During these months of ‘distance’ learning, Red Cedar has been active and connected. We have worked to keep the community and relationships strong, and we’ve been immersed in substantial academic learning. Live daily classes have continued much the same through video conferencing. The focus for the youngest students has been more on tutorials. While it hasn’t been the same as being together at school and we can’t wait to return, the past months have been fruitful.
Our groups have been engaged in different activities specific to the class and developmental level, but all told students have: designed simple machines and built models that work; created short films about books; written literary essays, narratives, pandemic journals, and poetry; created and annotated maps; developed backyard field guides; explored cycles of history; done outdoor field observations and recorded them in science journals; discussed books they read together; carried on with daily math classes; built hummingbird feeders; participated in reader’s theater skits; learned Japanese calligraphy; done word study; sewn masks for the community; done research projects in areas of interest; painted water color minis of the emergence of spring; learned bird identification; participated in musical improvisation; enjoyed reading, lots of reading; recommended books to each other; listened to read alouds; received new bags of books and materials periodically; enjoyed regular morning meetings; shared laughs; and remained connected.
We can’t wait to be back together again. Based on current developments in Vermont, we anticipate that it’s likely we’ll be at school in person in the fall. In addition to following the safety protocols and parameters set by the State, we are planning to increase our outdoor focus. As a school with a strong outdoor emphasis already, and developed outdoor classroom spaces, we are well positioned to do this. Our faculty team is underway with plans for outside projects and explorations that integrate collaboration, creative thinking, problem solving, academic skills, content knowledge and the arts.