The Warren-Boyd’s Make Volunteering Their Family Culture

Thank you Ashley, mom to Julia and Paul, for giving back to the community and blogging the experience. Your spirit will undoubtedly inspire the community.

Individually and as a couple, my husband John and I have had a long history of volunteering for causes we care about and it’s a big part of our identities. However, since becoming parents, our volunteerism has dwindled.

We started off so well! We hosted a get-out-the-vote calling party for Barack Obama volunteers during the California primaries while our son Paul, just two months, was snoozing away in a swing in the corner.   All three of us did neighborhood canvassing for Obama later that year in Nevada. Paul still loved his stroller as a 9 month old (hard to imagine now!) and his chubby body and blue eyes added a lot to our collective appeal to potential Obama voters. But when Paul became mobile and we added Julia to our family in 2010, the barriers to volunteering seemed insurmountable.

However, I’m proud to share that we’re back in the volunteering game! This last weekend, our family volunteered for about two hours at the SF-Marin Food bank (http://www.sfmfoodbank.org/).

We discovered the opportunity somewhat by chance after a friend of ours started working there recently and mentioned to us that the food bank will accept volunteers as young as 4 years old.   Most of the other volunteer opportunities we had explored, had much higher age limits and wouldn’t accommodate us as a whole family.

The kids were apprehensive as they had no idea what we’d be doing and it didn’t initially sound “fun”. But they really did understand why giving families food is important. And they had contributed to food drives in grocery store bins so we had talked about the role food banks play in helping families in need.

family volunteering_5-15We had such a wonderful time together. The kids dived into the work with purpose and gusto. As an added bonus, the food bank jobs were really extensions of Nia House work. Our first task was to separate oranges that were rotten from those that those that were safe to eat. Most of the oranges were cosmetically challenged but still perfectly fine to eat, which lead to a great discussion about how appearance doesn’t necessary tell us everything about a person. And they couldn’t have been more prepared to sort based on characteristics – thanks Nia House!

In our second task, we counted small bags of chips into groups of 20 for distribution to community centers and senior citizen facilities. Who is better prepared to separate things into groups of 20 than Nia House children?! The kids felt competent and in charge of their work as much as they do at school, which was wonderful.

I give the SF-Marin Food Bank huge credit for designing activities that were suitable and fun for families. A 90 minute plus shift was exactly the right length for our kids and the staff made our contribution feel valuable by adding what the total group of 50+ had accomplished that day. So we left feeling part of a productive, larger community and one we want to support long-term. Paul has recently started receiving an allowance, 1/3 of which is set aside for sharing with others. We planted the seed that he could give part of his share account to a food bank now that he’s seen what they do.

If you are interested in volunteering at the SF-Marin Food Bank, here’s more info: 

A few tips:

  • Children 8 or older can join in on Saturday projects
  • Children between 4-8 can only sign up for Sunday projects
  • Sign up early – volunteer shifts on Sundays fill up 3 months in advance!
  • The Alameda County Food Bank accepts volunteers 10 years and older
  • What other volunteer opportunities are out there for families with preschool and early elementary kids in the Bay Area? Please share – we want to keep up our volunteering and make it an enduring part of our family culture.

Montessori for 3!

                               Image from: https://nbcprobasketballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/cd0ymzcznguwzdbhnduynddiytjhm2yyzthlmtjjotqwyyznpwu1nja1yjkzmjy1mjq4nwmwow…

                             

 

Image from: https://nbcprobasketballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/cd0ymzcznguwzdbhnduynddiytjhm2yyzthlmtjjotqwyyznpwu1nja1yjkzmjy1mjq4nwmwowmxmji2mgmxzmnjzguz1.jpeg

I’ve often heard a critique of the Montessori approach as “too academic.” Here we have a story in the realm of athletics, not academia, where the values imparted in a Montessori education are credited with extraordinary success.

The Golden State Warriors are in the Western Conference Finals. This hasn’t happened in 39 years! Their superstar player, the NBA’s most valuable player of season, and possibly the best jump shooter the NBA has seen, Steph Curry, attributes the shaping of his work ethic and achievement to Maria Montessori.

