Free-for-all Saturday | RISD Museum

Journey to great civilizations of the past and unlock their mysteries. In workshops, make a miniature Egyptian pyramid with a mummy to go inside, or a fantastic animal inspired by ancient Peruvian art. On a gallery quest, find art from ancient Greece, Italy, and Peru. View related artwork by fifth-grade students from Alfred Lima School, Providence. At 3pm in The RISD Auditorium, Inca Son takes you on a trip to the magical Andes Mountains through a dazzling display of traditional music and dance.
NOTE: Crafts usually end promptly at 2pm.

info
Saturday, January 27
RISD Museum directions.
Email Marianne Ruggiero or call (401) 454-6674

Location: Providence

Rafe Esquith is an inspirational 5th grade teacher who has been given numerous awards for his work in a public school in Los Angeles. He recently spoke to Michelle Norris on “All Things Considered” (read and hear more) about his unusual teaching methods - including that his kids have to rent or buy their desks in the classroom. (The seats in the front of the classroom are better real estate). He wants his kids to take ownership of their classroom and learn real-life skills. He describes his new book, Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire as a “cookbook for teaching in an urban classroom” The title of the book comes from an incident that occurred while he was helping a student in class with a chemistry experiment.

In trying to get her alcohol burner to light, I set my hair on fire and didn’t even know it until the kids started screaming. But as ridiculous as that was, I actually thought, if I could care so much I didn’t even know my hair was on fire, I was moving in the right direction as a teacher — when I realized that you have to ignore all the crap, and the children are the only thing that matter. - Rafe Esquith on All Things Considered

I don’t claim to have all the answers; at times it doesn’t feel as if I’m reaching as many students as I succeed with. I’m here only to share some of the ideas I have found useful. Some of them are just plain common sense, and others touch on insanity. But there is a method to this madness. It is my hope that some parents and teachers out there will agree with me that our culture is a disaster. In a world that considers athletes and pop stars more important than research scientists and firefighters, it has become practically impossible to develop kind and brilliant individuals. And yet we’ve created a different world in Room 56. It’s a world where character matters, hard work is respected, humility is valued, and support for one another is unconditional. Perhaps when parents and teachers see this, and realize that my students and I are nothing special, they will get a few ideas and take heart. - Rafe Esquith from Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56

Let’s hope for more teachers like Rafe Esquith in our school system, and remember to say thanks to the teachers who are inspiring our kids.

Once we enter into parenthood we have to come to terms with our world with kids versus what our world was like without kids. How can we be the best parent possible without losing ourselves? I believe for the sake of our sanity and ultimately for our kids, we have to try somehow to nurture a part of our old self before kids, (easier said than done, I know).
for dads: Neal Pollack talks about retaining his alternative lifestyle in his new book Alternadad. Neal recently spoke with Tom Ashbrook of OnPoint, NPR. Hear and read more on the OnPoint website.

I wasn’t really reluctant for the responsibility, the diapers or the sort of day-to-day workings of a parent. What I didn’t want to give up was the sort of cultural trappings of my life before having a kid — the music, the movies, the video games, the pop culture that I’d been immersed in since I was a kid, especially because it seemed to me a lot of the culture available to parents and kids was just lame. - Neal Pollack

for moms: Find out more about retaining our edge in Jill Hudson Neal’s Washington Post column, Still Me: The Cool Mom’s Guide to Staying Hip.

Jill talked to Miriam Arond, editor-in-chief of Child magazine. Miriam said -

For so many moms, there’s a really strong need to hold onto who they were before they had kids. They feel like they can be much better parents to their kids if they feel good about themselves. It helps with their mindset.

Jill gets it. I feel like she is writing her column for me and who I hope I still am (a little). She says she writes her Cool Mom’s Guide for:

moms who want a little bit of what they had before their kids arrived on the scene. You know, back before you were sleep-deprived, harried, over-committed and generally hyper-anxious about how to raise a kid… and if being a cool mom is all about being a little better informed, then the “Still Me” column should be a place where we can get our learn on…talking about a range of topics, from music and fashion, books and music, pop culture trends and even politics.

Once we enter into parenthood we have to come to terms with our world with kids versus what our world was like without kids. How can we be the best parent possible without losing ourselves? I believe for the sake of our sanity and ultimately for our kids, we have to try somehow to nurture a part of our old self before kids, (easier said than done, I know).

for moms: Find out more about retaining our edge in Jill Hudson Neal’s Washington Post column, Still Me: The Cool Mom’s Guide to Staying Hip.

Jill talked to Miriam Arond, editor-in-chief of Child magazine. Miriam said -

For so many moms, there’s a really strong need to hold onto who they were before they had kids. They feel like they can be much better parents to their kids if they feel good about themselves. It helps with their mindset.

Jill gets it. I feel like she is writing her column for me and who I hope I still am (a little). She says she writes her Cool Mom’s Guide for:

moms who want a little bit of what they had before their kids arrived on the scene. You know, back before you were sleep-deprived, harried, over-committed and generally hyper-anxious about how to raise a kid… and if being a cool mom is all about being a little better informed, then the “Still Me” column should be a place where we can get our learn on…talking about a range of topics, from music and fashion, books and music, pop culture trends and even politics.

for dads: Neal Pollack talks about retaining his alternative lifestyle in his new book Alternadad. Neal recently spoke with Tom Ashbrook of OnPoint, NPR. Hear and read more on the OnPoint website.

