We survived Snowpocalypse 2012! The ice has melted and we have been back in the routine at school this week, sharing stories of sledding and sliding and snow forts and reading books by the fire.

It got me thinking. We missed a week of school. But did our kids miss a week of learning? I asked our lower school students this morning at our weekly gathering and they couldn’t wait to tell me what they learned last week…

“Never drive in the snow and ice!”

“I figured out how to build an igloo!”

“I watched the weather all day to see if we would be able to go to school the next day or not.”

“I learned to make huge snowballs. I have a sister, you know!”

When I asked how much snow had fallen at their houses, they told me how many inches and how they had measured it. And how they got their sleds to go fast. And how to make a really big snowman. And how many layers of clothes it took to stay warm. And, for some, what it’s like to live without electricity for one or two or five days.

Our students live and breathe learning. They absorb more than just facts. They ask questions, make predictions, explore hypotheses, analyze ideas, create, critique and synthesize all the time. At Seabury, we facilitate learning that goes beyond rote knowledge and emphasizes the development of strong habits of mind and creativity. Our children, beginning with our youngest prekindergarten students, are asking complex questions and looking beyond the surface to explore ideas more deeply. 

But the core love for learning, the quest for discovery and invention and exploration, is evident in our children no matter where they go and what they do. Just think for a moment about how your child spent last week. What insights and discoveries happened? What new ideas were explored? What predictions were tested? What creations emerged?

It’s important for parents to recognize that learning is not limited to school, or to that which happens with paper and pencil. Because noticing the ways in which your child learns and grows from each and every interaction is an amazing gift.

Our teachers at Seabury are skilled at asking questions and providing the framework in which learning occurs at a complex and high level. They are masters at knowing when to let an activity or discussion keep going and when to steer in a different direction. And our kids take what they are offered and run with it. Just this week, the prekindergarten kids, when making penguins out of toilet paper rolls, decided they wanted to do a play with their penguins. Suddenly sets were being created, roles rehearsed, lists of rules for the audience dictated and decisions were made about ticket prices. This was not learning that could be contained on a worksheet – it was economics and stagecraft and literacy and art and music and cooperation and organization and … that is what learning is about at Seabury.

But learning doesn’t stop here. At home, learning isn’t limited to homework time or to workbooks or formal lessons. A trip to the grocery store, a board game, doing the laundry, a discussion about politics, making a blanket fort, even fighting with a sibling – all of these are learning experiences. 

It is a joy to watch your children light up with new discoveries. I wonder what learning is in store this weekend …

– Sandi Wollum, Head of School

Karen and Halley's New Year's resolutions

Happy holidays, Team Seabury!

With only two weeks to go until 2012, we thought it apt to write a list of New Year's resolutions that we can all take part in. Without further ado, here are Karen and Halley's New Year's resolutions for 2012.

For us: 

Update the Seabury logo by the end of the school year

Keep spreading the Team Seabury love through social media

Have the most successful auction ever

Get better sweaters

Stop making cheesy photo montages online

For you:

Identify and recruit one Seabury mission fit family

Volunteer to work a festival, staff a committee or help at the auction

Spruce up Seabury – come man a blower, grab a rake and let’s clean up

Invite friends to join your table at this year’s the Magic of Learning auction
Work on procuring some of the items on this list.

Surprise your classroom teacher with a thank you note

Return your re-enrollment contract by the deadline

For teachers:

Roll up their sleeves alongside parents to work on committees, generate referrals and help market Seabury

Recognize the hard work of parents and thank them profusely for the gift of their children and their confidence in you

For Team Seabury:

Be free with compliments and look for the good in everyone

Wear your Seabury gear out and about

Schedule family “hang-out” time

Read a book on gifted education

Get your teeth whitened

Go to the gym

Spend fewer hours watching Keeping up with the Kardashians

Read to your child

Tell Joslyn how much you appreciate all she does

Attend the annual State of Seabury update at the lower school on Jan. 26

Go outside more often

Happy holidays from Seabury School

It was the end of the day and children were heading out of their classrooms to go home. As I was rushing around my office trying to wrap up my day, a first grader walked in and said he wanted to talk to me about something important.

“Mrs. Wollum, I was thinking we could do a coin drive, and that kids could collect money for the food bank to help people who are hungry. Could we start tomorrow?”

Talk about a way to melt the head of school’s heart!

As the holidays approach and the year draws to a close, one of the things I am most grateful for is the opportunity to be part of a school whose students love to serve. Whether it’s helping a friend feel better when he’s skinned a knee on the playground or taking part in a community service project like the Pierce County Hunger Walk, our students want to make a difference.

This first grader went door-to-door in his
neighborhood to collect this food!

