Category: Beyond The Brochure

Weekend Links: Outdoor Schools, Event Snaps and Praise for BTB

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Thanks, Mommy Poppins!

We were very honored to learn that, Mommy Poppins, a national resource for fun, cool things to do with your kids, named Beyond The Brochure one of their favorite Los Angeles mom blogs! Here’s what they say:

 

Beyond the Brochure
“Christina Simon’s blog – and book – about private schools in LA have become the industry standard. Her guest post in our Schools Guide offers a taste of her expertise; the Beyond the Brochure blog takes readers far more in-depth on private school issues”.–Mommy Poppins

Thanks, Mommy Poppins. We’re thrilled! See the link here.

 

I went to my first clothing swap event, where one person’s trash is another’s treasure. It was crazy fun as we swapped clothes, sipped drinks and tried on everything. Literally.

At a super-fun clothing swap event with some of my favorite L.A. mom bloggers (Jill Simonian, Sarah James, Jennifer Brandt (host) and Diane Mizota. Event was sponsored by Glad. #Trashcrashers.
At a super-fun clothing swap event with some of my favorite L.A. mom bloggers (Jill Simonian, Sarah James, Jennifer Brandt (host) and Diane Mizota. Event was sponsored by Glad. #Trashcrashers.
The BEST party swag! Stuff moms can use from Glad. #TrashCrashers
The BEST party swag! Stuff moms can use from Glad. #TrashCrashers

 

Recently a friend told me about a forest preschool (and K) in Boston. Curious, I found an article about this interesting trend toward outdoor schooling…kids go to school in weather as cold as 15 degrees.  (Boston Globe)

 

Have a great weekend!–Christina

5 Super-Popular Private Elementary School Activities For 2014

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Robotics is a very popular school and extracurricular activity. Photo: First Lego League
Robotics is a very popular school and extracurricular activity. Photo: First Lego League

What will L.A.’s private elementary school students be doing in 2014? Here are 5 super-popular activities we think will continue to engage students this year:

 

  • Lego Robotics/Robotics– Immensely popular, Lego Robotics and more advanced Robotics, allow students to create and program robots, participate in team competitions and hone their engineering and programming skills. With robot names like Westie, kids compete statewide and even nationally to see which team’s robot has what it takes.
  • Lacrosse– This traditionally East Coast sport is making major inroads on the West Coast, both at schools and in club teams.
Project Knapsack, a non-profit, founded by Beyond The Brochure co-author, Porcha Dodson, works with numerous private schools to offer community service opportunities. Photo: The Namayarse Girls School in Kenya with Project Knapsack school supplies.
Community Service: Project Knapsack, a non-profit, founded by Beyond The Brochure co-author, Porcha Dodson, works with numerous L.A. private schools to offer volunteer opportunities for students. Photo: The Namayarse Girls School in Kenya with Project Knapsack delivered school supplies.
  • Community Service- Giving back to the community, both near and far, continues to be a very important part of private school curriculum and extracurricular and school club activities. Schools are expanding their opportunities for students to make a difference in big and small ways from helping the homeless to providing school supplies to children in Africa.
  • School Gardens– Adding beauty and learning opportunities, school gardens are cropping up in a growing number of L.A. private elementary schools.
  • Computer Programs like Scratch Animation, GarageBand for Mac,  MicroWorlds Jr. and MicroWorlds EX.  In the classroom, kids can program an animated turtle to move or create a triangle with mathematical dimensions using MicroWorlds Jr. Scratch Animation (created by MIT) teaches basic programming skills as kids create animated cartoons. Garage Band for Mac lets kids simulate a music studio by combining tracks to make their own musical creations.

 

Happy New Year and Vacation Pics!

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Barry and my daughter on a Philadelphia street.
Barry and our daughter on a Philadelphia street.

We’ve spent the past week in Philadelphia visiting Barry’s family and friends. We had the BEST time cooking, vintage shopping, eating at wonderful restaurants, seeing historical sites and relaxing.

My son at St. Josephs v. Boston U. basketball game
My sports fan at St. Josephs v. Boston U. basketball game
Vintage clothes shopping at Revivals. Christina, Barry's Aunt N. and Christina's daughter. Revivals has amazing finds!
Vintage clothes shopping at Revivals. Me with Barry’s Aunt N. and my girl.  Revivals has amazing finds… I think we spent almost 2 hours in there.

 Happy New Year! New blog post coming Monday.–Christina

 

Five Big Differences Between Traditional and Developmental/Progressive Private Schools

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FCLA Soccer
FCLA Soccer

Many L.A. private schools are a hybrid of educational philosophies, a blend of school types (traditional, developmental and progressive) that define each institution. However, there are schools that are purely traditional or progressive and have chosen not to incorporate a mix of educational philosophies. Any of these school types can offer an academically challenging, intellectually rigorous learning environment. Selecting a school depends on your preferences as a parent and finding the best fit for your kid.

 

Here are 5 differences between traditional and developmental/progressive schools:

 

1. Traditional schools tend to teach critical thinking in conjunction with heavy content acquisition. Developmental/Progressive schools are more focused on the process of learning than detailed content acquisition. Teachers are interested in what students know in traditional schools. Developmental/progressive schools want to know what students think.

 

2. The curriculum at developmental/progressive schools includes more project based learning, where kids work in groups and projects can take a week or more.

 

3. Traditional schools have more homework, tests and quizzes. They tend to use textbooks more often than developmental/progressive schools.

 

4. The report cards and grading systems are very different. Developmental/Progressive schools tend to use narrative written reports for elementary school. Traditional schools use grades and/or numeric evaluation methods.

 

5. Academic achievement is celebrated in traditional schools. Honor lists are posted, students discuss grades. Developmental/progressive schools de-emphasize the focus on public display of individual academic success.