In an interview with Montessori Life, Winter 2013-2014, Steph Curry shares,

(Montessori) gave me a lot of confidence at a young age. I was able to learn the way I wanted and needed to, to gain a sense of achievement as I went along. I was able to push myself, and it taught me a lot of self-discipline and a work ethic. I always wanted to do more and get better.

 Check out this short video on the Curry family and the role of Maria Montessori in their life:

The Montessori approach is stellar at providing the foundation for academic success, but not for the perceived stringent academic approach. Sonya Curry, Steph’s mom, shares her appreciation of how Montessori instills foundations for life- “I love Montessori for the fundamental aspects that it affords children … independence, the intrinsic love for learning, responsibility, respect for yourself, for other people.”

Montessori offers the opportunity to achieve proficiency, to choose the same work, over and over again, following intrinsic motivation, until a sense of accomplishment and mastery is attained. Steph Curry affirms this, “Montessori taught me that anything I put my hands on and practiced, I could accomplish.” He’s doing it! Steph Curry is breaking 3 point records in the regular and post season. If you haven’t been watching, do. For your love of Maria Montessori, watch Steph Curry.

Go Warriors!

 

Bike to School Day is this Thursday!

Bike to Nia House Day is this Thursday!

Don’t let the rain discourage you. Hop on your bikes this Thursday for your commute to Nia House. We are an official Energizer station and will have goodies to share to honor all the bicycles that pass down 9th Street.

Parents, you are also welcome to come and help staff the table from 8-10am.

Contact Stacey at staceywood.niahouse@gmail.com if you can help out.

The Fun was Raised!

A quick and huge- Thank you!!!! to the Nia House community for all the hard work and good energy put into Saturday’s Yard Sale. The day was, indeed, a fun raiser.

The event was smashing. There was much bouncing, BBQ, beer, and bargains! Our yard adorned with your stuff staged impromptu dress-up and raked in nearly $4,000.

Thank you to our many donors. We are grateful for the investment the community at large makes in early childhood education through Nia House.

Cycles & Circles: Nia House’s Family History Project

Cycles and Circles: Nia House’s 2015 Family History Project

 This year’s Family History Project was markedly special. Honoring the themes of Cycles and Circles, grandparents were invited and a beautiful spring afternoon at Nia House ensued with a truly intergenerational celebration.

On behalf of the children and staff, thank you to all the grandparents that came. Your presence honored the children’s exploration and reverence of the life cycle. We are grateful for the opportunity to nurture the special relationship of grandchild and grandparent.

The Nia House children inspired many of the art installations at the event. Prompted to think of cycles and circles, notions of the cycle of happiness and kindness, bicycles, the solar system, water cycle, and of course the personalized Generation Birth Books were all created and displayed.

Everyone marveled at the great progress in construction on our new campus. A living wish list of needed Montessori materials for the expansion was displayed in our classroom. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our grandparent and current family community.



“My path has been my own because of Nia House.”

I instantly admired the work of Nia House.
Having my son, Atticus, attend Nia House further deepened my sense of the value of this school and community.
Following a conversation with Milani Pelley, Nia House alumna (’89-’95), my love of Nia House is abounding and affirms again that Nia House is where children belong.

Milani, now twenty-seven years old, is a mother, 1st grade after school instructor, artist, and spoken word performer. She went down memory lane a little with me, recounting her days at Nia House- “I can’t imagine having started any other place.”

What she remembers of Nia House? Sour grass, Phea taking out splinters, the playhouse, eating lunch with Jessica and Denise, colorful plastic building blocks, Jeanie, Tita, and the “great presence” of Lee.; Milani remembers feeling free, free to explore and entrusted with helping out in the toddler room. This, she says, built her confidence, made her unafraid to lead.

“Nia House teaches young people how to be free.”

I wondered about the connections she made while at Nia House. Do these friendships last? They do.  It is a “Good feeling to go all the way back and still be on the same path.” Milani still encounters Ka’ra Kersey and Armando Davila, friends and fellow artists from the Nia House days. “All the folks from Nia House that I run into are on a path- they are creative and great people- Impacted by the diversity of the school. There is a creativity and spirituality coming from everyone.”
Milani shared a bit of her creative and spiritual side, describing a passion for writing and performing poetry as a spoken word artist. She recently performed at the 30th Annual Empowering Women of Color Conference at U.C. Berkeley. Milani also designs and creates jewelry with a spiritual focus, her craft inspired by numerology and precious stones.

