Green School pics

Me with the girls!

Shadow play time!
Ibu Susan-the puppeteer- behind the screen.
Kids watching the shadow show.
Fun on the balance beam- I look like a giant!

Rice miller comes to campus. Milling brown rice for the students to see just how it's done.
Yuma and Wes drawing on the chalkboard (made of bamboo!)
Time to garden kids- don't forget your hats!
Ni Luh, me, and Erlin planting flowers.
Trying to attach the flowers to sticks for better support.
Ibu Susan and some of the kids playing the class.

Finally, Some Pictures!

Feels like forever since I last wrote...these past few weeks have been so busy! Can't believe it's already the third week in at Green School. All is well so far. We are lucky to have such a great group of kids with really diverse backgrounds. The classroom is beginning to transform and come alive, thanks to art decorations (home-made by the children) and plants that are beginning to sprout outside. We've planted some lavender, chili, aloe, eggplant, and flowers thus far. There's still much more to come!
Have been escaping during the weekends for much needed r+r. The beach is the place to do it- most of them are located within an hour of the campus. Feels incredible to bike down south, usually in the late morning, and arrive an hour later at the ocean. Speaking of bikes, while I'm starting to get used to riding mine, the heavy traffic is still terrifying! Have I already mentioned that I'm riding a motorbike now? More like a motorized scooter I guess. It's really the main way of transportation around here for a lot of people. I have mixed feelings about cars now that I'm living in Bali. On the one hand, I feel much safer riding in them to get around; on the other hand, I fear the cars on the road when I'm on my bike! Driving here is totally different than in the states, as there are very few "rules of the road." There aren't really any stop signs, and even stoplights sometimes seem optional. (While New Hampshirites aren't legally required to wear a helmet riding, I think they'd choose to do so here!)
Tomorrow is back to school night. I still need to prepare for what kind of presentation we will give the parents once they arrive. The main idea is just showing them around the classroom and discussing the curriculum.
And finally! Some long awaited pictures. Most are of the classroom, inside and out.
Rest easy-
K

Beach day! Taken by Woody a couple weeks before school started

Pic taken at Balangan Beach in Southern Bali
(Sinead, me, Glenn, Ingrid, Hilary, Daniel)

Week One at Green School

( Posted from my Green School blog account)

Hey everyone!

We've now concluded our first week here at Green School It's been a busy first week, getting to know each other and the classroom space. The past couple of days we've continued our shadow puppet shows, introducing new characters and classroom lessons each day through the shadow screen. The children are engaged directly with each show, as they are asked to participate through musical instruments and song.

The week has been full of new activities for the children, such as home-made collages out of beautiful pieces of recycled paper and the construction of Balinese offerings. The children also really enjoy gardening- it's difficult to tell what's more popular, digging the hole or watering with the big hose! All in all, the garden seems to be a success already.

We are becoming increasingly familiar with the daily classroom rhythm. While the students have begun to recognize the rhythm and pattern on their own, it certainly has helped having the beat of Pak Susiawan's drum and the calming hum of Ibu Susan's Tibetan singing bowl to guide the way. Such sounds indicate transition from one activity to another.

We concluded the week with Melaspas, a celebration today to honor and bless the Green School campus. Thank you for all who were able to attend, as it truly marked the end of an incredible week!

Green School daily blog

School's started! Day 2....

While I'd love to write more, I'm quite exhausted after my first two days of teaching kindergarten! We're lucky to have such an awesome group of kids- but man are they tiring! Has been a blast though, really, pretending to make scrambled eggs and pancakes in the toy kitchen and cuddling up on the big cushions to read stories. I wish I was five years old again! Here's an excerpt from the blog that I'm responsible for writing about daily activities in our classroom. And take a look at the pic down below- taken on day one when the parents were invited to join us for that morning.

Welcome to the kindie!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Katelyn Ransom @ 6:53 am Edit This

Hi everyone! Welcome to the pre-K and K blog! Our very first couple days at Green School have been very special. While some of the children arrived more timid than others, everyone left school with beaming smiles and an eagerness to return the following day!

The children are learning the rhythm of the day through song, movement, indoor and outdoor play, yoga, shadow puppetry, and arts expression. Today, Ibu Ami visited our classroom and engaged the students in the making of Balinese offerings. Many of the students felt very proud to have their very own “paku pipit” to take home to their families! The children also helped Ibu Ingrid design the shape for the outdoor garden. The majority of the children wanted the seeds to be planted in the shape of an orange- Stay tuned to find out when the seeds sprout!

There are many changes underway here at Green School and we hope that each day will bring new ideas, inspiration, and creativity into our classroom. The students have already demonstrated incredibly eclectic and diverse personalities- we couldn’t be more delighted that they’ve joined us here at Green School!

First day at School!

First day at the Green School kindergarten! (singing heads, shoulders, knees, toes)

Almost School

Hi everyone! I have been getting some nice feedback recently about those of you who are reading the blog- so thank you!
We’ve all been really busy here at the school preparing for school to start on Monday. My team of teachers and I have been calling parents, getting school supplies, trying to make sure the classroom is ready (enough), and attending workshops. By this point in time I’ve realized that the faculty and staff should have arrived several months ago to prepare for this big "experiment." Really, a month to design an entirely new curriculum is quite the task! Actually, this is something I’ve been meaning to ask Mom, a fellow school teacher. How long did it take to design your CSI course? Imagine that, but then designing the rest of the curriculum for grades K-8 in less than 30 days time!
Despite all the last minute hassles, I feel extremely lucky to have this opportunity to create the type of school I believe in. Susan, Ingrid, and I have asked for complete autonomy in the way we run our classroom- and we’ve been granted it! We’ve designed the daily schedule, and we’re going to write some of our own songs and stories to reflect the themes of the month. We have plans for all sorts of special guests to come into the class to demonstrate their expertise for the students. First week will be Chakra, the permaculturalist on campus, who will garden with the students around the classroom. We want to get the gardens going as soon as possible so the kids know where their food is coming from! You won’t see any canned food or supermarket logos around this campus. Second week we’re going to have Kristin come in, the German toy-maker whose working with Green School for a month before she returns to Germany. She’s an expert in making toys out of bamboo. Besides being a great expirience for teachers who really want to design their own classroom space, it really is even better for the students who will arrive next week- they get to build their own toys, plant their own food,…they are really the ones who will ultimately shape the Green School path for the future. Pretty lucky kids if you ask me!
Will be busy this weekend with celebrations, holidays, and extra prep work.. Tomorrow night "the villagers" are hosting a pot-luck for one of our colleagues who will be leaving Green School next week. I plan on making a big bowl of guacamole! There will also be some cooking involved..just hope the electricity holds up for us! Saturday is Kuningan here in Bali- a very important holiday held every 220 days. Between Galungan and Kuningan is the time that Balinese believe their ancestors are released into the physical world. The temple ceremony I went to last weekend was really an incredible experience and I hope to visit a temple again this Saturday with some Balinese friends. This time I need to get appropriate temple clothing beforehand! (I was casually dressed in a t-shirt and sarong last night- not exactly "beautiful")
I’ll do my best to put some pics up after this weekend, and of course when the kids arrive!