Director's Blog
Susie Fahrer publishes the Kaleidoscope periodically throughout the year that illustrates and summarizes what has been happening at our vibrant school. Read to find out more.
Olympics for Geeks
Did you know Rainbow Mountain has an Odyssey of the Mind team? Odyssey of the Mind has been described as "Olympics for Geeks" (Geek being an affectionate term these days.) Kids form teams and spend weeks solving massive, multi-page problems, and then present their...
Tell All Your Friends
Rainbow Mountain Children's School has grown slowly and steadily since 2007, my first year as director. However, I have never seen anything like what we have been experiencing over the last few months. We have about three times the inquiries and tours of any previous...
The word of the day is “home.”
City Councilman, Gordon Smith, centered with the fifth/sixth grade class this morning. After lighting the candle and opening with three breaths, the seven directions, and greeting one another with namaste, each child reflected on what they love about Asheville (as...
Do you remember how to fly?
The highlight of my week is leading fourth grade centering every Friday. Nine and ten year olds are teetering between the imaginal realms of childhood and the rational existence the grown-up world has created. My goal is to savor that imaginal realm as much as...
Changing consciousness
Why do human beings have a desire to change their consciousness? This is one of the questions explored in our middle school substance prevention class today. Drugs are one method of changing consciousness, but they come with significant risks. Natural methods of...
Rainbow is home.
Yesterday I returned from a trip back to my hometown of "Lake Wobegone" in Minnesota. Besides visiting my folks, I saw Garrison Keillor perform Prairie Home Companion live. After spending four days in zero degree weather, Asheville felt like the tropics. The truest...
All I See Is Part of Me
Teachers' new role is to help children feel a part of nature. Here is how one Rainbow Mountain teacher does it: http://theclassroomnaturalist.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/all-i-see-is-part-of-me/
The Secret to Success
What if the Secret to Success is Failure? That is the title of a recent New York Times article detailing what most of us instinctively know: We have to take risks and fail in order to learn. (See my Blog on The Nine Year Change for information on allowing children...
The Nine Year Change
Whether your child is several years away from the Nine Year Change, it’s happening now, or it seems like a long time ago, this article is meant to provide insight into the inner life of your child and an articulation of the common struggles of parenting we all share....
November Kaleidoscope: The many colorful things happening at Rainbow
Thanks to many people we had a lovely ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Orchard House last week, led by the Chamber of Commerce. Although we already had the ribbon cutting, there are a few more details to finish up before we receive its Certificate of Occupancy,...
The Rainbow Method Compared with Waldorf-Inspired Schools
If you have taken a serious look at Rainbow Mountain Children’s School and you are familiar with schools that are inspired by Waldorf Education, you may have noticed some similarities in feel. In fact, many of our teachers, and even the Executive Director, have some...
Childhood and the Media
Dear Parent, Rainbow Mountain's media policy is very open -- we merely recommend parents become aware of the affects of media exposure on children and attempt to limit it. I highly recommend watching this short film from the Marin Waldorf School. Even though we are...
What will the future bring?
I had the pleasure of joining Omega for centering today. After lighting the candle and taking a few breaths, Susan asked us to take out our journals and write a question we are contemplating about the future. Then Susan pulled out "A Book of Answers." We went around...
Renee Owen, Executive Director, Embarking on Ecuador Adventure
From June 18 - 26, Renee will be traveling with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, as one of ten chosen participants on their Educators of Excellence Ecuador Institute. This will be a learning experience for everyone. You follow the team's blog posts each...
Renee Owen Chosen for Educators in Excellence Adventure
Rainbow Mountain Children's School’s executive director, Renee Owen, has been chosen as one of ten “Educators of Excellence” in North Carolina to travel to Ecuador this summer with the Museum of Natural Science. The Educators of Excellence Institute programs are...
A Child’s Message from the Heart
"From the mouth's of babes..." What a POWERFUL speaker. This girl reminds me of some of the young people who have graduated from Rainbow Mountain. ~Renee Owen (Executive Director) PS. The video is slightly out of focus, but totally worth it.
Got Science?
One of the most exciting events of the year....The Rainbow Mountain Science Fair...is fast approaching on February 10. Is your child working on collecting their data yet? For some inspiration, here is a video demonstrating how even the simplest science fair project...
Rainbow Repackages Gifted Education
Gifted is an uncomfortable term. It seems to imply that some children are born with more gifts than others, and therefore, are more important or more special. The Multiple Intelligence Theory used at Rainbow Mountain recognizes that all children have gifts in...