Alma's birthday party

Happy 10th Birthday, Alma

Our strong, thoughtful, and emotionally-intelligent daughter has been in our lives and instructing us on what matters most for a full decade.  Her birthday celebrations included a pottery painting party with some school friends, a family celebration that included a Star Wars movie, homemade pizza, and cupcakes with Oreo icing, a day of mall shopping with her Nana, and a family party that she shared with her brother and Nana a week later.

The most memorial moment of Alma's birthday was her delight in giving James some homemade gifts that were intended for his birthday.  Knowing that James feels sensitive to seeing her rake in a big pile of gifts, she made him a silly book about Minecraft (a video game he is hoping to receive from Santa this Christmas).  Even she listed this moment as the highlight of her special day.


These are the sorts of memories I will carry forward from Alma's childhood: her thoughtfulness as she delights others in creative, meaningful ways.  We love her dearly and are so grateful to have her passionate and kind energy in our family.

Randy! MoMA!

I was in NYC for a work meeting and, as I walked by the NY Times on 5th Avenue, I decided to text our former South Philadelphia neighbor, Randy, who is an editor at the NY Times to see if he had time for lunch.  Happily, he did! 

Not only did I get to have lunch in their cafeteria with an old friend, but he gave me a tour of the Times, which was awesome.  It was so quiet in the office.  For some reason, I thought it would be much louder.  I guess my only experiences with NY office buildings were financial, which are often quite loud.  It was so great to see Randy and catch up for a bit before I had to run off to my meeting.

After my meeting, I was able to visit the newly renovated Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).  I don't think I've ever been to the MoMA even though I love modern art.  It was great to take myself on a date to look at art (and people looking at art) and go out to dinner by myself. 

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Always the Bad Guy

Not that I think I look like these actresses/characters, but I often hear from colleagues that I remind them of famous redheads.  Here are some recent comparisons.

While it is a compliment to be compared to these beautiful women, it is somewhat concerning that they are always the villains in their storylines.  I'm a bad guy!

Beach Weekend with Mom

Uncle Scott!

Classroom newsletter

I love Joshua's weekly newsletters that provide a little glimpse into the classroom environment... Enjoy!

Montessori Elementary

Downstairs Classroom

November 1, 2019

Building upon last week’s conversation about creating world peace, there is a practical and daily activity that is a perfect example of how we at WCDS work to build community in the hearts and minds of the students.  The daily practice is the Morning Meeting. The Morning Meeting is the community’s way of starting the school day. A teacher makes a quick announcement at 8:30 and then everyone pauses their activities and all move to the larger rug and takes a seat in a circle.  The meeting itself is a series of activities all run by the students themselves. Below are the activities and associated jobs. Each job rotates weekly so students (according to their age) gets to have each job:

Attendance (4th or 5th year): The child uses the attendance book and calls attendance marking any absences or late arrivals. 

Meeting Facilitator (4th or 5th year): This job provides a first hand practical life experience of running a meeting.  There is an agenda and the facilitator’s job is to keep the meeting moving and keep order.

Date (2nd or 3rd year): The child adjusts the calendar for the day and announces the date, “Today is Friday, November 1, 2019.”  On the surface this may look simplistic, but this is giving the younger students small public speaking opportunities.

Schedule (2nd or 3rd year): The child reads the posted daily schedule for the day’s activities, work times, breaks, and specials. More public speaking practice. 

Greeting (2nd or 3rd year): The child selects a unique greeting to use for the day.  The greetings range from simple handshakes to more playful greetings.  The goal here, make eye contact and give a good firm handshake!

Message Reader (2nd or 3rd year): The child reads aloud the morning message written by the teachers on the white board.  More public speaking practice.

Current Events: The Facilitator leads the open sharing (one per person) of anyone who wants to report on something they read, heard, or saw on an authentic news source. The only requirement is that they name the sources as best they can. 

Personal News: The Facilitator leads the open sharing (one per person) of anyone who wants to share something in their personal life.

Teacher’s Report: The Facilitator checks with the teachers if they have anything to share or present to the full class. 

Check Out: The Facilitator comes up with a quick question like “What color do you feel like?” and then the students go around the circle sharing their responses.  This serves as a fun way to end the meeting and gives students an opportunity to share “how they are feeling” without having to literally share their feelings.

Pizza Count (4th or 5th year) Wednesday Only: This child calls around the circle for the order and to collect the money for Pizza for lunch.  Once all collected, following circle, the child continues the job by calculating the entire school’s order, doing all the mathematical calculations to pay the bill, placing the order by phone to Anthony’s, and then greeting the pizza delivery person and paying them. 

At the end the facilitator then says “meeting adjourned” and everyone returns to their work.  This daily routine is full of practical life and executive functioning skills practice, and are a key ingredient to building a loving, accepting learning community.  Making this even better, it is a fun way to start the day.