Welcome Back to School

5th grade students tending the butterfly garden during their Nature Study class. Plants were purchased through a generous grant from the Audubon Society.

Greetings Ambleside and welcome back to school!

The forecast—beautiful, peaceful and full of surprises. We are now two weeks in and many habits are being formed; moving in the hallways quietly, pushing in chairs upon standing and interacting with classmates in cheerful, respectful ways.

As I have visited classes there has been one constant throughout: students are engaged in the work of learning. The book opens and their eyes settle on the page, the math problem is written on the board, and busy hands work to solve the problem in front of them. All around the school, the children are attending to the task at hand, and they have been doing so since day one.

How is this possible so early in the school year?

No training was needed, no priming of the pump required to set this work in motion. It was just the opening of a well-chosen text, the presentation of a worthy piece of music or art, or the practice of a skill in math, handwriting or grammar. No magic tricks, flashing signs, screens, or sticker charts were required.

Charlotte Mason wrote in A Philosophy of Education that “Complete and entire attention is a natural function which requires no effort and causes no fatigue ... like the body, the mind has its appetite, the desire for knowledge.”

It is this desire for knowledge that enables a child to pay attention. The power to attend is innate, and children were born with the ability to do so. Our work at Ambleside is to provide children with that “mind food” that will nourish and sustain them.

What are the results of such an education?

Again, the words of Mason tell it best: “Children educated upon such lines as these respond in a surprising way, developing capacity, character, countenance, initiative and a sense of responsibility. They are, in fact, even as children, good and thoughtful citizens.”

In what surprising ways will your children respond? I can’t wait to find out!

P.S. Some announcements:

We are hosting our first Open House of the year on Saturday, October 16 for prospective families to learn about Ambleside School. Please be thinking about friends, family members, and neighbors to invite!
Looking forward to seeing at least one parent from each family at our first Parent Teacher Fellowship this year. It will be next Friday, September 24. Potluck at 6pm, formal program at 7.
Please join me at the first Coffee with Charlotte Mason of the year from 8:30-10am on Thursday, September 30. Childcare is available! We will have a time of fellowship and refreshment followed by the reading of Mason’s philosophy and discussion.