Blue Mountain School Children?s Stories 2014

It is exciting when kids are able to accomplish things at the end of a school year that seemed difficult for them at the beginning. When a student sets a goal for him—or herself during the school year, and the process of meeting that goal is facilitated, rather than directed, by a teacher: this is really something to celebrate! Student ownership over their own learning process is at the heart of Progressive education, and the book you are reading now is a tangible example of something that some students once struggled with (creative writing), becoming something that they master (by publishing their own book!). This is the second children’s book our students have published with the help of Warren Lapine and Angela Kessler, school parents and owners of Wilder Publications. It is the product of our Middle Elementary class, self-titled as the Dragon Tamers, learning to practice and expand their creative writing skills throughout the school year. The students learned several different forms of communication through writing this year, but the three forms in this book—comics, tales, and poems—were inspiring enough for them that the students decided these were the forms that needed to appear in their children’s book. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to expanding the early literacy classroom materials and books that we have available for our Blue Mountain School and Friday Enrichment Program students. Because Blue Mountain School recognizes that children are most at peace and able to learn to read when they are read to and supported by the important adults in their lives, this children’s book project is also part of our effort to build a culture of literacy in our community by promoting positive family reading experiences. It is our hope that this fun book will provide children and their parents many opportunities to strengthen their relationships with each other as they share the joy of reading.