“Seriously, I love Nia House.”

My love for Nia House grew after this informal interview, for Milani, now twenty years since her Nia House days, still captures the freedom, leadership, spirit, and love that feels present today. As a mother and teacher, the values she named are ones we pray are imparted in these creative childhood years.

Thank you, Milani, for your grace and artistry.

Less Stuff, More Joy

Cindy Tsai-Schultz (Alison’s mom) strikes again with a witty and inspiring blog. She shows the way supporting Nia House’s Yard Sale can bring you joy in life. Thank you, Cindy.

With four hours left before Alison and I needed to board a flight to Colorado, nothing was ready. Snow and ski gear strewn on the floor of our bedroom.   I was cranky and sweaty and I needed to make lunch for the kids, walk the dog, clean the house and finish doing laundry so I can pack for the trip. Peter was in LA and was going to meet us in Colorado in a few days so I was solo with tons of snow and ski gear and kid for this trip.

FEAR overtook and I FREAKED.

I pulled it together and packed for Alison: regular clothes, ski clothes, ski gear, books, dolls, crafts, car seat, food for the plane, and iPad. Check.

Packing for myself was less than stellar. I did pack ski essentials – skis, boots, poles, snow jacket and pants, socks. The rest, not so good. 10 days in Vail with one t-shirt, one yoga pant, and a sweater and the clothes I wore on the plane.

But once we got to our final destination, the freak-out was long from my memory. Even with my poor packing skills. Vail was awesome.

This morning after hitting the snooze button one too many times, I was looking around and I realized that we have a lot of stuff. And most of what I do in my spare time is managing stuff. I am the official family stuff getter and stuff manager. And I’m don’t like it.

This got me thinking. In Vail, we were in a very small condo. There wasn’t much room for stuff, which was good because we didn’t have much stuff. The grocery store was a 3.5 mile walk (we didn’t have a car) so we went once, stocked up and cooked what we had. When we weren’t on the slopes, we had a great time – talking, eating, and playing. No one felt deprived, bored, or hungry.

Can I bring some of that back to Berkeley? Can I spend most of my spare time talking, eating and playing instead of being the stuff manager?

I’ve been reading The Sweet Spot, Finding Your Groove at Home and Work by Christine Carter (Senior Fellow at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley). One of the take away messages is – we make too many decisions in our daily lives. We need to save our brainpower for the larger and more important decisions and the small less important stuff can be on autopilot.   For example, what we wear. We have a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear. Christine Carter suggests designing your clothing around a “uniform.” The rest goes away.

Marie Kondo, the new organizational guru from Japan says to discard everything that does not “spark joy,” after thanking the objects that are getting discard for their service.

Thank you stuff for your service. Good-bye. More joy, less stuff.

This morning, I put large plastic bins around the house. If there’s something that I haven’t used, don’t wear, or doesn’t spark joy it’s going in the bin and going to Nia House for the Annual Yard Sale.


The Yard Sale is May 2, less than a month away. 

Clean out your closets and have more joy.

Decorative Cement Walkways

A group of three children and a teacher went on a neighborhood stroll to collect leaves. With the help of Scott, Esme’s dad, and with the natural falling of leaves from our avocado tree, the collected and fallen leaves laid in the wet cement of our campus walkway. (Yes, the cement mixers returned!) Beautiful leaf imprints now adorn the walkways of our new toddler campus. It is easy and exciting to imagine the toddlers thrill at discovering these. This will happen so soon!

Foundation

Not one, but two cement mixers welcomed children during their arrival Nia House. A huge tube pumping cement from the cement mixer to the open dug out lot had to be hurdled to pass through the sidewalk. In toddler and preschool life- this is living. For staff and long-time supporting families- this is happening. The foundation for Nia House’s toddler campus was laid.

