Voyagers’ Community School

At Voyagers’ the staff is continually looking for opportunities for students to develop various life skills. This year we are offering a sewing class on Tuesday mornings and handwork class on Thursday mornings.

Our goal in teaching sewing and handwork is to nurture students’ technical skills and creativity. More importantly we strive to inspire students to retrieve their own ideas, design their own projects and feel the power and control they have when they pursue challenges and succeed. It takes a lot of creative energy for a student to conceive of, plan, and complete an item of thy vision and design.

During these classes students learn to:

cut out a pattern by reading and following directions

pin and to sew fabric together on a sewing machine

thread a needle and sew by hand

create a pattern for their own design

develop an individual, organized approach that leads to success

Our first project was to create a small pillow using old tee shirts. The student learned how to pin and cutout fabric, sew using a sewing machine, stuff the pillow and hand sew the small opening. In this case the teacher introduced the project but the children took charge as the added pockets for their iPods and selected their favorite logo tee shirts for the front and back of the pillow.

Here a student is sewing on a machine he brought from home. He never thought about using it before, now he is sewing a pillow made out of one of his favorite old t-shirts.

Two students look on as the teacher shows them how to operate the sewing machine.

This student is amazed when he realizes the iron really does take wrinkles out of the fabric. He is also learning how to iron fusible interfacing on to the inside of the t-shirt.

Another student is carefully pinning together the 2 pieces of fabric as he prepares to sew.

Here are some examples of our children’s creativity:

The opportunity to sew is offered to students as young as five years old. This child was inspired by her peers and wanted to make 2 pillows using pink flannel material with a makeup and purse motif. She, while too small to reach the pedal to operate the sewing machine, was thrilled to be able to guide the fabric sew through the machine, which was powered by the teacher.

The project of the pillow creation was just the beginning. Imaginative minds are always coming up with something NEW! This student designed a unique Halloween custom. She found a dress pattern and cut out the pattern and fabric to create two opposing sides, a white side for the bit of angel in her and the red side for the bit of devil she possesses. This unique angel/devil design tapped into her artistic and creative abilities.

This student designed a bag for his Nintendo DS. He found the fabric among scrapes and cut out a bag including 2 inside pockets to hold his equipment. The bag also has 2 handles for carrying. He is looking forward to having the convenience of his electronics by his side wherever his goes.

These students use red fleece material to make long and narrow pillows. The softness of the fabric will warm them during the winter months.

This child backed a print of Winnie the Pooh with fleece material and learned basic quilting skills. He tied embroidery thread in a number of different places on the fabric joining the front to the back and assuring that the two will not separate when it is used.

Money fabric inspired this student who made a pair of pajama bottoms. Might he dream of money as he wears his pjs to bed each night?

Now the students are in the process of making a quilted wall hanging for our school. They have each designed a square that reflects their passions and interests. These will be sewn together reflecting our connection to each other as we teach and learn. In future months we will help students make additional items they have designed including fabric books.

It is a pleasure for the staff to watch the students expand their capacity for concentration and patience, develop their small motor skills and master the design process. Truly we are all learning life lessons and building confidence in creating something imagined in our minds.

The next time a child shares a gift of their own design take a minute to ponder the depth of their commitment to the task and the richness of learning that is reflected. Always remember that the gifts from our hands are also gifts from our hearts.

Our academic year began with a deep study of Colonial and Early American history. In addition to reading books, searching the Internet and looking through pictures of artifacts, we decided to venture out to participate in living history arenas near and far. One group of students traveled to site in Monmouth County while a second group ventures to Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg.

To begin our exploration of historic Monmouth County, we visited Longstreet Farm at Holmdel Park. Longstreet Farm is a working farm that dates back to the 1890s. Everything on the farm is still done today the way that it was done back then.

The fields are still plowed by the original farm machinery that is pulled by horses or mules. Field corn is grown and grinded to feed the animals. Potatoes are grown in the fields and potato bugs are hand picked off of them just like they would have done in the 1800s.

The children were surprised to learn how people used all of nature’s gifts such as chestnut trees for food, rain water for bathing and ice from the pond to keep food cold. There was practically no garbage because anything the family didn’t consume was fed to the pigs!

