KPBS radio features story about IES...

On Tuesday February 9th, 2010, KPBS Radio featured a story about Integral Elementary School. The story broadcasted 4 times during the day.

Click here to listen to the story

Unconventional school focuses on students’ ‘Inner Being’.

By Ana Tintocalis

SAN DIEGO — A group of enlightened San Diego youngsters are practicing ancient disciplines that most people don’t discover until later in life. They’re doing yoga and meditation at a private school in La Jolla. They study traditional subjects but they also focus on their “inner being.”

Fifteen precocious kids sit cross-legged. They’re in a circle inside a bare classroom. Some fidget. Others remain still. Teacher Wendy Cotton guides them through their group meditation.

“See yourself outside on a beautiful path,” Cotton said. “Take a look at this path. Is it dirt? Is it grass? Is it rocks? This is your special journey you get to create it however you’d like.”

This ritual begins each morning at the Integral School in La Jolla. The teachers at the school strive to help kids discover their life purpose by getting in-touch with themselves.

Carla Gerstein is a mother and the school’s co-founder. She didn’t like what traditional and charter schools had to offer.

“I was actually in this meditation and it kind of hit me,” Gerstein said. “I wanted something different for my kids, and I don’t see it out there. So it looks like I am going to have to do this.”

That’s when Gerstein partnered with Dr. Prapanna Smith to open the school.

“I don’t think there is any school that (more…)

Being True to Yourself...

Being True to Yourself

I would like to relate a little story about a small boy who made a promise, kept it as an adult, and received a gift during a tragic time.  This young fellow used to go visit with his grandmother a friend of hers who was living in a convalescent hospital.  After one such visit grandmother explained that she never wanted to live the last years of her life in such a place. She asked her grandson, “If our family ever tried to put me into an old-folks home, what will you do?”  The boy replied, “Grandma, I promise you that I will never let anyone put you into a place like that.”  Years later, this boy was living in India and learned that after his grandfather’s death, his family was considering to put grandma into a nursing home.  Though he had not planned to go the USA at the time, he decided he had to make good on his promise to his grandmother, and quickly made arrangements to return to the States to do so.  As it turned out, by the time he got there, the issue was (more…)

Are You and Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?...

Are You and Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?

The year is coming to an end and parents everywhere with children who will be turning five in 2010 are or should be thinking about Kindergarten. This can be a daunting task, especially for families where it is their first child entering elementary school. As parents consider registering their child in Kindergarten, what questions should they consider?

1. Is our child ready both socially and intellectually ready for Kindergarten?
2. What are our expectations for our child’s experiences in Kindergarten?
3. Is public or private education the right option for our child?
4. What type of teacher would we like our child’s Kindergarten teacher to be?
5. What is the class size for Kindergarten or what is the Student-Teacher ratio?

When contemplating these and, I’m sure many other questions, about their child going to Kindergarten, parents will get a variety of answers from the experts on Kindergarten Readiness. All of these answers should be weighed equally and used to determine what is in the best interest of the child.

The first place to start in the investigation of Kindergarten Readiness is parent observations. How would you as the parent answer the first question as to socially and intellectually being ready for Kindergarten? Most children who are 4 or older have had playgroup experiences, maybe taken swimming or dance lessons, and experienced a variety of family activities. All of these will have provided the parents with opportunities to observe social and intellectual behaviors.
Another consideration for parents is the date their child turns 5. Will the child be one of the oldest or one of the youngest in the class? The decision as to being the oldest or youngest may be a purely simple one for some parents but yet, again, can have its challenges.

The second place in the investigation is, if a child is currently (more…)

Pumpkin Cake...

Pumpkin Cake

This pumpkin cake needs no fancy accoutrement’s to entice diners. It is moist and flavorful and goes well with a cup of coffee at breakfast or dessert!

This recipe is based on my mom’s 30 year old recipe that comes from her former bridge partner, Beverly, “back in the day.” I have never seen pumpkin cake like this anywhere. I have seen pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin cheesecake, but never pumpkin cake. I have baked so many pumpkin treats today that my house is sure to carry that aroma into the week!

I always bake my pumpkin cake in a thin, dark coated, bundt pan. I also used this recipe today to make mini-pumpkin cake bites my using a pan with many small wells, and I also used a mini-bundt pan (with six rings in one pan) to make six individual pumpkin cakes.

My mom traditionally makes a orange glaze to drizzle on top and adds candy corns for her October version. You can also just sift powdered sugar over the top. I prefer it plain, and trust me, with no calorie or fat sifter, it’s a treat unto itself!

Ingredients: (more…)

Art and the Preschool Child...