Sunday Mornings

Sunday mornings are special times at our house. We are greeted in bed by our 3 and 6 yr olds! We aren’t in a hurry to eat, get dressed, grab lunch boxes and get out the door as part of our regular routine. So, It’s our time to relax. While in bed, we then discuss what we want to make together for breakfast. Most Sunday mornings the decision is bacon and eggs, pancakes, waffles or muffins. Willem and Evelyn are really great helpers (after some initial work!) and can almost make it themselves. They know most of the ingredients, where to get the mixing bowl and spoon, the measuring cups and stools or chairs so they can properly do their job! As they grow, their level of skill and independence has also increased. We then enjoy our delicious breakfast while we talk about our plans for the day. It’s a great way to start the morning!

Thank you, Jeff, Laurin, Willem, and Evelyn for sharing your Sunday morning with Nia House! It would be fun to hear from the community- How do you do Sundays?

 

Berkeley Project Day and Parent Work Day- Success!

On Saturday Nia House hosted a very successful Berkeley Project Day and Parent Work Day. Windows were washed, repairs made, plants pruned, walls painted and more. In short, Nia House was bustling!

Thank you parents for your hard work and presence to your children’s school. Brazil and Xochi were proud to know that their mom, Pilar, painted the walls. Daphne lit up when she learned that her dad, Chris, changed the light bulbs! Though the children weren’t present at the workday, they observe the school improvements and also appreciate your help.

Berkeley Project Day volunteers, we appreciate your enthusiasm and hard work. It is invaluable to have community members support our work. We hope you had fun and know that you are always welcome back. We certainly enjoyed you all.

P.Diddy, Julia Child, Prince Harry, & Gabriel Garcia Marquez

What do Julia Child, P.Diddy, Prince Harry, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez have in common? Each holds an education inspired by Dr. Maria Montessori. It is exciting, and not all too surprising, to see that some of the most innovative and creative minds have been taught using the very methods used here at Nia House.

 “Is it a coincidence that many of the mavericks on the leading edge of innovation and creativity in our culture are Montessori graduates? To the millions of Montessori students, families and supporters around the world, the answer is obvious. Montessori offers an education for life – and with that come the skills needed to succeed in our ever changing global society.”

http://mariamontessori.com/mm/?page_id=571

Here’s a list of some famous Montessori educated people:

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Founders of Google

Sean Combs, Puff Daddy

Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder

Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia

Julia Child, chef

Steph Curry, NBA superstar

There are more! To see a longer list, check out:

http://www.mslf.org/famous-montessori-students/

“When Barbara Walters, who interviewed Google founders Messrs. Page and Brin in 2004, asked if having parents who were college professors was a major factor behind their success, they instead credited their early Montessori education.  ‘We both went to Montessori school,’ Mr. Page said  ‘and I think it was part of that training of not following rules and orders, and being self-motivated, questioning what’s going on in the world, doing things a little bit differently.’”

 http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2011/04/05/the-montessori-mafia/

We are incredibly eager to see what will become of our current Nia House students and will soon share the accomplishments of some our graduates. Stay tuned.

Pictures taken from:

Julia Child  

Puff Daddy: 

Gabriel Garcia Marquez:

Prince William and Prince Harry

Maria Montessori

 

Demolition

These last few days have been filled with excitement, cupcakes, important milestones and hard work.

Just this morning (Monday, November 10th), an excavator arrived on a flatbed truck and in about an hour, the site of our new school building was leveled. A few of us watched and cheered as the excavator dug into the old building, taking claw-fulls of old house down to the ground. We now have a site that is nearly ready for more of Nia House.

Check out this stop-motion video, taken by one of our Board members:

Groundbreaking Ceremony

On Friday night, we celebrated with the school community during Nia House’s official Ground Breaking Ceremony. Mayor Tom Bates, Senator Loni Hancock, Nia House Founder Tia Waller and Board President Jeff Vincent helped commemorate the event, offering words of encouragement and recognition of Nia House’s journey.

Throughout the Ground Breaking Ceremony, families participated in a photo shoot with the plan of including their photos in our very own Nia House time capsule. If you missed our Ceremony and still want to participate in the time capsule, please get in touch- we’d love to include you!

Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate our ground breaking. What a weekend it’s been! Special thanks to the Ridolfi family for baking the ceremonial cupcakes.