Rose Rock School will be closed next week, Nov. 22-26, for Thanksgiving Break. We hope that you all find some wonderful moments to share with your families as you celebrate Thanksgiving. We also wish to equally honor Native American Heritage Day–to acknowledge the generosity of spirit and resources of the Wampanoag tribe so many years ago, while also remembering the subjugation of the Native American tribes at the hands of the ever-expanding American settlers. May we all endeavor to learn from the countless hardships in our human history, and may we grow in loving awareness as we work toward becoming a more benevolent and grateful human race.
With Love
Shanah
Nature Stories & Therapeutic Arts–by Ms. England
You may have noticed the folded paper animals and loops of string that have
made their way home over the past few months. During this Michaelmas season, the
children have heard tales in our Nature Stories class that subtly address topics of
perhaps cosmic importance – courage, kindness, gratitude, strength of will. These
stories involve animals, humans, and the natural world and allow the children to
play out various acts symbolically through the story. These stories are nourishment for
the soul.
We always participate in origami, string games, or nature crafts after the
story or during review, when we exercise our memories of what took place the
previous week. Their memory capacity is astounding–as is their creativity! The
children have taken it upon themselves to expand these games to include ones they
created themselves – either completely original or motivated by a previously
learned game. They are given the opportunity to inspire each other and offer
assistance to one another, thereby fostering their sense of collaboration and
perseverance. It is such a joy to witness their successes.
Origami and string games are functional artistic activities. They foster the
development of concentration, bilateral coordination, and the senses of
proprioception, touch, and balance. These artistic endeavors strengthen the
myelination of brain pathways by getting both hemispheres communicating with
one another.
Therapeutic Arts class (sometimes called Extra Lesson) extends the
artistic experience throughout the whole class period, with the goal of more fully
integrating the foundational senses (touch, life, proprioception, and balance), which
will serve to establish a strong base for learning. We engage in movement games,
such as beanbag passing/tossing and animal tag. We draw and write with our feet,
which ironically improves handwriting and fine motor skills. A spoken word
element accompanies many of our activities. Verses are recited and songs are sung,
which provide an added challenge and exercise our articulation and memory
muscles. Plus, we revel in the healing properties of color by painting together at the
end of each class. These paintings are completed by following specific directions
that are presented with an imaginative picture that allows the students to work on
eye tracking, dissolving midline barriers, and strengthening left/right dominance. Most
recently our hands and brushes have been snails moving at the pace of a… you
guessed it! SNAIL! They follow the movement of their snail closely, with their eyes,
to make sure it doesn’t drop anything (leave little spots of white on the trail). If it
does, the trail is retraced, just as slowly, left to right, all the way down the page.
Each class is arranged by taking into consideration the collective needs of the
students, and each round of activities takes place in twelve week cycles. So, when we return from our Thanksgiving Break, we will have new and exciting
challenges to meet as Winter approaches!
Reminder: We will have a Winter festival on Saturday, December 4th. It will begin at 6pm.
With Love,
ShanahShanah AhmadiAdministrator & Director, Rose Rock School
Representative Programs Director, LifeWays North America
(405) 412-3583