What no homework for my first grader means

I’ve written before about the progressive public school my son attends. He will begin getting  homework in 2nd grade (I think). I can’t actually remember if it’s 2nd or 3rd grade.  He picks out books that are at his reading level and brings them home each weekend to read to us Fri/Sat/Sun and every once in a while he brings home a worksheet with math problems that he is supposed to do with an adult and explain what he’s doing to us. That’s the extent of his formal HW from school.

I can do another post about why I love the “no HW till 2nd grade” approach at his school. But for this moment I’m going to tell you what it means, on a very concrete level for us.

 

Yesterday I came home after working a full day and my son (I’m going to call him Esperto, which is his capoeira name 🙂 was saying goodbye to his grandma – who picks him up from the school bus stop every day. They had gone to the playground, had snacks and played a few games by the time I got home.

I put dinner on to cook and then told my son I was ready for him to help me bake muffins for his class the next day. Each family in his class takes two weeks out of the year where we provide snacks for the entire class. This week has been our week and he had requested that I make his favorite muffins of the moment (carrot raisin).

For the next 30 minutes, Esperto read the recipe out loud to me (as best as he could…he’s a first grader).

Independently he:
turned the oven on to 350 degrees
cracked 8 eggs (only got a little shell into the bowl)
measured out 2 teaspoons of baking soda
measured out 4 teaspooons of cinammon
measured out 4 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
monitored the Vitamix blender as it blended the carrots, oil and eggs
folded the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients
set the timer on the oven for 30 minutes

He also:
smelled the spices (sensory exploration)
tasted the sugar (sensory exploration)
rubbed flour on his hands (tactile experience)
observed the flour change texture once it was combined with the wet ingredients (scientific observation)
practiced reading in context (recipe)
practiced math in context (measuring)
exercised small muscles in his hands (fine motor)
practiced self-regulation (waiting for the muffins to cook)
bonded with his caregiver (me)

Bet ya didn’t realize how much learning could happen when a child doesn’t get homework, huh?

High School on a private island…in NYC (really!)

I know it’s been quite a while since I updated this blog. There’s a lot going on with ConnectFormation Consulting, which I will update  you on shortly. New clients, published articles , conference presentations and more are in the works and on the horizon.

In the mean time, I had to come here to tell you about a wonderful experience I had today when I was given a tour of New York Harbor School which is located on Governor’s Island in NYC.  Here is the website for NY Harbor School where you can read all about the history and philosophy of the school.

In short, the NY Harbor School is a small public high school which helps students learn through hands-on, inquiry based projects which center on marine life, water and environmental science. The students do a lot of work on the water in the NY harbor- rowing, planting oysters to restore the waters of the harbor and building boats and learning to drive them (at least I think you drive a boat! Maybe it’s “steer”. Hmmm).

Every NYHS students becomes a certified scuba diver by the time they graduate and they also get a boating license. They take a ferry to school each day and back home again and they are the only students on the island.

I became obsessedfascinated with the NYHS when I stumbled upon a documentary about it called “Classroom on the Water” (it’s on the nyc.gov website or watch )
If you have 30 minutes to spare, I encourage you to watch this documentary because it is really interesting.

When I watched that documentary in the fall of 2010, a seed was planted in me that this seemed like the type of high school my son (now 5 years old) would probably enjoy immensely. I was determined to see it for myself. It turns out that they are offering tours of the school as a way to build public knowledge and to pique the interest of rising 8th graders as they make decisions about where to apply to high school.

Here are a few pictures of my visit

Entrance to the Governor's Island Ferry. Students take a boat to high school!

A view of the NY harbor from inside the ferry

This is the lacross field for the NY Harbor students

Our tour guides, 3 fabulous seniors at NY Harbor School

Biggest composter ever. They compost their lunch waste!

Students plant and harvest vegetables and herbs

Not your typical flyer in a NYC high school

Experiments with algae for the aquaculture class

NYHS is not perfect (what school is?!) They are currently faced with the challenge of being a school that accepts any student who applies (through the lottery), but some students may find that they are not actually interested in water and environmental science. I also didn’t notice any woman teachers during our time there- but to be fair, we only visited three classrooms. I also am wondering if there are teachers and administrators of color at the school. These are important questions because the population of the students is nearly 50/50 girls/boys and predominantly students of color. It’s important that students see their genders and cultures reflected as they make their ways through educational institutions.

I am interested in volunteering and working with NYHS to help it grow and become stronger because I believe that the curriculum and educational approach are exactly what we need to be moving towards in the US.

If you know anyone with a child who’s interested in water, the shore, environmental science, etc, please let them know about this school. It’s never too early to start exploring high school options- especially in NYC!

Part of a beautiful mural in the school

College acceptances!