Teaching Philanthropy through Jump Rope!

Students at School on The Rise have begun the Annual Jump-A-Thon!  They get sponsored by friends, family, neighbors, etc., for every jump (or every 100 jumps), jump rope every day for a week, and donate the money to charity.

For students in our school, this event is a favorite.  They set their goals, secure their sponsors, and arrive at school ready to jump and jump…and jump…and jump. We are two days into our week of the Jump-A-Thon and over half of our students jumped over 2000 jumps today.  Amazingly, one fifth grade girl did 5,000 yesterday and another 6,000 jumps today!  Will they be sore? Almost assuredly. Are they excited? Without question!  Stay tuned for jump rope totals at the end of the week!  In past years students have raised thousands of dollars for Heifer!

It's not too late to sponsor someone!  Contact us if you want to get involved!

The favorite charity is Heifer International. Heifer is an organization head-quartered in Arkansas, that gives life changing farm animals to families and individuals all over the world to help establish a  source of sustainable income. One of the unique and worthy aspects of Heifer International is their insistence that each family or individual who receives an animal must give away one of the offspring to someone else in the community to spread the entrepreneurial spirit and economic growth of the entire community.

Check out Heifer International at www.heifer.org 
And come visit School on The Rise!  We have room in our micro-school for your child!
www.schoolonterise.com  email: [email protected] 

Learning in Nature…We do it Everyday.

For the past several recesses, a group of elementary students has been using their free play time to hike through the woods hunting for and tagging Texas Persimmon trees.  They see and hear the enthusiasm of their teacher as she talks about and looks for these trees.  They cannot help but feel eager to be part of this natural world. Even when the teacher is not with them, they gather the tagging ribbons and they go persimmon tree hunting, day after day.

They learn immediately how to identify the trees.  They have noticed what is significant about the bark (it is often variegated), where the trees grow (often next to dead cedar trees), the feel of the leaves (they are velvety and prone to bumpy growths), etc.  Yes, this is an intensive environmental science field study…and it is PLAY for them.  Yes, this is hands-on botany and orchard craft...and it is PLAY to them. There is so much learning going on, on SO many different and important levels. And it is PLAY to them. 

They are honing their observation skills, listening to bird calls, looking at insects, and noticing plant growth patterns and soil conditions.  They are wondering about weather patterns and how these affect the land and the plants and what we can maybe do to make it nicer for the plants to grow. 
They are feeling at home…in their bodies, in the woods, in their school environment, and in their world.  And, perhaps most importantly, their overwhelming approach is one of loving, active engagement, curiosity, and thoughtful problem solving. 

​This is what education can be for our children, and for our world.

Our Human and Animal Block is ending, for now. By the end of this block we had a whole illustrated taxonomy of vertebrates and mammals. Looking forward to the continuation of this block in the spring....invertebrates! 

The Sapphires are wrapping up their Geometry Block and preparing for their block on Ancient Persia! 

We have been working diligently on constructing a performance stage here at the school. This will be used for plays, chorus, music concerts and so much more. We are excited that phase one is complete. This stage will be full of magic in no time. Stay tuned for more on the stage construction.

Our wet weather pond was dry when school started but this morning, with all the rain that has fallen over the course of the last few weeks, it is completely full!  

The Emeralds are working on math puzzles to make this Numbers Block with Mr. Haven fun. Mystery math? Can you figure it out?
Meanwhile, Mrs. Darcy and the Rubies are taking a journey into the Human and Animal Block (zoology with a human twist!) Their room has been transformed into the perfect place to explore the similarities and differences between humans and animals. Lions, Tigers and Bears and so much more! 
The kids are loving Eukele class with Mr.Darcy.  "Somewhere over the Rainbow" seems the perfect song. 

Today, as part of the schools celebration of Michaelmas, we held a beautiful ceremony, Hand in hand, we joined in a circle, singing songs of courage and strength. The children, parents and teachers gathered together to lovingly stir our compost tea, adding in both flowers and well wishes to our brew. Everyone joined as we took to the property with cuttings of cedar and bowls of compost tea to nourish the landscape with vitamins, minerals and love. 

The Sapphires embarked on a field trip to Radha Madhav Dham, one of Austin's Hindu temples, today as an extension of their current block on Ancient India. It was a wonderful morning spent discussing many aspects of Ancient Indian history and culture complete with beautiful handmade offerings, gathering of peacock feathers and an impromptu meditation!