Class Descriptions
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Tree School's Preschool programs
2009-2010
2.5 to 5 year olds
Our program provides a unique educational experience for children ages three to five years. Students at Tree School benefit from a nurturing environment which encourages exploration, learning and confidence in each individual's abilities. Learning is approached from a "world context" where children have the opportunity to explore different people, cultures, and environments while they develop social, cognitive, communication, and motor skill areas.
Monday through Friday 8:30-11:30 along with afternoon enrichment programming until 3:00
Tuition Rates:
MWF half Day: $275.00 TTh half day: $225.00
M-F half Day: $425.00 MWF full day: $450.00
TTh full day: $375.00 M-F full day: $700.00
We have NEW spaces open in our program so please email lindle1@aol.com or call (207) 730-1230 for more details.
Daily Afternoon Enrichment Themes
Leaf Me Be: Our first session of Woods Wonders will have us learning some basic tree ID through sorting exercises, tree songs, and activities that explore all the amazing changes happening around us as we move from summer to autumn.
Mondays, 12:00-3:00 from November 2nd-December 14th for ages 3-7 years
Tuition: $175
Bookiologists-
Spines, pages, cover to cover- this is a class for all young book lovers!
Our first bookiologist session will feature stories, characters and
book-related activities from Guatemala and other places in Latin America to
go along with our morning studies.
Tuesdays, 12:00-3:00 from November 3rd-December 15th for ages 3-7 years
Tuition:
$175
Fantastic Foods- Squash will be the featured
food of our first foods session. Celebrating the last zucchinis of summer
and moving into the "gourdeous" winter kinds, we'll be cooking and crafting
with squash!
Wednesdays, 12:00-3:00 from November 4th-December 16th for ages 3-7 years
Tuition:
$175
Music and Movement- We're going to kick off our first session of music and movement by exploring the sounds in our everyday Tree School lives and see what kind of music there is to be made from objects in our immediate environment.
Thursdays, 12:00-3:00 from November 5th-December 17th for ages 3-7 years
Tuition:
$175
Amazing Animals-
Creepy crawly off the wally finny furry feathery fascinating animals! We'll
be zooming off to the jungles of Central America for our first session of
Amazing Animals. Come explore this remarkable habitat and the special
critters that call the jungle home!
Fridays, 12:00-3:00 from November 6th-December 18th for ages 3-7 years
Tuition: $175
TEACHERS
Ed Dame, Teacher/morning and afternoon programs: After two years teaching abroad and traveling, Ed Dame is ecstatically coming back to roost in Portland to work at The Tree School. Ed graduated from the University of New Hampshire with degrees in English and Wildlife Management and earned his teaching certification through the ETEP Program at USM. He's been working with young people for almost ten years with experiences in social work, outdoor education, and has most recently been teaching elementary students in Shenzhen, China. Ed's goals for his Tree-School work revolve around cultivating an awareness of the cyclical and circular ways of the natural world in our students and fostering the joy of discovery that comes through learning about our own community and new and exciting cultures- especially through good food! When he's not at The Tree School you're apt to spot Ed riding his beloved bicycle on the Cape, pinching the produce at the farmers market, or birdwatching in the parks around town. Ed is so excited to plug himself back into the Portland community and begin cooking up new learning adventures with our Tree Schoolers!
Andrea Parker, Teacher/morning program: I am a person with many passions from education, to gardening, to art, dance, music and my beautiful daughter Lila who will turn 3 this October. I grew up in Mid-coast Maine and found my way out to Olympia, WA for college at The Evergreen State College which allowed me to explore all my passions and instilled a real love and understanding of how to learn and be your own teacher. I then found my way to the beautiful city of San Francisco where I worked in the film world for two years. After that I decided to move back east and get my Master’s in Education from Wheelock College. It was there that I was able to really experiment with different teaching styles and discovered my love of integrated and project based teaching and learning. I spent 3 years working in a small progressive K-8 school in Salem, MA where I taught all ages. As a teacher I have had my summers off to spend gardening and have honed my skills in Japanese garden design and creating small urban container gardens. Another way I spend my time is exploring our world-recently more near than far-and photographing its beauty and then creating collages that reflect my experiences. As a teacher at the Tree School I hope to bring my love of our natural world and the arts to instigate new and creative learning experiences that challenge and inspire us to question and look beyond what we see and know. I am excited to begin this journey with all of you.
Lindy Shapiro, Director/Founder: I graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago with my Master's in Speech-Language Pathology and a specialization in the 0-3 year age group. As I provided speech therapy to children in a variety of individual and group settings, I developed a better idea of my interests and talents. I then began my PhD in Education at the University of Hawaii to move further toward my career goals as an educator. After my children entered my life, I realized exactly what I was supposed to do, and that's when Tree School was born.
