Benefit Concert

Bella Natura's own...

Elijah Westmoreland

Live in Concert!

Saturday, May 18^th

Trinity Chapel

4534 N US HWY 52

Thorntown, IN 46071

 

Dinner at 6:00 pm

Concert at 7:00 pm

Cost: Free Will Donation

Elijah Westmoreland, a local gifted and anointed pianist, would like to welcome you to his first concert-length performance. Eli will be playing worship songs, classical pieces, and will be featuring a few of his original works.

Eli has qualified to play his piano solo at the PCG National Talent Expo taking place this June in Texas. He appreciates your support!

 

 

Check us out!

Come & Play!

 

 

 

Join us Friday Mornings from

9:30-12:30

 

 

Drop Off Child Care

Ages 3 and Up $10

 

OR

 

Stay and Play with your children

 

$5/child or $15/family

 

(all ages welcome)

 

Register by emailing your child’s name & age along with your name and phone number to Terri Westmoreland at bellanaturareggio@yahoo.com by Wednesday each week.    Children being dropped off must be potty-trained.

 

 

 

 

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

"You don't give grades?! How do you know they have learned anything?"

That was the response I received recently from an incredulous store employee when I stated that I do not do report cards or grades for my children. Sometimes I forget that this can be a novel and somewhat controversial topic; having felt not just comfortable, but passionate about this issue for years now, I tend to be taken off-guard by reactions such as this.

Lately, I have been rereading some articles by one of my favorite education experts, Alfie Kohn. The article, From Degrading to De-Grading, written for High School Magazine in 1999 is available on his website. He lists nine well-researched and documented reasons to “just say no to grades”. The article gives detailed descriptions for each reason, and I encourage everyone reading this to go check it out! 

     1. Grades tend to reduce students' interest in the learning itself.
     2. Grades tend to reduce students' preference for challenging tasks.
     3. Grades tend to reduce the quality of students' thinking.
     4. Grades aren't valid, reliable, or objective.
     5. Grades distort the curriculum.
     6. Grades waste a lot of time that could be spent on learning.
     7. Grades encourage cheating.
     8. Grades spoil teachers' relationships with students.
     9. Grades spoil students' relationships with each other.

You might be still be asking, “If you don’t do grades, how do you know students have learned anything?!” I will address how Bella Natura handles grades in a moment. First, allow me to volley a question back over the net. “How do you know that a baby has learned to walk?” In the absence of grades, how does a parent determine that a child has mastered walking, talking, and potty training? I am fairly confident that most parents would think it is ridiculous to assign a letter grade to their child’s efforts at learning these skills. You see the fruit of their learning—the child walks and speaks!

Bella Natura does not issue traditional report cards to Kindergarten and Elementary students. Instead, we extend the Reggio concept of documentation into a variety of authentic assessments. We give detailed, specific feedback (orally and spontaneously, as well as written) to our students. We help them to assemble portfolios, projects, and self-assessments that document their own individual learning journey. It’s more about encouraging true learning and mastery over the successful completion of externally-applied learning objectives. Here at Bella Natura, parents will not just see a “snapshot” of what a child knows at a specific point in time, rather they are invited to obtain more of an “all-access, backstage pass” to the process and the fruit of their child’s learning.

It's Not Just 'Child's Play'!

Bella Natura believes that children actively construct their understanding of the world through play and inquiry.  We credit young children with having natural curiosity and intrinsic motivation to learn as they observe, investigate, experiment, dialogue with other children and adults…and play with abandon.

Those qualities do not have to disappear when a child enters “formal” education.  Perhaps the motivation and natural love of learning wane as children are compressed into a standardized system of education that is ill-fitted to their development.  Dr. David Elkind addresses this in his book, The Power of Play, saying, “Play is not a luxury but rather a crucial dynamic of healthy physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development at all age levels.”

At Bella Natura, we are passionate about our play!  Our curriculum emerges from the ideas and interests of the children--often initiated through play.  We believe that every child can benefit from "the power of play". 

Seth (9) and Elijah (11)

Absorbed in Play at a Hands-On Museum Exhibit

They had both been reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

"For Narnia!"