Learning about (and cooking with) Fire in the Woods Primes
One Monday a few weeks ago, the Morning Message informed Woods Primes that our boundary would be expanding to include the fire pit area. This prompted a conversation about what children knew about fire.
Exploring “Ownership” in the Power Primes
The Primes team has been working with Peggy Martalock, who runs the Creative Thinking and Learning Studio at Greenfield Community College, to deepen our study of Concepts and Big Ideas through a Reggio Emilia lens. The concept we are exploring together is “Ownership.” We began by asking: What meanings and understandings do children have about ownership? When are children exposed to and gathering information about ownership? What questions or tensions might they be trying to figure out regarding ownership?
Art -a-Day in the Uppers
Over the course of six weeks, 6th, 7th and 8th graders create one piece of art each day, in the same medium, using the same size canvas each time. This project is a creative daily practice built around one simple rule: make something on a 4”x6” index card every day. The idea is to keep the format small, approachable, and pressure-free, while developing consistency, creativity, and experimentation over time.
Woods Time and The 5 Senses in the Middles
If you ever visit the Middles… You may hear a Middles say, “We have Woods today!” You won’t see recess on the schedule; instead, you’ll see Woods. You’ll see Middles hiking up Grasshopper Hill. You may feel the wind on your face. You may feel your heart beating fast.
Community and Comfort in the Wonder Primes
At the beginning of each school year, the Wonder Primes teachers meet a new cohort of students. Some of these toddlers are the siblings of older Center School students and are familiar with our school already, some know an older Center Schooler from their neighborhood or community classes, and still others are brand new to our school community altogether. No matter their familiarity with the concept of school and/or our physical environment, coming together as a class every day is a new experience for all of the Wonder Primes.
Rich learning experiences through free play (in the Adventure Primes)
Free play is incredibly important for child growth and development. When we say that play is how children learn, we don't mean it to be cute or philosophical-- we recognize that this is scientifically true. Play is the engine that drives social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development in children.
8th Grade Humanities
In 8th grade Humanities class, we are doing an interdisciplinary study of immigration and immigrant experiences in the US. We just finished reading American Born Chinese, a graphic novel by Gene Yang that explores themes of assimilation, identity and belonging. Accompanying our reading we have been exploring history relating to Chinese immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. This exploration led us to learn more about Angel Island, the first stop for immigrants coming to the US from Asia and Oceana.
What’s in a name? - Uppers 6/7
The 6/7th grade humanities class has been unpacking important people and ideas highlighted in the beginning of One Crazy Summer, by RIta Williams-Garcia. The author titled the first chapter, “Cassius Clay Clouds”, using simile and allusion to describe the turbulence experienced by the main character on her plane ride. This gave us an opportunity to learn more about Muhammad Ali's (f.k.a Cassius Clay) impactful childhood, boxing career, and imprisonment. We watched footage of Ali speaking during a television interview, “See we don’t have our names, I notice how proud you all are, proud of your names.”
The Power of Choice in the Mups
The other day during Choice, I watched a small group of Mups huddled around the sign-up chart. One child sighed when they realized their first pick was already full. Another leaned over and said, “You can do collage with me.” A few minutes later, those same children were side by side, snipping paper and comparing colors, their disappointment already transformed into something new. Moments like this happen daily during Choice: small but profound rehearsals of flexibility, empathy, and resilience.
Building Community Through Wonder: The Woods Primes’ Wasp Nests
During the first few weeks of school, the Woods Primes made an exciting discovery at their basecamp—an active wasp nest! Teachers quickly marked off a safe boundary, allowing students to observe the nest from a respectful distance. Over the following days, the children watched closely and asked many thoughtful questions.
Self Portraits in Middles Quartz
Drawing a self portrait can be a daunting task, especially for people who have never been close with a sketchpad. I am not someone who draws and the idea of a pencil and paper self portrait doesn’t settle well with me. I know it’s a good practice to make yearly self-portraits, especially during childhood and adolescence. It’s important for children to take the time to notice who they are becoming, to study the crevices, curves, and angles that connect to create them.
Play in the Power Primes
In 1932, sociologist and researcher Mildren Parten published a landmark study detailing the ways in which children participate and behave both individually and in groups. These observations led her to distinguish six different types of social participation, or play: Unoccupied behavior, onlooker, solitary independent play, parallel activity, associative play, and cooperative play. In each of these stages, children develop and practice the necessary skills to support a future of problem solving, collaboration, creativity and social-emotional growth.
Community Building with Trash - Uppers
Community is such a large part of what makes the Center School a special place. We gather every Friday, there is play between grades, there are caregiver nights. In the Uppers, we love to lay that community foundation from the start of the school year. We build in time to all come together for group games, group skits about our Norms and expectations for the year, and group community work.
Quickwrites in the Middles
In the Middles, we begin each writing class with something called a quickwrite. Quickwrites are short, timed, low-stakes writing activities that promote thinking, writing fluency, and confidence by having students respond to a text, image, or prompt. They provide an opportunity to write without the pressure of planning or revision, helping students discover their writing voice and practice the physical act of putting a pencil to paper.
Consistency, Care, and Curiosity in the Wonder Primes
The beginning of the year for the Wonder Primes classroom is a time filled with important firsts. For many of our students, it is the first time they have been in a group care setting before; it is the first time families have left their young children, and it is the first time (for most of the students) that they are meeting their teachers and peers.
A Week of Play in Uppers Math
Over this summer, I was perusing a bookstore in Brattleboro. I have more fiction books than I have time to read, so I decided to take a look at the nonfiction section and see if anything spoke to me about the math and science I would be teaching this year. As soon as I picked up Ben Orlin’s book, I knew I had found my winner. His book is titled Math with Bad Drawings: Illuminating the Ideas that Shape Our Reality.
On (Mis)communication with the Adventure Primes
Take a look at this photo. If you did not know the context of the game this child was playing, what might you assume? How would you feel?
It might seem aggressive or intimidating. You might think, "this person is pretending to shoot at me." You might feel scared and tell a teacher. You might feel the need to strike out to defend yourself.
Uppers in the World: Learning, Giving, and Growing Together
For the past two years, our Uppers students (grades 6–8) have taken part in a special Community Service elective right here on campus. They’ve helped with all kinds of tasks — you might spot an Upper helping preschoolers gently wake up from naps, reading favorite books, or offering snacks. Others join the Mups (2nd and 3rd graders) during choice time, playing lively games like Apples to Apples. Some students collect cardboard from recycling bins, assist teachers and staff, or even vacuum spots that need extra care.
Connecting Through the Years
One of the founding principles of the Center School is the power of connection. When students feel seen, safe, and valued, incredible things can happen. They take risks, build meaningful relationships, and grow in ways we might not expect. At the Center School, we believe that connection is at the heart of deep, lasting learning.
To explore how this sense of connection has shaped the Center School over its 43-year history, we turned to some of the people who know it best. Center School alum, current parent of a Mup (2nd/3rd grade), and New York Times producer Sara Curtis interviewed two key voices from our community: Ruth Charney and Josie Dulles. Ruth, one of the Center School’s founders, taught here for more than 20 years. Josie, the current 8th-grade homeroom teacher, has been part of the school community for 11 years.
Literacy in the Adventure Primes
Many children in the Adventure Primes have been creating their own books in recent weeks. After spending time observing two frogs found by Uppers teacher Vanessa, two children were inspired to write fictional stories about frogs. One student created a comic book based on the movie Jaws and another created a story about a monster truck doing tricks.