La Petite École
a new French Immersion preschool program at Tree School starting Fall 2009
In a caring and nurturing environment, La Petite École offers a gentle approach for your child to enrich their preschool experiences and learn French. This unique program focuses on the child’s early developmental awakening and looks at each and everyones’ need . We combine song, play, the visual arts and movement in our routine to allow for a great motivation towards learning through fun and enriching experiences. these experiences will serve for the well development of the child through fun and engaging activities. Our environment will also be a place to forge a better awareness on recycling, composting, and gardening.
for more information about La Petite École, please visit the website...
or contact Marie-Gaelle Casset-Ford at 207-347-0330
Marie-Gaelle Casset-Ford, Director/Teacher: was born in Paris, France, in 1970, and moved back to the family home in Brittany in 1982. From an early age, with her young friends and family she forged a passion for sharing her love of the arts, nature and languages. In 1991, she came to Portland to pursue a degree in Fine Arts at the Maine College of Art where she received a BFA in Sculpture in 1996. She began her teaching career through Spiral Arts Inc., which offered art classes to the multicultural Portland community, focusing on three-dimensional concepts working with clay and found objects as well as two-dimensional art forms like book binding and paper making. In the pursuit of higher education, Marie-Gaelle was accepted into Lesley College’s Masters in Education program. Specializing in Creative Arts in Learning, she received a Masters degree in 2000 and continued teaching art in French-based programs throughout the greater Portland area. After spending 2002 in Brittany with her family to share her heritage with her children and broaden her experience, Marie-Gaelle returned to Maine to accept a position at L’Ecole Francaise du Maine / French School of Maine to introduce art and French to young children through a total immersion program. After 3 years working in the immersion context, Marie-Gaelle and family went to Ireland for six months, where they reconnected with husband Mark’s common roots. She is now back in Maine and moving on to share her joy in combining language acquisition and artistic talent to all children in the Greater Portland area.
Marie, her husband Mark and their two adorable bilingual girls, Maella and Tara, live in South Portland.
Tree Sprouts!!!
outreach programming for Greater Portland
I’m so excited this year to be able to create connections with the Greater Portland community through our outreach programs. From October through December I will be visiting schools, libraries, hospitals, resource centers, and other public venues to present Tree Sprouts, a unique interactive learning program for children. Tree Sprouts combines dramatic storytelling, songs, and movement with recycled art projects and a sprinkle of playful yoga! The main goal of this program is to help children and families increase their awareness and understanding of people, cultures, and nature. In learning about others we naturally learn about ourselves and who we are in relation to the world around us. Believing in ourselves empowers us to embrace both our differences and our similarities allowing us to become connected with all living things. It also helps us to think and act with compassion. The more people are motivated by kindness and compassion, the more hope we have of a peaceful world for our future. By offering all of the Tree Sprouts groups at no charge it is my hope that we can reach out to kids who may not otherwise have these opportunities.
Tree Sprouts grows…
☼imaginations
☼creativity
☼self awareness and understanding
☼cultural awareness and understanding
☼compassion
FREE PROGRAM. Registration and parent participation required
WHEN WHERE
Nov. 16th at 10:00 am... North Star Cafe
22 Congress St, Portland
Nov. 21st at 12:30 am St Lawrence Art Center
76 Congress St, Portland
Dec. 9th at 9:30 am Prince Memorial Library
266 Main St, Cumberland
Teacher: Lindy Shapiro...In May, 2008 I had the opportunity to study with Marsha Wenig, the founder of one the first comprehensive yoga programs for children in the United States. I completed an intensive four-day Foundations Training with her in Quebec and was so inspired by the profound effect yoga had on me, on my colleagues, and on the children who participated in her classes. I’ve personally spent the past few years discovering the benefits of incorporating yoga into my own life. I’ve seen how a regular yoga practice can improve overall health and well being, and how it helps to regain and maintain a sense of calm when everything around me seems a bit hectic. I’ve even explored ways to make yoga a part of Tree School classes and have been amazed over and over again by how much children of all ages love it. I am so excited to be able to take my YogaKids training and share the experience of yoga with families in our community! I’m currently certified as a YogaKids Associate and I am now working to complete further training to achieve certification as a YogaKids Facilitator.
Dia de los Muertos
Day of the Dead Celebration at Tree School!!!
On November 1st of every year, Guatemala celebrates the Dead through delicious food, colorful altars, kites, and costumes. On November 30th, Tree School will be taking the "spook" out of skeletons and exploring this very special day in Guatemalan culture! Traditional craft projects will include kite building, along with weaving and designing flower carpets. Add Dia de los Muertos snacks by our resident chef and head teacher, Ed Dame, and this will be the best party going in Portland!
Friday, October 30th from 4:00-6:00 pm
131 Spring Street, Portland, Maine 04101
FREE FAMILY EVENT please help us spread the word!!!