Our next field trip was to Historic Walnford outside of Allentown, NJ. In the year 1772, there were 3 mills in Walnford; a Gristmill for grain, a Sawmill for lumber and a Fulling mill for wool. Today, only the Gristmill remains.

The Gristmill was powered by water, which ran through the stream next to the mill. The water would power a large wheel, which in turn would start belts and gears inside the mill. When the mill runs, the entire floor shakes and it is very loud!

The Gristmill produced three different consistencies of grain. The thicker grain was used to feed the animals, the thinner grain was used for food and the smallest grain was used for corn meal.

Our last trip was to the Holmes-Hendrickson House next to Holmdel Park. It is a trip that we recommend to everyone! Although we weren’t able to take pictures inside the house, we were able to learn so many important facts.

The Dutch who settled in Holmdel, Matawan and Cliffwood in the 1600s built the Holmes-Hendrickson house. Daniel Hendrickson was very wealthy and owned a gristmill, tannery, church, ships, and the local store. When the English came to Monmouth County they took Daniel’s home away from him and gave it to a man name Obadiah Holmes.

Some years later, Daniel’s daughter and Obadiah’s son fell in love and were married. For the next hundred years, the house changed ownership several times between the Holmes’ and the Hendrickson’s Families. It was expanded and updated to include both Dutch and English traditions.

One of the many interesting facts we learned was that most of the plates and platters owned were made of pewter, sometimes referred to as “Poor Man’s Silver.” While people in the 1800’s were proud to have this pewter, it contained lead and probably poisoned many people who ate off of it.

During the 1800’s people began to be more concerned with privacy. The Holmes-Hendrickson house actually has a closet where family members would take a bedpan and close the door for privacy. This was the beginning of a bathroom.

The children were surprised to learn that countries like Rome and China had a great effect on Colonial America. Rome was studying mathematical proportions of beauty that the English took into consideration when building their homes. The beauty of Chinese China was copied by the Dutch, reproduced in Holland and shipped to America.

Our study of local historic sites is very intriguing and is not over! In the future, we plan to visit other sites like the Covenhoven House and Allaire Village. We invite you to discover the history that lies right in your own backyard!

In an upcoming post you will learn about our trip to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.

“If we are to teach real peace in this world…we shall have to begin with the children.”
–Mahatma Ghandi

Looking around ourselves and at our world, we can see that there is a lack of peacefulness in many areas. Whether we’re watching the world news, reading about neighborhood issues, the environment, or people’s health, we can see the turmoil present in our lives. As the teachers gathered at the end of the summer sharing ideas for our coming year we thought about the idea of introducing a theme. It would be an underlying idea woven into all aspects of what we do each day. We decided to use Peace as that theme with the intention of bringing more peace to all levels of our world.

Peace Within Ourselves
We have begun by learning ways to feel peace within ourselves. We use awareness tools such as meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, and Brain Gym. We also learn about peace by examining our not-so-peaceful feelings like anger and fear. These are feelings that everyone has. They are useful signals to let us know something needs to change or shift. We teach about feeling through new vocabulary words, and through drama and role playing activities to help us understand ourselves and each other better.

“First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.”
–Thomas A. Kempis

Peace In Our School Community
We promote more peaceful interactions and interdependence in many ways. We use a peace table where two people in conflict can come with a neutral mediator and work out their issues by listening to each other, then finding a mutually agreed upon solution. We talk a lot about using kind words with each other and of creating a “safe space” or a “caring space” for all of us to co-exist in. The teachers encourage the open discussion of feelings, working to give children the vocabulary to talk about what’s happening in their bodies and minds.

Artwork always plays a key role in our curriculum and the Peace theme is no different. We began by creating our own small peace madalas filled with colors, shapes, and/or objects with great meaning to the children. This activity has extended into larger scale mandalas created by pairs of children working together to plan their designs. These circular creations have led to a giant, school-wide mandala mural, and might inspire kaleidoscopes, collages, or even an outdoor labyrinth. This study naturally branches into the study of the circle as a peaceful and inclusive shape in different cultures as seen in Native American culture with the wheel of life, medicine wheel, and dreamcatcher.

