Projects

There is a classroom you do not see when you enter the doors of Hawthorne Valley School. The children thrive in this classroom. It gives them vitality, purpose, and confidence. This is the classroom of Nature. Growth and decay, the ever-changing cycle of life is seen in the death and renewal in Nature. The children pour forth their play and work, breathe more deeply, and connect with their classmates with a sense of unified purpose.

The Project classes begin in the second grade. We hear, for instance, a story about the spotted salamander mysteriously reappearing in the spring. Then, with all the energy and enthusiasm of the seven and eight-year-old, we enter the woods searching for our salamander friend. We walk, we stop, and we play and build; we observe, and we feel as one with this stream of ever-changing life. We gather the bounty of Nature with thankfulness and song. Acorn cakes are baked from the gift of the oak; sumac beads are cut and sanded for necklaces. Squabbles are left behind as each child is filled with the world of abundant gifts Mother Earth shares.

The third graders fill their limbs in a new way. They walk the earth with a heavier step. New capacities have grown. We pull a plough through the garden to prepare the soil. We go out to sow the seed on a finely raked seedbed. With a song of thanks to Mother Earth, we know that we tended the soil, appreciated the fat earthworms, pulled the voracious quack grass, put manure and compost to replenish her, and then sowed the wheat, the rye, the oats, and the barley. We watch the growth, wait for rain, harvest golden grain, thresh, winnow, and grind the grain to fine flour. We each bake a large braided loaf of bread from the grain we have tended the year before.

The third graders also participate in the maple-sugar harvest from beginning to end. We saw the wood, in rhythm to songs and rounds. It is always amazing to see how working in rhythm sustains the work. The children tap the maple trees and collect the sap each day until the mighty day of "boiling down." Nine or ten third graders arrive at seven in the morning to start the fires. All day, sap bubbles and boils, sending the steamy waters heavenward, until at dusk, we have a brown, rich, thick, and sweet syrup. In the process we have seen a rainbow, given thanks to the maples, and danced to the bagpipes' sound. Our reward: a lot of satisfaction and 70 gallons of sap boiled down to two gallons of pure maple syrup!

The love of the fourth-grade Projects class is their work with cows. Once a week for three months, we enter the maternal realm of the cow, that dreamy contented world of warmth, nourishment, and digestion that envelops the children. Each child picks a cow, curries it, and performs various services for the cow, keeping a brief journal of observations. Strong bonds are built between the children and "their" animals. Sometimes the miracle of the birth of a calf happens right before their eyes!

The sixth grade has gardening in the fall and spring. These 12-year-olds have strong, growing bodies. On a physical level, they are challenged to stretch their muscles and tendons, working to their full capacity. We speak about the life of the earth, the soil, the compost, the earthworm, the sun, and the moon. We learn how to tend and nourish the life of the soil. We plant flowers and vegetables, and wonderful smelling herbs.

Seventh graders prepare the soil, plant the seed, and weed their own garden plot.

In eighth grade we reap the benefits. We eat baked potatoes and fine pesto. We munch carrots and use hot peppers, rosemary, and other herbs to flavor our food.

Projects class challenges our students with real-life problems and requires practical flexibility in thinking, initiative, and perseverance, complementing the work of the classroom. To find joy and rhythm in a task that must be done builds strength in a child, physically and morally, and enables one to stand on the earth differently as an adult, whether as a computer programmer or a carpenter. Older children sense the purposefulness of the work and their growing ability to contribute. Understanding emerges out of doing. The capacity to work, to take an interest in the life of the earth, to understand what needs to be done, and to have the strength to see a task through to completion are all lessons from life in the Projects Class. We are blessed indeed to have field, stream, forest, garden, and farm for our classroom.