Documentation of Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center Activities and Events

Dear Friends and Followers of the GRCDC - as we all prepare for a much needed break - I send the following photographs of our events, milestones, work, learning and play of the past few months. Wishing all of you the happiest of holidays and a joyous New Year. - emm

Studio Time working with clay

Collaboration comes in many forms

Tools and Materials

Fall Provocation with Japanese Maple Branches - Acer Japonica

K-1st Study of Emotions

Studio Weaving Study

Spirituality and the Reggio-Emilia Approach at the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center

“The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.” - Mahatma Gandhi Religion is present in the thoughts of many members of our community at this time of year, but for different reasons. Each of us observes different holidays, celebrations, rituals and traditions. Our school is no different. Like a church, a school is not the building in which it is housed; it is the people, the community, that give it identity and purpose. The members of the community work together, believing in overarching principles, which enable us to reach our common goals. The Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center is founded on the principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach which is founded on spiritual awareness, but not religion. Our school observes this aspect of the approach in many ways, chief among them the Image of the Child, but also through acceptance, respect and acknowledgement of all personal family viewpoints and beliefs. For this reason, the school, since its inception has made an intentional decision to celebrate the seasons not holidays. This does not mean anyone is censored or unable to practice their faith individually, but as a community we focus on nature and the traditions central to the times of the year. -emm

Parental Involvement at the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it.”- David Star Jordan Parental Involvement at the GRCDC: I am asked by parents on an almost daily basis, “what can I do to help?” Each time I am asked I smile, because I know there are hundreds of things parents can do to help, and I know all I have to do is ask, and the help will be there. We are very fortunate that we have such involved and interested parents, and that the involvement of our parents is exceptional. I realize that when a parents asks me this it helps me realize that while the needs are obvious to those of us here each and every day, they are not always so clear to parents who have very busy lives, careers, other children, and sometimes school of their own. I always try to take a step back and remember what it was like for me when my four now grown children were in elementary school. It was difficult, as a young mother, when my oldest child started school, to know how to “break in” and volunteer. It was intimidating, even as friendly and welcoming as the school was, there was still the uncertainty of, “do I know enough?”, “who do I contact?”, “what do I have to offer?”. While it was scary, I conquered my fear, and noticed a request in the school newsletter for someone to help with hallway bulletin boards. I saw this as my chance and took it on. From that experience grew many years of helping with classroom parties, painting signs for the football team, helping at the Ice Cream Social, and many other school events. I am also a single parent, and have worked full-time since my daughter was 2 years old. It has always been a struggle to find the time to help, but I have done it because it was important for my children and for me. The friends and memories I have made along the way have been lovely benefits of my involvement in my children’s education. Many of our parent volunteers are here because they noticed a need and asked if they could help out. For example, Israel Gentry, father of Belli, Discovery C and Victoria, Discovery E, stands guard at the back entrance every morning, making sure the children get in the building safely, you may even see him shoveling snow off the steps in the winter months. This was his suggestion, and it is such a comfort knowing that if I cannot make it to breakfast, Mr. Israel will be there. Currently, we are looking for volunteers for the following: - Winter Celebration – December 20th – contact Sara Dews, Discovery F - School Improvement Team Members – contact Erin Melcher - Health and Sex Education Curriculum Advisory Board – contact Erin Melcher - Breakfast, Lunch and Recess Support – Contact your child’s Discovery for times - Fundraising Committee – contact Erin Melcher - Diversity Week – February - contact Sana Amash and Molly Swartz, Discovery B - Open House – March – contact Anne Rasch and Molly Parker, Discovery A - Portfolio Day – April – contact Peg Jefchak and Andrew Kleinschmit, Discovery D - End-of-Year-Celebration – June – contact Brooke Streu, Discovery E The first step is the most difficult, but I encourage everyone to take that step, go to a Family Team meeting, reach out to another parent in your child’s class, check out the school Facebook page, come eat breakfast or lunch with your child, and by all means – never be afraid to ask or offer.

