Fathers’ Day gifts made the perfect opportunity to create sculptures with metal, leaving a special place in which to post a child-penned analogy of appreciation as part of the overall design.

The bridges of Portland are strong visual designs and statements of human intent. Bridges take us places… as they have with our learning. Structures and forces became engineering, beauty and functionality became design. Words poured from aesthetics, geometry, physical and material sciences, and our first-hand experiences. Enjoy the album photos […]

When we finish tempera painting, we make painted papers, and lots of them! We don’t like to waste anything! After all, we may be able to re-purpose materials and give them an opportunity for a new life! Add that to pop-up technology that intrigues us when we look at some […]

In December 2009 –as an extension of our work with reflection, transparent, translucent, opaque, and overlapping… along with the introduction of “change” produced by intense heat– we ventured into a new medium… glass. Our own classroom windows are inspiring as the quality of light changes, permeating the old leaded design […]

Thank you to Janet Trygstad for teaching us how to do May Pole dances. The music is lively, and we love the feel and bright colors of the ribbons! The way they weave together down the pole as we skip about is magical!

Mad Hatters “National Make Your Own Hat Day!” was announced on the early morning radio, background to the semi-awakened state of mind during the drive the school. That seemed to offer interesting possibilities. The children were easily drawn in, many making sketches and tracking the development of ideas. This mini-study […]

Adventuring in the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, and friends has made Fridays magical! Thank you to the Northwest Children’s Theater for their generosity and open arms. Our youngsters have practiced a vignette from the theater’s script, chosen for us by John (NWCT’s Pooh Bear!) and we […]

Each year, May Day morning, is greeted by Raven’s Magic Morris and English country dancers after a sleep-over at the school. The children wake up at 4:45 am to don colorful accents of bells and ribbons, toting flowered large-brim hats and bashing sticks, transforming them into a performance dance team. […]

Buddies paired up to examine toy monkeys and wrestle with a glide system that made the monkey’s mouth move. The children looked closely at the toys and talked about the essential elements. Each designer-team created a plan for materials and assembly, capturing their ideas first in gestures, words, and on […]