“Hope is like peace. It is not a gift from God. It is a gift only we can give one another.”
–Elie Wiesel

Peace in our Families
In our monthly Community Forums, parents join us for an evening of sharing and learning together. We use these times to talk about lot of the same things we are discussing with their children. We talk about the ways we promote peace in ourselves and in the school, and how they might use some of these same lessons at home. One of the most important messages is learning to be a great observer of what is going on in our own bodies as adults. If we can step back from our strong feelings and notice our reactions by taking a deep breath, counting to ten, or walking away for a minute, this can be the first step towards understanding ourselves and learning a new way of responding to stressful situations. Once we internalize these lessons, our children will soon follow.
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”
–Mahatma Gandhi

Peace with the Earth
When we think about peace, we might just think about it as a lack of war, but the children understand that it goes much deeper. We see a need for peace in our home, Planet Earth. Awareness of what we’re doing to our air, water and soil and how that affects our health causes us to move away from the notion of the earth as our grocery or hardware store and to cherish it instead. We walk in the woods each day to notice the beauty and foster a sense of wonder. When we prepare snack and our Wednesday hot lunch, we are learning to compost our kitchen scraps. We avoid harsh, toxic cleansers and instead use natural cleansers. In Science we are learning about alternative energy sources, in particular about solar energy. We recycle and use cloth napkins and towels so we don’t waste our precious trees. Other ideas we may explore with the students are building a windmill, having a worm farm, creating an organic garden and installing a rainwater collection system. Little by little, all of these things combine to help us reduce our footprint upon the earth so it is still vibrant for future generations.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
–Mahatma Gandhi

Peace with the World
As we step back and see how our theme might reach out to touch more global peace issues, there are many directions we will explore. We will start by revisiting the work we did raising money for the people of Darfur last year and our study of heroes through history. Through these discussions we will weave in questions about our role in the world and how we can best help those in need. The children come up with amazing ideas about what they want to do and where they’d like to put their caring energy. We look forward to learning and growing together towards a more peaceful world.

“No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child.”
– Emma Goldman

Local children become Heroes –They Takes Action For Darfur, Sudan

May 21, 2007

The students of Voyagers’ Community School, an innovative education program for children ages 5 – 14, became local heroes when they decided to raise awareness and funds for the refugees of Darfur, Sudan in Africa. Students worked tirelessly for four months to prepare an education and fundraising dinner to benefit the children and families affected by the genocide occurring in this region. On May 17th they hosted 101 attendees and raised over $1,700.00.

The children learned about the millions of refugees in Darfur and Chad during a trip to the Center for Holocaust Studies at Brookdale Community College. Their purpose for the visit was to recognize heroes who stood up during the Holocaust. They learned how one person could make a difference in the world by speaking up and by not being a bystander in the face of injustice. Dale Daniels, the Center’s director, spoke about the conflict occurring in Darfur after the children saw posters depicting injustice toward Sudanese people. The students were moved to do something to help. Calling themselves Voyagers’ Kids for Darfur, they took immediate action.

After much discussion and negotiation the children decided that a dinner would be the most effective way to raise awareness and funds. They prepared every aspect of their event. They gathered information about the demographics of and the conflict in the region. They composed speeches and detailed a traditional Sudanese dinner reflecting customs and foods that are common to the people. They also constructed a refugee hut and a museum of artifacts and information about the life of the people of Darfur and the atrocities they face every waking day.

To kick off their fundraiser these students spent several days in Dean’s Natural Market, at both the Ocean and the Shrewsbury locations. There they raised money for and public awareness about the genocide. They sold goods generously provided by Dean, passed out invitations to the dinner and accepted donations.

During the dinner the children made speeches to the gathering, providing information about the countryside, the culture, the religion and the government of Darfur. Then they spoke of the ongoing conflict explaining that over 2 million people have been killed and that another 4 million have been harmed and displaced. They expressed their own disbelief as they explained that the conflict is funded and directed by the very people who head the government of Sudan.

Their presentation included a slideshow of photographs from Darfur and ended as the children sang “If Everyone Cared” by Nickelback. In order to help people come together as a group and to relieve their stress after such an emotional presentation the children welcomed Dorothy Sikora of The Joy of Music to lead a drumming circle. Sikora generously volunteered and closed the program with a wonderful, high-energy drumming circle for everyone in attendance.