I wasn’t really reluctant for the responsibility, the diapers or the sort of day-to-day workings of a parent. What I didn’t want to give up was the sort of cultural trappings of my life before having a kid — the music, the movies, the video games, the pop culture that I’d been immersed in since I was a kid, especially because it seemed to me a lot of the culture available to parents and kids was just lame. - Neal Pollack

It is winter. My husband and I have grown up with winter usually meaning snow in the north.
The not fun part: shoveling.
The fun part: sledding, building snowmen, skiing, ice skating, hot chocolate, etc.
This year so far is another story, (but I will not get into my feelings about global warming here).

My boys made these cool snow shakers at school. This way you can always have snow without shoveling and rumor has it, if you shake it while wearing your pjs inside-out, it will snow.

DIY | Snow Shaker

supplies
• water bottle with label peeled off
• white confetti
• small pine tree branch

Put confetti into bottle, then put pine branch into bottle. Fill bottle with water (not all the way up to the top.) Put lid back on and secure with tape. Shake.

The RISD Museum is the place to be the last Saturday of every month. I admit it, my family and I are groupies. Through their creative monthly programs, they open up the art world to our kids. They teach them how to see, create, learn and experience different art forms, cultures, and parts of the museum.

Each month the museum plans a schedule of events based on a different theme (e.g. colors, heros, Degas) - including 2 crafts, a scavenger hunt and a live performance. Whether you have toddlers or older kids - there is something for everyone in these events. This event is Free-for-All the last Saturday of every month, 11am-4pm. Come for an hour or stay for the whole program.

Plan ahead and pack some snacks. There is no cafeteria or place to buy food in the museum or very nearby. You can picnic in a small floor space in the basement. Once the museum completes its grand renovation in a couple of years, there will be a cafe.

Parking is usually available on Benefit Street or area sidestreets.

more
Get directions and museum hours.
Location: Providence | College Hill

East Side Public Education Coalition (ESPEC) is made up of Providence East Side parents and residents who are advocating effective public schools for their neighborhoods and beyond.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world: indeed it’s the only thing that ever has! - Margaret Meade

more
• RI and Providence Test Scores Improve for ‘06.
• State orders detailed plan for improving school scores.
• West Broadway Elementary School closing update.
• Current Goals for ESPEC.
• ESPEC blog.
• email to get on ESPEC’s mailing list and receive weekly news and announcements.

My boys seem to know more about the local art scene than I do sometimes! They came back from dance class to tell me about this amazing stick house that was sooo BIG! They wanted my husband and me to see it right away but were not sure how to direct us there. A couple of days later, we happened to be driving down George Street and we saw this amazing sculpture installation by Patrick Dougherty on the Brown University campus.

Patrick creates site specific sculpture all over the world. For this piece he harvested the sticks in East Providence and worked with local people to build and weave the sticks together. It was built in October and will be at Brown Quad until Spring. My boys and I are looking forward to seeing it with the first snowfall. This is a great place to bring your kids to explore inside and out. Free.

Pictured below are some of his other installations in other parts of the country. More sculptures in his website, stickwork.

My affinity for trees as a material seems to come from a childhood spent wandering the forest around Southern Pines, North Carolina – a place with thick underbrush and many intersecting lines evident in the bare winter branches of trees. When I turned to sculpture as an adult, I was drawn to sticks as a plentiful and renewable resource. I realized that saplings have an inherent method of joining – that is, sticks entangle easily. This snagging property is the key to working material into a variety of large forms. - Patrick Dougherty

Location: Providence | College Hill

VARTAN GREGORIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WINS AWARD
Congratulations to the teachers, students and staff of Vartan Gregorian Elementary School at Fox Point for being named a Title 1 Distinguished School. A presentation was made in Long Beach, CA. More reported by Maureen Kenner.

DEJONG MEETINGS
The city is planning another round of community meetings to discuss the DeJong planning group recommendations that were presented at City Hall earlier this month. Read the report from City Hall and link to the full recommendations here. These meetings deal with the city-wide plan (not specifically about Bishop MS)
There are four meetings. The first is Sat. Feb. 3. The East Side meeting is the last one:
Thursday, February 15th, 6:00PM - 8:00PM
Hope High School- Cafeteria
324 Hope Street, Providence
more on the other meetings, here.

ESPEC COMMUNITY MEETING
7pm on Wednesday, Feb. 7th
MLK Elementary School

more
• RI and Providence Test Scores Improve for ‘06
• State orders detailed plan for improving school scores
• West Broadway Elementary School closing update
• Current Goals for ESPEC
• ESPEC blog
• email to get on ESPEC’s mailing list and receive weekly news and announcements.

If you are looking for a creative dance class for your kids, check out Mary Paula Hunter and the East Side Ballet. She offers creative movement, ballet, modern, jazz, tap and classes for boys.

My sons have been in the boys class since September. Mary Paula is energetic and inspiring. She explores all forms of dance and music - the class combines creative movement, ballet, hip hop and more. As a bonus, on nice days, she may take the class outside. She teaches the kids discipline, technique, how to express themselves, and how to enjoy dance. Whether my kids continue to dance for fun or professionally is hard to predict - but its been a cool experience in the meantime.

info
Mary Paula Hunter, director
The East Side Ballet Studio
114 George Street (St. George Church, off Thayer Street)
Providence RI
(401) 529.4391
email
level: 3 years to adult

more
Mary Paula Hunter and JUMP!