The Meaning of Celebration at the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center

“Children take joy in their work and sometimes as adults we forget that's something we should continue doing.” ― Ashley Ormon Our annual GRCDC celebrations are one way we are able as a community to take joy not only in our work, but also in the work and learning of our students. As we approach the first of many holidays on the traditional calendar, the first of which is Halloween, the staff felt it important to share with our families the rationale and meaning behind what, our celebrations at the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center. Our primary objective in any school celebration is an opportunity to come together as a community, share experiences with our children, and above all enjoy the play and learning of one another. Many years ago, the school made an intentional decision to celebrate the seasons rather holidays to be inclusive and sensitive to our community’s diverse beliefs and needs. Celebrations include traditions of families, theories of children and teachers’ knowledge of children, and seasonal food and activity. They are organized in community between staff and families with the intent to build relationships among all participants, and deepen each member’s knowledge and understanding of the Reggio Approach. The Fall Celebration is especially connected to our current learning this year through the parallel to our Summer Provocation connecting the inside to the outside. For a few years, the school travelled to a farm west of the city for this experience. Two years ago, when we first moved to our current building, I asked the staff to think about how we could use our current site for all of our celebrations. The staff enthusiastically began discussing with children and as a staff “what Fall means”. From that collaborative experience emerged many common connections, such as food, family, storytelling, nature and friends. These five concepts will be the basis for planning relevant activities that pay tribute to the fall season.

Aesthetics, Learning, Citizenship and Participation - NAREA July 12, 2013

It was wonderful being able to experience the summer conference with our pedagogista, Sarah Cooper. More than once, we tapped each other on the elbow or shared a smile at something stated or referenced during the lectures. Feeling validation for what we do and the decisions we make is a very valuable part of these experiences. The theme of one talk gave me encouragement in our current discussion of the role of the Studio [altelier] and Studio Coordinator [atelierista] as it exists in our school. As I have stated many times, and as we discover each time we engage with members of the larger Reggio community, the Grand Rapids Child Discovery is very different from most other Reggio-inspired schools in the United States. Many educators, upon meeting us, and learning about our school are intrigued and eager to learn more about who we are and how we manage to run a successful K-5 public Reggio-inspired school. When asked this question I always respond with two words - flexibility and innovation. Our status as a stand-alone district allows us the freedom and flexibility to make changes quickly and efficiently based upon the needs of our community, and the willingness and expertise of our staff to respond creatively to challenges and unique situations are the foundational elements of our success. Listening to the perspective and philosophy of the atelier and atelierista further validated our current goal of re-defining this central aspect of the Approach and learning process of our school. What we heard at NAREA: "...The atelier is for richer and more complete knowledge....for new cultural visions....creative thinking, teamwork, and research are necessary conditions for cultural and economic development - all require CONTEXT for practice and evolution....the atelier and atelierista role grew out of this belief...that ongoing attention to RESEARCH and INNOVATION....a search for CONSTANT INNOVATION...bring the artistic background." ">>>educational philosophy ...where the aesthetic dimension and the search for beauty have been welcomed are important aspects of our species' life, and consequently into our schools and learning...the adult who constructs environment and supports children's research helps to make it more rich and interesting." We need to think in terms of SENSORY PERCEPTION and AESTHETIC VIBRATION as learning activators...."Children as protagonists of their own learning..." "The IMPERTINENT ATELIER..as guarantor of knowledge and learning...CULTURAL EXCITEMENT as generative....works and investigations that move and advance of their own processes...""...children always without timidity break down divisions between disciplines...this is analogous to brain function....children build knowledge and learn with whole body and all senses with BEAUTIFUL BIOLOGICAL UNITY....this is MYSTERIOUS, and we need to work NOT TO BETRAY."

"The destiny of our children, is linked to our own...." - Lorus Malaguzzi, 1970

As we learned at the NAREA conference earlier this month, the intention behind establishing the Reggio-Emilia Foundation was to insure the destiny of our children, beginning with education. The concept of the school as a "learning community", in which all members participate in work, play and co-construction of learning was something very innovative at the time the Approach was being developed and remains something rare in traditional education. Some of the other new ideas generated by Reggio-Emilia include: environment as teacher, or the notion that there must exist a dialogue between pedagogy and architecture of the learning spaces. Urban Ecosystem, that not only our rural areas need protection, but our cities in which we spend so much of our lives need to be healthy and sustainable as well.