The student and his family participated in this fall’s Hunger Walk as part of Team Seabury. Several weeks later, his class took a field trip to visit one of the local food banks to see an example of how the money they had raised had helped families in our area. They heard about the people the food bank helps, and about how the numbers of families, especially families with working parents and children, have increased during the difficult economy. They also saw empty shelves where there wasn’t enough food to meet all the needs. When they got back to school, the children immediately decided we needed to do a school-wide food drive to provide more help – an initiative that was supported by their teacher and so our November food drive began. Our first graders made posters, talked with classes, went door to door in their neighborhoods, tracked and graphed donations every day and ended up bringing in nearly 900 items. It was incredible. But it is clear from my first grade friend’s visit yesterday that we aren’t done yet!

A December service project was also student led this year. Inspired by a project her family supports every year, and seeing through the food drive what can happen when you involve your friends, a third grade student asked if she could ask our students to help her gather toys and coats for Allen A.M.E.’s Christmas House. This was another student led project – our staff just made the time and space for her to work with her friends to make it happen. And as a result, her family filled their car – twice – with donations for needy families in our community.

Service has become part of Seabury’s program across all our grade levels. Fostering our children’s desire to serve and providing opportunities for them to see that they can make a real difference in their community are important parts of Seabury’s program – and play key roles in the social-emotional development of our children. But it is times like this when we see our children take these lessons to heart that light up our days.

We often hear that gifted children have the potential to make a difference in the world. I believe that is true. But ultimately, the choices they will make in their lives and the work they will do as adults will be determined not just by their potential, but by the opportunities they have had to be inspired, to be challenged, to think deeply, to wonder, and to serve. When we provide children with opportunities to experience what is possible when we care and are willing to work together, and give them a chance to ‘try on” what it feels like to be involved in meaningful ways, they are inspired and want to do more. When we introduce them to those in their community who are using their gifts to inspire and lead and create positive change, they put a face on what is possible. The choice will be our children’s, ultimately. But if they have positive experiences in leading and serving as children and young adults, how much more likely will they be to continue to seek opportunities to serve as they grow up? It is exciting to consider.

So as we get ready to say goodbye for our winter break, I will be thinking about my first grade friend. And my third grade friend. And all our children. I am grateful to be part of their lives. And I am hopeful about our future. Because they are not only going to be great leaders and servants in the future - they are leaders and servants right now!

Happy Holidays!!

-- Sandi Wollum, Head of School

Gifted education educator, advocate to visit Tacoma

What: Gifted education seminar with Dr. Jim Delisle, Ph.D.

Where: Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, Commerce Room

When: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, 7 p.m.

How much: Suggested donation $10-15

TACOMA, WA, February 15, 2012: Seabury School is pleased to announce a visit from Dr. Jim Delisle, Ph.D., a respected educator and advocate in the field of gifted education.

Dr. Delisle, a nationally recognized expert on gifted education, will be speaking on "Parenting precocious kids: understanding the ups and downs of growing up gifted" This seminar will appeal to parents and educators alike, and is the second in a new series of annual gifted education seminars hosted by Seabury School.

The event will be held in the Commerce Room of the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center at 7 p.m., Wednesday, February 15. Pre-registration is encouraged for this event, with a suggested donation of $15. There will be a limited number of walk-up spaces available.

Dr. Delisle has taught gifted children and those who work on their behalf for more than 30 years. He recently retired from Kent State University after 25 years of service as a professor of special education. The author of more than 250 articles and 16 books, Dr. Delisle's work has been translated into multiple languages and has been featured in both professional journals and in popular media such as The New York Times and on Oprah! A frequent presenter throughout the U.S., he has also addressed audiences in nations as diverse as England, Greece, China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Founded in 1989, Seabury is the only independent school in the South Puget Sound with a program specifically designed for intellectually advanced children. Children from Tacoma, Federal Way, Kent, Auburn, Gig Harbor, Puyallup and throughout the South Puget Sound region come to Seabury for its personalized approach to education and emphasis on the development of creative and analytical thinking skills. Seabury is a member of the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools (PNAIS) and the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NASC).

Seabury School challenges gifted children in a community that cherishes each individual and fosters a love of learning, discovery and creativity.

Register online today.

Thanksgiving reflections

When I taught fifth and sixth grades, my students and I used to get together with younger children for cross-age activities.  I always prepped my students by reminding them that the younger students looked up to them and watched them closely all the time. 

“Remember, they are learning from everything you do – even when you don’t want them to,” was my mantra, and more than once one of my students learned the hard way that their preschool buddies were eager to copy all their behaviors, not just the positive ones. 

As a beginning teacher in my mid-twenties, I learned that this is the case for older children too.  One of my close friends had a younger sister who was a student in my fifth grade class.  Their family had a home daycare and took care of several preschool aged children.  My friend told me with great joy one day that her sister’s favorite activity was to play school with the children in the daycare, and that she always played the teacher – ME!

