Arriving at the school in the morning and stepping through the door into the quiet of the warm building is the beginning of a busy day at the school — the calm before the storm. Students trickle in, arriving by bike or car or walking, and deposit their bags and shoes by the cubbies at the entryways. School begins with a time for journaling and reading, settling the mind to get ready for diving into the day’s work.

Waldron is technically a one room school, but we nearly always divide into at least two groups for the morning’s classes — the younger kids and the older kids. Younger students have circle time and a series of active learning activities designed to fit each of their needs. Older students first tackle math, taught individually at each student’s level, then spend a half-hour practicing Spanish.

Everyone joins together for morning snack and recess, and depending on the day might play a round of Porcher (a tag game that originated in the dim Waldron past), swing on the big tire swing, or settle in by the fire to read or work on a project.

After recess we usually continue in two separate groups for Language Arts work including reading, writing, and, depending on the level of the group, language mechanics or word study. We alternate years between a more creative writing focus versus a more non-fiction writing focus. Language Arts is often tied into the content focus we’re working on in Social Studies or Science. Our goal is to integrate the entire curriculum, and exploit all the possible connections between and among subjects. Teachers work closely together to make this happen, whether we are in one big group or split into smaller groups.

Lunch recess is long enough for everyone to eat and have time to run around and play, while teachers get a chance to reset for the afternoon. After lunch we sing, then work on more content-driven (as opposed to subject-driven) material. Afternoons are more hands-on and project-oriented, letting students connect with topics in multiple ways, or developing practical skills. Projects this year have included building bedside bookracks, making replica Clovis points from clay, carving linoleum blocks for holiday cards, making 1:10 scale models of local marine mammals, and creating our own version of Monopoly: Waldronopoly. This last was something students came up with themselves, and we ran with the idea, which is the very best kind of project. In the past we’ve created fictional countries, done stop-motion videos, and Lego robotics.

Waldron Island School