A Higher View of Children

1st Grade’s Corporate Art Project

Dear Parents,

At a recent teacher training in March, Dr. Bill St Cyr joined the staff to talk about joy. “It’s good to be me, here with you,” kind of joy. It was a wonderful day discussing how to build joy in ourselves and in our classrooms, even in the midst of struggle.

A high joy moment came at the end of the day when Melissa Fischer, Assistant Teacher extraordinaire, showed a handful of us the completed first grade corporate art project that is set to be auctioned off at this week’s Annual Golf Fundraiser. Buttons are stitched atop felt circles of various colors and sizes that are also stitched together. Zoom in on the picture and look at all the little stitches; beautiful little stitches hand sewn by busy little hands.

How is it that a group of six- and seven-year-olds could produce such a lovely and beautiful work of art (one that I would eagerly hang in my home)? It’s remarkable. It is our high view of children that inspires us to give them needles and thread instead of foam stickers and other neon colored craft supplies. We instruct, support, and encourage. How proud must those first graders feel when they look at their work and on all those little stitches sewn by their industrious little hands.

“Again we know that the human hand is a wonderful and exquisite instrument to be used in a hundred movements exacting delicacy, direction and force; every such movement is a cause of joy as it leads to the pleasure of execution and the triumph of success. We begin to understand this and make some efforts to train the young in the deft handling of tools and the practice of handicrafts.”

- Charlotte M. Mason, Home Education, Vol.1

Affectionately,

Krise Nowak, Ed.D

Head of School