his first couple of games but as he got better I started to play it straight up, trying to win. There are still times when he comes out on top but we no longer let him win. He threw a fit last night when I beat him pretty bad but we took the opportunity to talk about sportsmanship, winning and losing, and playing the game for the fun of it and not just to win. He rallied and we played again today he was much better when he lost. He told me that he knew that my Seattle to New york route is what won the game for me and he was right. I’m under no misgivings that my kid is super smart but I love seeing these clear signs of his development as he picks up strategy and cause and effect. Soon I will get him working on card counting and keeping a poker face for our father son trips to the casino.

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The art of taking it apart

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The collection of discarded and non-working gadgets has been growing so the boys and I gathered some of them together to do some creative deconstruction. We pulled up chairs to the work bench, gathered some screw drivers and other tools, and set about taking apart and exploring the old electronics. Primo took the screws out of a pair of computer speakers that no longer had any connection between the volume they put out and the position of the knob meant to adjust the sound. We cut the wires connecting the power supply to the circuit board and I had the boys tell me how they thought it worked. I’m not much of a flesh and bones techie but that didn’t really matter. We weren’t try to reverse engineer anything, rather we wanted to explore through destruction. We wanted to take apart the items on our table and see if we could put them back together if we needed to. Once we talked about how the speakers worked the boys started pulling off the transistors and capacitors with pliers.

Sometime down the road we will try to build simple machines but I want to get the boys correctly using tools and having fun taking things a part to see how they work. The more we take a part the more we see how similar things are inside and how the differences determine how the electronics work. I don’t know if they’ll catch the engineering bug like their Grandpa Tom Tom but I hope they will have a healthy knowledge of how things work and to fix the things they can. I also hope that they will see the art and creativity in how things are put together and how they come apart.

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Back to kindergarten plan A

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Way back in March I wrote a couple of posts on the School choice issue. We were in the proces of turning in our applications for the charter schools and our Portland Public School choice form. Since then we settled on our Neighborhood school after not getting in to any of the Charter Schools and changing our mind about the Public school that we got into. We were excited to start the school year firmly established in our local school and the first couple of days were great. Primo loved his friends and the new teacher was excited to be there. She even brought in a sub that played guitar while she had a certification class. We were riding our bike to pick him up each day and he was tired but happy. Then we got the call that our spot on the waiting list of Trillium Charter School was up and would we like the last spot in their Kindergarten class.

So we had the decision, stay with the local school that we wanted to be part of the change of making the school better, or go to the established Charter school that seems to be a great fit for Primo and the way he learns. We thought about it a little bit and didn’t make a decision until visting the school but it was an easy decision in the end. Trillium is smaller school with high parent involvement and a project based teaching style that both Beautiful and I love (and that is no small feat finding a program of teaching that we both agree on). When I told Primo that he might be switching schools he said “it’s OK daddy, I will make friends at the new school too.” After all this we are going to have him write a book on dealing with change since at 5 he seems to have a good handle on the subject.

He has made friends but it has taken a week or so. The rest of the kids have been together from Pre-school on so he had some barriers to over come. Just like when he came into Pre-school and broke through the established social connections he’s making friends again. Friends that write notes to him about how much they love him being in their class. The school day is shorter so it looks like Beautiful’s dream of me getting back to paying work will have to wait, but we are all really excited about the amazing opportunity we have. It feels like we are in a Private school way out of our pay range instead of a free charter school in the public school district. We fell lucky and know our son is getting a great education. There is a likely spot for Segundo since siblings get preference in the lottery process but we will make that decision when he is ready.

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It begins, but also continues

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Tomorrow is the first day of school for Primo. His first day in the big scary world of public school where we drop him off at 8 and don’t get to see him again until after 2 in the afternoon. We met the teacher, checked out the class room, got the lay of the land. He is excited, anxious, ready for to get started. We talked about his feelings about the new adventure and he has no fears that he can articulate, just nervous excitement. I’m not sure how I feel about the whole thing other than ready. I’m ready for him to get this public education started and see where journey takes us. Beautiful will drop him off tomorrow on her way to work and I think she will respond with the proper emotion sending her baby into the world, releasing more control then we have previously let go of. I will be there to pick him up and pick his brain. Gauge his response, talk about the other kids, and get the lay of the people. He will not provide enough information to satisfy our curiosity but we will learn a lot from his demeanor.

I feel like this should be bigger for me, and maybe it will be tomorrow, but for now I am ready to let him go. To let him drift a little from the boat and see if he can swim, to find his way back. I’m ready to see what he will learn and what he already knows. He’s 5 but already I see a 5 year old that makes good decisions. I’m looking forward to seeing how he makes decisions in this new world and what he brings back. I’m proud of him and I’m excited to see where this roller coaster takes us.