Art and the Preschool Child

The saying “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder” can be applied to Art and the Preschool Child. Children love expressing themselves through art. Many times parents and adults have difficulty accepting that a Preschooler’s artwork is beautiful because it may not meet their definition of art or beauty. Parents may become frustrated that their child is not “coloring within the lines” or “coloring properly”.

But, I would ask the questions: “What is coloring properly?” “What do the lines mean when it comes to the final product?” Each of us has a definition of what proper coloring is. Each of us has a perspective of what within the lines means. Does this mean that my definition of what is proper takes precedent over another individual’s, including a preschooler?

I say, “No!!” Children are beautiful individuals whose primary purpose is to explore the world around them, to discover their path in life, what works for them and what doesn’t. As individuals, preschoolers have the right to express themselves through art the way that works best for them. It may not be “within the lines”, but to the preschooler it is his/her artwork and he/she is always proud of it. We, as the adults in the preschooler’s life, need to (more…)

Winning the CANDY WARS...

Winning the Candy Wars

An article by Thomas Haller and Chick Moorman

Our children are being bombarded with candy from every direction. Chocolate bars, gum, suckers, and assorted gummy candies line the checkout lanes in grocery stores. School fundraisers sell candy bars, cookies, and brownies in the hallways during lunch hours. Every mall, skating rink, soccer complex, movie theater, and even the video store has a place to buy candy.

And then there are the holidays. Halloween trick-or-treat bags bulge with every kind of candy imaginable. Christmas stockings are topped with bubble gum and chocolate bars. Valentine messages are stamped on candy hearts, and boxes of candy are the staple of communicating love. Easter baskets overflow with jellybeans and chocolate bunnies.

Candy is everywhere, and its presence is wreaking havoc on our children’s teeth and waistlines. Children are visiting the dentist with serious tooth decay at younger and younger ages every year. Obesity in children is a national concern.

With candy universally available and regularly within sight of children, what is a parent to do? How do you combat its influence on your children? How do you lessen the influence of advertisers and get candy consumption under control in your family? How can you win the candy wars?

The following 6 suggestions can assist you in curbing your children’s candy consumption. Use them to increase the health and wellbeing of your family.

1. Begin by being a model for your children to follow.If you are a chocoholic and find yourself foraging through the cupboard for the last chocolate bar or eating an entire bag of M&Ms once it is opened, reflect on the message you are sending your children. It will be difficult for you to curb their candy consumption when they see (more…)

The Halloween Fairy...

“The Halloween Fairy”

October always brings great excitement and joy to children as they anticipate one of their favorite holidays – HALLOWEEN! For parents, Halloween also brings lots of joy and fun as they get caught up in their child’s anticipation of the Great Pumpkin and Trick or Treating. Deciding on a costume, decorating the house, visiting a Pumpkin Patch and planning parties are all part of Halloween enjoyment.

But, Halloween also brings the trepidation of dealing with all the sweets the children may receive when Trick or Treating or attending school carnivals/parties. Children truly take ownership of everything they collect while out Trick or Treating in their neighborhood or at school sponsored carnivals/parties. Yet, we, the adults, know that all those sweets are not healthy for children and the thought of even rationing the sweets for weeks is a daunting endeavor.

Here’s a way to allow children to partake in Halloween activities and enjoy some of their goodies yet not over do it – “THE HALLOWEEN FAIRY”.  The Halloween Fairy loves candy/sweets. However, it is hard for her to get it because she can only make toys and things. So, for her to get the candy she so loves, she offers children an exchange of a gift for their candy. After Trick or Treating, children pick a number of pieces of their most favorite candy, then they put the rest in a bag and leave it outside somewhere for the Halloween Fairy. The Halloween Fairy is so thankful for the children’s gift of candy, she leaves a gift for the children as a thank you.  Children can also write a note to the Halloween Fairy as to what they would like in exchange for the candy – a toy, crayons/colored pencils, a new shirt, etc.

The Halloween Fairy is a wonderful new tradition to (more…)

What is life about? The Aims of Integral Education...

What is life about?  While there are many goals in Integral Education related to development of the whole being – body, vital (emotions and character), mind, psychic (soul), and spiritual – there is an important overall aim in this philosophy of education. This is the aim to help children discover for themselves their life-purpose and develop the skills, knowledge, and self-discipline they will need to manifest that purpose. Life purpose is much more than the choice of a job or career in life. Rather, it represents the deeper reason for those choices. If you want to become something, why do want to do so? Do you want to earn money, obtain security and comfort, develop your highest potential, serve your family or community or humanity, or seek and serve a higher truth?

In Integral Education this self-discovery is of supreme importance. The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Mirra Alfassa, who first pioneered (more…)