Wednesday, May 31, 2017

A geat finish to a great year!

Last Friday marked the end of ELP's 2016-2017 year
We have had so much fun this year it is hard to remember it all! Ballet, mindfulness, animation, self expression, mini marketers, mad scientists, basketball, games, and senses, it was all so amazing! One thing is for sure, we had so much fun learning that we forgot we were learning. Thank you to all who participated in our wonderful program!

 Learning Japanese


Tai Chi


Ballet


Basketball!!!



Mindfulness



Yoga





Doodle Art


















Film

 

Recycled Art

 



 

Mad Science


 

Spanish


Biking

 


Even though our school year is over the fun and learning will continue this summer. The Expanded Learning Program will re-open this July with more exciting opportunities. This year we are excited to introduce a new robotics and technology section. Robotics will be joined by wellness, literacy & art, and culture. This summer program is not to be missed!!!



Friday, May 26, 2017

Wrapping Up at Beeman

It is hard to believe that the school year is coming to an end... Where did the time go?! The experiences that the Expanded Learning Program was able to bring to Beeman this year has been truly astounding. We had eleven different workshops that ranged from cultural studies of Africa and Spanish speaking countries, to strategy games, outdoor survival skills and more.

 Additionally we were able to launch Beeman's first year of the Girls on the Run program. This helped to entice many new students to the ELP program and we had a full team of 18 girls, amazing! Even more amazing was the amount of students that we had participate, over half of our schools students population took part in ELP this year, what an incredible feat!

This week marked our last meeting for ELP for the 2016-2017 school year. Girls on the Run will continue with one last practice next week and a  5K at the Essex fair grounds on Saturday, June 3rd, come cheer us on if you can :)

It has been truly rewarding to watch the growth, curiosity, memories and bonds that have grown as a result of these amazing after school opportunities. Thank you to everyone who took part by either teaching, volunteering, participating, donating or organizing snacks. I am very grateful for all of the support I received and enthusiasm I saw. 

Come spend time with us this summer for more of all the wonderful things that ELP has to offer! 





Thursday, May 25, 2017

Another Great Year!


I can't believe it's the last week of ELP for the school year!  This really snuck up on us but we have finished with a bang and are looking forward to the summer program starting in July.  This week saw Girls On The Run prepping for their 5K Road Race in two weekends, the polishing off of Little House On The Prairie with a popsicle finale, the sewing of pillows and purses with Dive Into Art, and the final Chess classes for the legendary Mike Gray.

I want to say a big thank you to my co-leader Jill Schoendorf as well as our support staff of Mara Orvis and Abbie Ahern.  We were a well oiled machine by the second half of the year and you all made such a wonderful program for the kids.  

Finally, thank you to all the amazing people that took the time to lead workshops this year.  You have a real impact on these kids' lives.  

Here are an array of highlights from the year to carry us into summer.












Stay tuned for news from our summer program and if you're interested in signing up you can find paperwork at the bottom of this link:

https://sites.google.com/site/anesuelp/home/summer-1

~John

Monday, May 22, 2017

Fun in the Sun :)

Beeman is thrilled with all of the warm weather!! We love that every day we are able to get outside and move our bodies in a space that is so beautiful and well cared for.

In GOTR we have begun really seriously training for our 5K. Girls have been working hard independently, even on weekends, doing conditioning work and running with mothers, sisters, and more. Lots of girls share that they have also been taking their love of the conditioning work we do to their homes. Many girls are doing sets of 30 squats, one minute planks in various formations, and as many as 30-40 push ups in a practice. GREAT work girls (and families)! 

Outdoor club has spent time exploring the woods, building forts, identifying flowers, tress, leaves and insects. They also spend a great deal of time moving around and perfecting their skills as a team. One of the natural lessons that has emerged from the K-3 group is that because there is such diversity in ages there is an opportunity for teaching, mentorship and practice that doesn't always exist when students are all the same age. This week students will get back to survival skills and exploring more in the woods and with our outdoor classroom. 

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Yee Haw it's a Bike Rodeo!!!

Bristol's own Melanie Kessler designed and organized a Bike Rodeo for students at Bristol Elementary. Community members volunteered to support students and Bristol police was on hand to answer questions and help fit bike helmets. The sun was out and it was a great day for a rodeo!!




Melanie leads a biking workshop for Bristol ELP. These students are preparing for the Human Powered Parade this Saturday. They are creating flags, posters, and decorations for their human powered machine!! They also practice their biking skills by biking as a group around the school and town.  Please join us for the Parade this Saturday at 11am or meet us at 10am at the Bristol skate park for a pre parade skate show


Monday, May 15, 2017

Animal Sculptures and Story Time

At this time of the school year it's nice to have programs that give the kids the chance to chill out during their workshops.  Our Dive Into Art and Laura Ingalls Wilder workshops do just that.  Our fearless leaders, Jodi McLeod and Jill Schoendorf, do a great job of giving the kids simple projects and plenty of freedom to follow their noses.  

A bit of reading mixed in with some light necklace making.

Everyone needs a bean bag chair.

The beginning of a mosaic.

Just a Bennett and his cobra!


Check back in soon for more from the last two weeks of ELP.

~John


Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Read and Run



K-2 students at LCS have been enjoying Sabrina's "Read and Run" workshop every Monday and Wednesday.  Each day. students are treated to hearing several storybooks read aloud to them.  The books selected are based on themes, and include morals.  Students then play games or do activities related to the books.  It's a great combination of stillness and movement for this age group!



Students read the book Castaway Cats by Lisa Wheeler, and then were given the challenge of crossing the "lake" with "stepping stones".  Each person gets one stepping stone, each stepping stone can hold only one person, and everyone needs to get across.  These first and second graders figured out how to do it.  Can you?!



Students practiced "untangling" themselves from a human knot!

Students read a modern version of  The Tortoise and the Hare, and then went outside to reenact the race, taking turns being the tortoise and the hare.  That way everyone was a winner!