Call for volunteers

Although September 2012 is 20 months away, it is fast approaching.  The el Rio Development Team has been busy and done some amazing work, but there is still a vast amount of work that needs to be done before the doors can open to el Rio and the first students can be served.  If you are interested in helping make el Rio Charter School a reality, your service is needed now.

We are offering three Planning Meetings where we will discuss the work that needs to be done & assign tasks.  If you are truly interested in making el Rio a viable reality, please attend one of the following meetings.

When & Where:

•Friday 2/4/11 9:00-10:00AM Swork (2160 Colorado Blvd. 90041)

•Tuesday 2/8/11 7:30-9:30PM Private Residence (1350 Armadale Avenue 90042)

•Sunday 2/13/11 2:00-3:00PM, Coffee Table (1958 Colorado Blvd, 90041)

We have chosen three different times and locations in an attempt to create opportunities for as many people to attend as possible.

We hope you can attend one of the meetings (no need to attend more than one).

On behalf of el Rio Charter School and future students, we invite you to take that step and get involved.

October Public Meeting Recap & Thanks

Thank you to everyone who turned out for a hot Saturday meeting and weathered the broken air conditioner to hear Nora Dvosin (Westminster Elementary School) & Fred Eric (Eagle Rock Elementary School) talk about the journey from seed to plate, gardening with kids.

Master gardener Nora Dvosin shared the inspirational story of transforming a former asphalt campus into a green campus.  She shared the plans drawn by an architect friend that helped promote the garden project at Westminster.  The drawings were helpful in creating the vision, generating excitement and presenting the projects for grants.  The encouraging news is Nora found that money to fund a garden was relatively easy to acquire.  Check out Westminster Elementary School’s webpage for more pictures of the garden now six years old and the Kindergarten Wee Garden.

Vivian Miller

Vivian Miller shared what el Rio has been doing since our June public meeting:  the Waldorf Education for Public School Teachers at Ocean Charter (two attendees were in the house), collaborations with Community Health Action Network (CHAN) and TreePeople, to name a few.  Vivian also put out an APB for Web Help to assist with our website while our web guru Jennifer Patton is on maternity leave.  Please email el Rio if you’d like to help.

Julia Posey, Fred Eric & Nora Dvosin

Fred Eric, restauranteur of Tiara Cafe and Fred 62, shared a valuable tip that kids will eat vegetables when paired with butter.  He also talked about the importance of kids completing tactile projects whether it be nurturing a plant to grow or learning how to bake cupcakes.  The act of doing builds self-awareness and self-esteem, collaborative skills and the joy of sharing.

A big thanks to Nora & Fred for sharing their time and wisdom.  And a huge thanks to the Audubon Center at Debs Park for donating the use of their meeting room.

The el Rio tote bag debuted with a welcome response.  $180 were generated in tote bag sales.  If would like to purchase an el Rio Think + Play + Do tote bag, please email us and/or show up to the next Parents of el Rio play date on Saturday, October 9th, 11AM-1PM at La Tierra de la Culebra Art Park, located at 240 South Avenue 57 in Highland Park. We’ll have bags available for purchase.

Happy Trees Make More Shade

TreePeople's Marcos Trinidad and Mark demonstrate tree care procedure.

A big thank you to the nine people who braved the heat on Sunday’s for el Rio and TreePeople Avenue 64 tree maintenance.  You are heroes mulching the way for these trees to provide more shade on a sunny day.  Thank you!

Michael and Daniel mulching and watering a happy Hong Kong orchid tree.

And a big thank you to Cafe de Leche for the delicious coffee donation.  If you missed this tree care event, do not despair.  We will have another in a more temperate season.  In the meantime, enjoy the shade.

el Rio Scholarship for Waldorf Education Professional Development for Public School Teachers in Southern California

Boost your effectiveness as a teacher with a lively dose of Waldorf professional development this summer at Ocean Charter School!

In honor of the first introduction to Waldorf Education for Public School Teachers in Southern California, el Rio is offering a scholarship.  The scholarship is open to participants with a CA teaching credential who reside in northeast LA (zipcodes:  90041, 90042, 90065, 90031).

The Waldorf Education for Public School Teachers is a one-week immersion into the Waldorf teaching experience being held July 19-23, 2010, at Ocean Charter School.  Take the plunge!

You will learn:

* Singing and making music with children

*The art of teaching English language writing and reading skills

*Storytelling for effective response and comprehension

*Movement and math, beanbags, songs and more!