To my great embarrassment, when we got together with our friends, my friend loved to share how I sounded as a teacher – as played by her sister.  It was flattering to know that she wanted to be like me.  And some of the things that came through in her play were just how I hoped I came across as a teacher.  But some of it made me cringe – she indeed sounded just like me, even at my most unflattering!

I share that not to make us even more self-conscious than we already are as parents.  All of us have had that jarring experience of hearing how we sound or seeing our gestures and expressions through our children.  But as conscientious parents who care about their children’s learning, it is a good reminder that while trips to museums and educational toys are wonderful gifts we give our children, we can also rest assured that the times when we are just “hanging out” as a family are valuable learning experiences as well.

Seabury is blessed with parents who value learning and who support their children’s education each and every day.  Teachers at Seabury know that when papers go home, parents will look at them and talk with their children about what they are learning. They take their children to interesting places and recognize learning doesn’t just happen at school. They want to make use of each and every moment – to do parenting “right.”

As we approach a long Thanksgiving weekend, I encourage parents to consider how much your children are learning from the everyday moments when you are just hanging out or doing “regular” things.   From seeing a working mom or dad take time to slow down and read a book or take a bubble bath.  From spending time watching a fun movie or playing a game together.  From going grocery shopping and trying to figure out how much pumpkin pie Grandpa is going to eat this year.  From watching you orchestrate how to get the turkey and the potatoes to be done at the same time. 

In our children’s lives, whether they are in preschool or middle school, each moment is a learning moment – not just those we plan to be intentionally educational.  As parents who care deeply about our children’s learning, we sometimes put a great deal of pressure on ourselves to plan educational activities for our children and feel guilty when we aren’t doing something “valuable” with their time.  While those moments are wonderful and important, we can give ourselves permission to just be with our children as well. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!  Enjoy time with your children.  And take time to read a good book - your children will benefit and so will you!

- Sandi Wollum

It’s hard to see your child struggle. As a parent, one of the biggest challenges we face is how to handle those moments when our children are unhappy, uncomfortable, frustrated, angry, hurt or overwhelmed. From the time they are born, we worry about them, try to make the right decisions about what they will eat and where they will go to school, and do all we can to help ensure that they can grow up to have the life we dream of for them.

Perhaps it’s that I’m the parent of an eighth grader who is getting ready to head to high school at the end of this year. But I have found myself reflecting recently on the experiences my son has had as he has grown, and especially on those that seem to have had the biggest impact on his development. I am so thankful that he has been able to be at Seabury from the time he was a prekindergarten student. I’m grateful he has been in a place where he has developed strong friendships with amazing children who will, no doubt, be lifelong friends. A place where he has felt safe and supported every step of the way.

But if I look more closely and am really honest about it, many of the experiences and relationships that have had the biggest impact (both in and out of school) on making him the responsible, well-rounded, incredible young man he is becoming were those that were the hardest. The times when someone was mean to him on the playground. The time he left his science fair experiment to the last minute and then couldn’t get it to work. The time he had to work on a group project with kids he didn’t like working with. Situations that made him mad or frustrated or hurt or angry or profoundly sad. They were (and are) the events that have been catalysts for some of the most profound growth in his life.

As a parent, those times were (and are) hard. Even though I knew he was in a safe environment at school, that his teachers cared about him, that he had good friends to talk to and family who loved him, it was still heartbreaking to see him struggle. My impulse was to rescue him. To make it easier. To fix what was wrong for him. To take the hurt away and make it all better.

I’m most thankful for the times I was able to make myself resist. Because I realize that many of the traits that serve him best now – leadership, responsibility, confidence, for example – were developed as he found his way through those difficult times. And that rescuing him not only would have deprived him of those opportunities for growth, but would have sent the message that I didn’t wasn’t confident he could handle whatever challenges faced him – exactly the opposite of what I intended. Of course in life, there are sometimes situations that require me to step in because they are too far beyond what he is ready for, but those are few and far between compared to those that required me to step back tag along for the ride while he worked through the challenge and made mistakes along the way.  

Someone once told me that self esteem doesn’t come from being told you are great. It comes from coming up against something you don’t think you can do, making up your mind to take it on, making mistakes and dealing with setbacks along the way, and then finally succeeding. The doubt and fear and pain and worry and frustration that are part of the journey are what make the accomplishment so sweet – and build confidence for the next time.

As parents, we need to hold each other up, because parenting is hard. We need to help each other have the courage to watch our kids struggle. To walk through difficult situations with them. To give them the chance to solve problems for themselves. To experience the natural consequences of their choices – even when those consequences are hard to take. Because it’s in the times of struggle that they grow most profoundly.

- Sandi Wollum

Links:

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, by Wendy Mogel

Parenting with Love and Logic, by Foster Cline and Jim Fay

The Parents We Mean to Be, by Richard Weissbourd