This led to the establishment of the Remida, the community recycling center, in which all manner of cast-off, remnant, and used materials are deposited, gathered, sorted and displayed for use later in project work and play at the schools of Reggio-Emilia. The most amazing thing one learns about the schools in Reggio is that they are not just for the students and their parents, but truly for the whole city.

This town of around 180,000 has an annual Remida Day in which all residents of the city participate in the center of the town.

NAREA 2013 Summer Conference Recap

Dear Readers, First, my apologies for the delay in this posting. I was completely unprepared for the effects of jet lag upon returning from my trip. The 9 hour flight, combined with the six hour time change put my internal clock through quite a change. This, in addition to all of the items on my "to do list". Now that I have all of my excuses out of the way, I will move on to the the conference. First of all, I want to thank all of the faculty and staff at the Mid-Pacific Institute and the University of Hawaii. They have every right to be proud of their beautiful facility and tremendous hospitality. Their most gracious, hospitable and moving welcome and closing were memorable and moving. The NAREA staff, especially Judy Kaminsky and Margie Cooper, along with all of the altelier facilitators, insured an organized, well-planned, and very productive and valuable experience. I took many notes during the lectures and would like to include them, as I wrote them, along with images from the conference. There is no particular design, just the comments and reflections I found most salient, along with a few of my personal connections to what was presented. I hope the following provide each of you with inspiration, validation, or provocation. Please feel free to comment, question or challenge any of what you see here:

"To respond to the right to the education of ALL children..." including the "proper conditions"...."investment of governments"..."we often find early childhood investment is the crumbs....often it is viewed that ANY solution is acceptable..."...."education is the REPONSIBILITY of the community...the COMMITMENT of administrators and governments"...."it is the CIVIC responsibility of everyone...public resources are diminishing constantly....Give the future to our children that we are creating today...this is the GENESIS of experience"

"The child as human being....the essential element of documentation is making learning visible..."it is making learning visible...it is both a LEARNING and a STRATEGY...

"The importance of PEOPLE working in a system....administrators, instruction, support and families...bring EFFORTS and INTELLIGENCES together....we need a SOCIAL RECOGNITION of EDUCATORS....children, in terms of economic sustainability need the FREEDOM to leran in this environment. "Within the PLURALITY of COMPETENCIES we can expand opportunities for students...there needs to exist professional development for ALL professional figures in school.

Co-Presence of teachers in the classroom....teacher does not merely execute the curriculum - but is also a RESEARCHER [crucial issue]". "The city of Reggio-Emilia chose education as a focus of investment

"The STRATEGIC aspect of education as a universal right and essential to common good - like water." "Education as a common good...all children must be able to take advantage without LIMITATION...education draws strength from being viewed as a common good....it finds its essence in civil society....it is a COLLECTIVE and INNOVATIVE solidarity."

.

Positon Posting Part-Time Studio Coordinator Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center

Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center Part-Time Studio Coordinator Job Description The GRCDC is seeking an individual to serve as *part-time Studio Coordinator, responsible for the following: - Collaborate and coordinate activities of Studio with classroom curriculum - Conduct classes utilizing art materials and various media to support and enrich content area learning and various student-led projects - Connect studio work to state standards - Reports to Pedagogista and School Principal [approx. 25 hours per week September through May] The desired candidate will possess the following credentials, experience, dispositions and knowledge: - The Reggio-Emilia Approach to learning - Art materials - Art techniques - Child Development - physical, social, emotional, academic - Learning process - Foundations of learning theory - Working with and managing children in educative settings - Strong written and oral communication skills - Belief that every child can succeed - Proof of successful work history - BA in Fine Arts and/or Education All those interested in applying please send resume and cover letter to melcheri@childdiscoverycenter.org

Images from the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center Spring 2013

5/3 Junior Run - Paraeducator Kelli Belanger led a daily all-school "Running Club" to encourage wellness and an active lifestyle. The experience culminated in student, staff and parent participation in this children-only event, part of the 5/3 River Bank 25K Run held later that week.

Camp Roger All-School Study Trip

Discovery B Outdoor Classroom - Ms. Amash and Friends

Exploring collaboration and brush techniques in Studio

The wonderful and uninhibited curiosity of children

Our community gathered on June 3, 2013 for an evening of food, fun, conversation, and celebration.