*Waldorf approaches in support of brain-based learning

*Meaning-making of subject-based content using painting, drawing, movement, sculpture, and more!

You will come away with:

*Ideas and materials to apply to your classroom

*Ideas and ways to create a professional learning community in your school

*Ways to support different learners through Waldorf-based differentiation practices

If you have enrolled or are plan to enroll, email elriocharter@gmail.com to enter your name in a lottery drawing.

Read Joan’s blog post for more information about the teacher training and how to enroll.

Street Tree Care with TreePeople

Be a part of some much needed tree care in Highland Park.  Julia Posey and el Rio Charter School are teaming up with TreePeople’s Marcos Trinidad to beautify their Northeast L.A. community. Weeding, mulching, and watering will be done to help these young purple orchid and golden trumpet trees get through the summer.

When:  Sunday, July 18, 2010, from 9:00AM-12:00PM.

All volunteers must individually pre-register to attend via the TreePeople site. This is a first come first served opportunity.

If you have any questions, please email elriocharter@gmail.com with “TreePeople Tree Care” in the title.  I hope you can make it!

June Public Meeting Wrap-up!

Thank you to the 44 adults and 15 kids who came out on June 5th for our 4th Public Meeting! This one was full of new people, great questions and useful information from teachers and parents for our development team.

Daniel Balrderrama’s talk was inspiring and warm. He so obviously loves children and wants the best education possible for them. A mission we all share. He has been able to deliver on that mission, so it gives us courage that we’re on the right track with el Rio.

Our next Public Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 2nd, 2:30-3:30pm at the Audubon Center at Debs Park. Save the date!

Diane Ravitch Interviewed on KPCC’s Patt Morrison

Former No Child Left Behind proponent Diane Ravitch will discuss why she no longer supports NCLB on 89.3FM KPCC’s Patt Morrison show today, Monday, April 12th, 2010. In 2000, education historian Ravitch wrote the influential Left Back: A Century of Battles over School Reform.

In her latest work The Death and Life of the Great American School System she explores how testing and choice are undermining education. 89.3FM KPCC’s Patt Morrison airs today from 1:00-3:00PM.

Book Review: Sewing Dolls by Karin Neuschütz

Last summer, I finished a handmade Waldorf doll for my youngest child. I had started making the doll seven months prior but was stymied by the labor intensive sewing on of the hair. Attaching the yarn hair slammed the brakes on what formerly was a rather speedy project. Had I know of Karin Neuschütz’s Sewing Dolls book then, I don’t think I would have experienced the same delays.

Neuschütz’s book gives step by step instructions on how to attach the doll hair as well as clear pattern templates. If you are interested in making a Waldorf doll, Sewing Dolls is a great resource. In a day and age when so much can be bought for a price, there is much to be said for the thoughtful gift of a handmade toy.

Book Review: Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Today’s children spend less time outdoors in free play and exploration than their grandparents did. Further, author Richard Louv states, children are spending more time indoors removed from nature. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv asks the important question who will be the future stewards of the earth if today’s children have no relationship with the outdoor world? He calls the problem Nature-Deficit Disorder.

Last Child in the Woods refrains from cynical judgement of our youth and apocalyptic fatalism. Louv calls upon us as adults to create introductions to nature, bring children back outdoors and use our political power to address nature-deficit disorder.

Through unhurried play and exploration, the relationship between children and the outdoor world can grow.

Book Review: The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule

The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections is a wonderful resource for anyone who wishes to nurture a more meaningful family life. Through simple projects and mindful parenting, author Amanda Blake Soule shares ways to foster the connections that make a healthy loving family. The projects in her book range from felt blocks, freezer paper stencils to building everyday family rituals.

Soule stresses the importance of allowing children to connect to natural world outdoors whether it be in a city park or the beaches of Maine.

When I am with my children out in the world…I watch them weave their way around the trees in a forest; jump into the ocean with abandon; and wrap their hands around a pine tree as they climb, getting covered in sap and loving the sticky feeling on their fingers.  They aren’t worried about tripping on the roots above the ground, whether or not the water is too cold, whether they have dry clothes to change into, or how many days it will be before all the sap is washed off their hands.  These details are the details of adults.  It is the job of children to just be in the world.  To know it and to fall in love with it.

The Creative Family is a book about building connections.  The connection between a small ladybug traveling the length of your garden bed, the wide world that extends beyond your front door and the mindfulness you bring to the home behind it.