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Summer Camp for the animals with the animals

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Yesterday the boys and I headed up the hill to the Oregon Zoo for a preview of the Summer Camps going on now through September 2. We had the opportunity to learn about the different camps offered, eat some tasty snacks, make a couple of art projects, and see a hedgehog and ferret close up. With train and dinosaur tickets as well we ended up spending most of the day at the Zoo and the Washington Park play structure having a great time. Primo loved interacting with the camp counselors and I think that he would do really well at an all day camp.

There are eight camps for the different age groups ranging from four year olds to kids in seventh and eight grade and the camps compliment the Portland Public school focuses for each grade. While science and the Zoo are natural connections the camps are more than just scientific observation. There is a focus on art through crafts, songs, and songs as well as exercise and exploration. At our weekly Thursday night dinner last night my friend Jesse remembered fondly his experience at Zoo camp in Santa Barbara when he was five.

If you are looking for things to do in Portland for your school aged kids consider the Summer Camps at the Zoo. We are definitely going to try and find a way to get Primo signed up, we just need to convince the grandparents it’s a good idea to help with the cost.

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Grading our first year of Pre-school

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The F is for Fantastic

We are in the last week of classes for Primo in Pre-school and with an immediate vacation at the start of summer break it has me thinking about the past year. We were part of a Co-op pre-school that I think we all enjoyed. Primo loved it, as did Segundo on our parent helper days. I had a more work than anyone else in our family but overall I had a great time. I feel like we made some friends out of the process, the boys thrived in the different social situations around school activities, and we got a little picture of what kind of student Primo will be.

While we came into the experience knowing the general idea of what a Co-op school was I don’t think we fully grasped our roles in the collective. I signed up for lots of helper days early on to show I wasn’t the dead beat dad that the ladies were used to. Engaging with the kids in the classroom was fun and easy for me but I didn’t do very well at connecting with the parents and setting up all the great events outside of school. It wasn’t until the last month of school where I felt comfortable enough with the parents to stick around for the coffee klatch and set up a play date or two.

Next year we will be back at the school with Segundo in the Junior class. This time I will be the Junior Class Representative helping new families get signed up for helper days and answering any questions they may have. I will also be on the Board, once again the only dude, and I want to try to get people connected a lot faster than I did. There is a lot of work that goes into a Co-op school but all that work pays off in such cool ways.

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In search of an education: Part 1

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Primo is weeks away from his first Spring break and it has little sway on him. I actually think he will be more disappointed that he isn’t in school, than he will be excited to get a break. Pre-school is starting to wind down and he is enjoying the home stretch blissfuly unaware that his parent are in full Kindergaten search mode. Wading through Charter school options, reading up on neighborhood schools and scores, and feeling generally overwhelmed by the magnitude of this process. It feels we setting the trajectory for Primo’s education and for the most part all of the options are out of our control. Since we do not have the money to dictate the private school we want we are the mercy of the public school lottery system. So here is the process we went through to take care of the things we had control over and letting go of the rest.

Charter Schools

There are over 80 charter schools in Oregon and for those unfamiliar: ”A charter school in Oregon is a public school operated by a group of parents, teachers and/or community members as a semi-autonomous school of choice within a school district. It is given the authority to operate under a contract or “charter” between the members of the charter school community and the local board of education (sponsor). Under Oregon law, a charter school is a separate legal entity operating under a binding agreement with a sponsor. A public charter school is subject to certain laws pertaining to school district public schools, is released from others and must operate consistent with the charter agreement.” from Oregon Department of Education.

The draw of a Charter School for us is the smaller class sizes, the focused model, and the outside the box approaches to education. In North Portland there are two schools we are interested in and they are almost opposites. First there is the Portland Village School, a Waldorf  model that focuses on an arts-integrated, participatory curriculum. The Portland Village School bases its program on three specific principles of education: (1) Subject Integration, “academic studies are integrated across disciplines such as art, science, math, and history.“ (2) Teaching to the Whole Child, “An education which addresses the head (cognitive), heart (affective), and hands (behavioral) is essential“ and (3) Children as Broad Capability Learners “children’s capacities as artists, musicians, authors, and poets are much greater than generally believed.” The other charter school in our neighborhood is Trillium, a Democratic based school that nurtures each child’s inherent curiosity, creativity and connection to community. Learning is Project based and in a way a response to the Waldorf model where the teacher is the ultimate vesel of knowledge and instead seeing the students as active participants in their education both learning and teaching.

We feel like Primo would do well in both settings but where each school took him would be so different. Since both schools are popular the odds of getting in are small but we fill out the applications and wait. There are X amount of spots and siblings of current students fill in the first spots, then all of the other applications are thrown in a lottery for the remaining spots. We also turned in an application for The Emerson School downtown. We love that this school is right downtown and next to the park but mostly turned in an application to match the three regular public schools we signed up for. We are into that symmetry thing.

………Part 2: Public School Choice and our Neighborhood school

 

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