After a great deal of research and negotiation the children settled on two groups whose mission matches their own. They chose to focus on groups that provide for people’s basic needs, that help children and that reunite families. Doctors Without Borders and CARE will receive, in equal amounts, the money the children have worked so hard to raise.

At Voyagers’ Community School, the students learned many new skills as they worked on all aspects of planning and preparing for this dinner. Their tasks included researching and discovering facts, composing speeches, writing and designing an invitation, writing press releases, marketing an event, planning an African menu, creating marketable items to sell and cooking and baking for 101.

Speaking about the dinner, one Mom, Debbie Edick, reported, “It was just so amazing to see these children show so much compassion and commitment to the need they saw in Darfur.” When asked how the project affected her child she added, “Jake talked a lot at home about the dinner and the situation. He would look for shows on TV about Africa, and I think it has made him more attentive to the bigger world outside of himself.”

Another attendee reflected, “What a wonderful experience for all-the Voyagers’ Kids for Darfur dinner was fabulous. The children obviously worked so hard-the food was great-the information was well-presented and the drumming circle was a great way to end the evening. Congratulations to Voyagers’ for such a successful event.”

According to Karen Giuffre’, center Director and Founder, “There is no doubt that these children stepped up and committed themselves to making a difference. These children set the stage for others to join them as heroes. What an astounding job for such young people.”

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Voyagers’ Community School offers an innovative education program serving children from 5-14. We provide a safe, creative, intellectual environment for full-time students as well as for families with homeschooled children seeking enrichment experiences. Each day we teach traditional subjects including writing, reading and math in non-traditional ways. We are located in the program activity center at Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts’ Camp Sacajawea, a 143-acre camp.

For more information about Voyagers’ Community School, go to www.voyagerskids.com.

The community of parents and families at Voyagers began helping us set up our school right from the start as we designed our cozy classrooms outfitting them with shelving, tables, seating, and many coats of paint. They also helped us create and catalog our library in preparation for the upcoming school year.

Every week parents volunteer their time bringing their skills to our students at Voyagers’. On Wednesdays, the children don’t bring a bag lunch because they help to cook a hot lunch for the whole school. Teresa Hansen melds her love of cooking and history teaching a lesson and cooking lunch and dessert with the children.

In addition to preparing hot lunch on Wednesdays, the children also learn the art of baking with Auntie Norma. In December, the children cooked all the soups and baked all of the cookies that were served at our Winter Solstice. All of our treats are made from scratch including apple pies, fruit crisps, and cakes using different decorating techniques along the way.

On Thursdays, the children learn knitting with Doris, grandmother to two of our students. The children are each knitting scarves and, collectively, they are making a baby blanket for one of our families’ new siblings. They have learned basic knitting skills such as cast on, knit, and purl.

In the fall, Voyagers’ plans an overnight campout at a lakeside cabin that is part of the beautiful girl scouts camp where we reside. This past fall children packed overnight bags and sleeping bags and spent the night telling ghost stories and playing board games. Parents volunteered to cook for the children using a fire pit and barbeque grill. They finished the night roasting marshmallows and making s’mores.

During this last snowfall, parents donated sleds so that the children could enjoy the great sledding hill behind our school. Many parents stayed after school to watch the children and join in the winter fun. Afterwards, parents and children enjoyed cups of hot chocolate together.

As one can see, we have an amazing group of supportive, involved parents! Thanks to them, our community of people excited about learning continues to grow.

Our library is the perfect place to curl up with a good book.  We have over 2,200 titles of fiction, non-fiction, and special interest books, magazines and journals.  Whether you’re reading by yourself, with a partner, or to a young friend, you are almost always guaranteed to find what you are looking for.

Students enjoy quiet reading time for at least thirty minutes each day.  During this time, students can choose from a variety of fiction and nonfiction books.  We offer many series such as The Lord of the Rings, My America, The Magic School Bus, and Harry Potter.  Students often discuss these books with each other, investigating the plot, and examining the characters together.  Many of our students recommend books that to other students.  

 Each week, our students check out a book to take home and read on their own time.  The next week the children return the book along with an entry in their reading journal.  They might write about the book they took home, the parts of the story they enjoyed, what they found unusual or interesting, and how the book or a character is reflective of their life experience.  They often recommend the book to other readers.  

