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Students, parents, and staff members last week contributed more than 300 construction-paper “Links of Love” in a project to honor immigrants’ contributions to our country and communities. On Thursday third graders taped and stapled the links into a single chain, which they displayed at lunchtime, then hung in the Hallway Gallery on Tier 1. Students in preschool through fifth grade participated, making links and responding to age-appropriate discussion prompts. Children from p

Elementary students were treated to a colorful Pride Fashion Show at lunchtime Friday featuring 13 elementary aftercare students wearing outfits they’d designed and made. TK teacher Chloe Gilmore explains that the event was held during Pride Month “because it allowed children to work outside gendered clothing sections in stores and create unique outfits that showed aspects of their personalities.  “Stores divide clothing into ‘girls’ and ‘boys’ sections, which can be restrict

My grandson, Malakai, credits his preschool teacher “Miss Ann” Pinkas with his early passion for science and current flourishing career as a nature filmmaker. He still remembers his preschool classroom and the excitement of observing baby frogs emerge from embryos and spying birds in their nests with binoculars. Ann’s budding scientists studied the life cycle of birds, how they built their nests, found food, raised their young, and migrated. Malakai says, “We even dissected o

Can children learn social sensitivity from dogs? Fourth-grade teacher Amy Weinstein sees heartening evidence in her class that they do. Her dog, Pete, who just returned to school in the middle of taking a social-skills class, was welcomed back with tenderness and love from her students. Over the year, the children have become familiar with Pete’s needs and his history. When Amy adopted him, he had been physically hurt by an “insensitive human,” and the students know that as a

For years White Pony Director Susie Kohl has been a collector of parents’ stories, and in her new book, The Best Things Mothers Do, just released on Amazon, she shines a loving light on mothers and the ways they handle challenges, sometimes extraordinary, with creativity and resilience.  Susie considers the true stories of mothers in her book heroic because they boldly counter the culture’s stereotypes of the confused mom, either over-involved or in her child’s life or obliv

My favorite story about catching oneself in a lie happened at school. I was eating lunch in a classroom when a five-year-old spotted a chocolate chip cookie on the floor and picked it up, eagerly holding it next to her lips. “Is that yours?” I asked. “Yes,” she responded eagerly. Then she paused, and it seemed as if a shadow fell across her heart. She quickly smiled and said “Just kidding” apologetically and put the cookie back on the table. I could identify with her dilemma.

Greg with Christie and her soon-to-be-shorter hair Children who will never meet him have Greg Vinson to thank in part for the wigs they received after losing their hair due to cancer treatment or medical conditions like alopecia. When he was one year old, Greg, who works in our elementary aftercare program, was constantly pulling his mother’s hair. His mother, fourth grade teacher Christie Vinson, had a solution: she had it cut so short she could put it in a ponytail that was

Games often have strict rules about getting things right the first time. For example, the rules of Scrabble state that you can’t change your mind once you lift your hand off a tile placed on the board. In kickball there are no re-kicks, or “mulligans,” for a missed kick or bad play. Once the ball is kicked, the play is considered live. Of course, sometimes people playing games agree to let others have another turn. However, in ordinary life being able to have a second chance,