Everyone is welcome in our library.  Younger students who cannot read are eager to flip through the colorful pages of our picture books or learn sight words using our beginning reader books.  Older students can find enticing fantasy novels that bring them into a world of adventure and mystery.  

Our library is a great resource for obtaining factual information.  Students use the books available to research history, learn about the great inventors, and explore astronomy.   When beginning projects, students look to the library for inspiration.  They look to various artists such as Eric Carle for encouragement when doing tissue paper collage, sketching, and painting.

One of the special features of our library is that it contains self-written titles from our students..  So far, there are over 12 books in the library written by our students.  It is a great place to display their writing and beautiful artwork.   It is a place to dream, explore, and discover.  

Come and See!

It all began with a simple idea: when children view themselves as authors, they enjoy writing more, have increased confidence in their writing and filter their world in that manner, with all experiences as potential “Seed Ideas” for future writings. With that in mind, we asked the children to choose an idea or story from their Writers’ Notebook to develop further and publish as a finished book.

As the publishing process continued, many other resources were available to the children for inspiration. There were stacks of books written and illustrated in various ways. We had an author, Michal Sparks, come in to speak about her writing and publishing process. Teachers constructed several small books as examples to jump-start those still searching for the perfect idea.

Over the 6 weeks leading up to the final presentation of their books, we helped students to mold and shape their original piece by revising, restructuring, eliciting further writing, assisting with spelling and developing ideas for binding their books.

Armed with their creative ideas about book construction, along with several how-to manuals, we began to make their published pieces a reality. All types and colors of papers, string, glue and fasteners were used. Some children typed or had teachers type their stories on the computer, while others hand wrote theirs.

Illustrations ranged from hand drawn and colored to collaged with photos and drawings, while some scanned their art to resize it, and still others created computer generated art and printed photos found on the internet.

Not every piece was a story. We had tongue twisters, poetry collections, and puzzler questions with an answer key. They were tall or short, bright or subdued, multi- or single page, bi-fold, tri-fold or no-fold. Each book truly became the reflection of each individual child’s way of thinking, dreaming and writing.

On November 8th we invited the public in for the Authors’ Showcase presentation. Grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads and sibling made up the audience. Each child that wished to present read an excerpt from their book and then took a few audience questions.

Behind them tables were set up in a U shape and displayed their Writers’ Notebooks along with the supporting materials (notes, sketches, etc.) they used in publishing their final piece. The audience visited the children at their tables, congratulated them and asked more questions. The children beamed with pride at what they had accomplished.

We will host an Authors’ Showcase every 6 - 8 weeks. If you would like to learn more about this process or would like your child to join us please call 732-842-1660.

Each day we commit a portion of our afternoon to writing. We support children’s desire to put personal thoughts on paper in their Writer’s Notebooks.

We provide tools that instill confidence and a sense of ability.

We participate in group and peer conferencing so that children can gather reactions and advice and revise their work as they desire. This gives them the opportunity to build interpersonal skills while sharing and receiving constructive feedback.

We incorporate reading by discussing story development, sentence structure, and grammar.

We explore various writing techniques such as group poems to share ideas and reinforce the writing process.

We host published authors and artists, such as Michal Sparks, to share their work with us and give guidance to our students as they work towards a published piece of their own.

In Science, we’ve spent the past couple of weeks experimenting with chemical reactions. We’ve witnessed what happens when an Alka Seltzer tablet is added to water.

“Bubbles”, “Dissolves in water”, “Bubbles just like seltzer”

“when you spin the cup, the molecules come together to form a tornado”

This led the students to theorize what would happen if a tablet was dropped into something other than water.

“Water fizzed faster than soda”, “It makes the Ginger Ale stormy,” “Coke has more carbon, the soda’s carb dissolved first”

The students discussed what they observed and then documented their findings.

Everyone took turns feeling the pressure that the gas released. Their science mentor wondered out loud what would happen if the top were sealed. The common hypothesis was that “the top would blow off” or “bubbles would blow out of the bottle”.

This led to a follow-up experiment where various sized pieces and varying amounts of water were added to film canister.

“The less water the more room for the air,” “Use less water so more pressure will build,” “The shape causes the pressure to go up”

Everyone is excited to perform more experiments and make more observations to better understand the world around them.