We love Discovery School!

We're very sad to leave you, Discovery School. We were able to send Luca and Leea there only because we qualified for a big tuition discount. The kids have learned and grown so much since they started last year. The school is so hands-on and enriching that it's truly hard to find something that will compare in Colville. We especially love that the kids had music, art, P.E. and Spanish each twice a week. They also had reading buddies, at least one field trip a month and lots of fun stuff going on in their classroom besides the usual school stuff. One thing I especially like is that the whole school uses Positive Discipline by Dr Jane Nelson. Each teacher is required to read the book(s) and act upon. Dr. Jane Nelson has declared Discovery School a POSITIVE DISCIPLINE DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL.

Here's the school's mission statement:

We believe in INDIVIDUALITY: Each child is a unique and distinct individual to be celebrated. Children learn at their own pace. Learning takes place most effectively when one is accepted and valued.
We believe in COMMUNITY: The community is a valuable resource for learning. Contributing to the community is a personal obligation.
We believe in RESPONSIBILITY: Each person is responsible for his or her own behavior. Learning is enhanced by ownership in the education process.
We believe in the JOY OF LEARNING: Education is a life-long experience. The arts are an essential part of learning. Learning is natural. Learning should be fun.

This was the kid's egg drop with Discovery School. At the end of the school year they had planned a bunch of fun things. I had never heard of an egg drop, but as I started researching the whole thing, it appeared to me that it is quite common in the US. Luca's egg survived in about half a gallon of jell-o in a jumbo yogurt container. We also had an umbrella on the enclosed container, but the teacher throwing the thing off the cliff never opened it. There was no weight limit. Some people had eggs embedded in watermelons thrown down the cliff. A teacher had one in a cabbage head, and there were several other random things containing food. Pretty wasteful, but I guess I don't count jell-o as food. :)

Noa took a good mouthful of the red mass. This container also has Leea's egg in it.

Hers survived too. We built a giant bubble wrap pillow with Leea and put a little garbage bag parachute on it.

Here the whole school rented the Looff carousel for breakfast.

Leea and her Pre-K teacher Chinowa...

...and Desiree.

Leea in front of her school.

Leea and her friend Maddy.

Luca and his friend Jon.

Luca and his teacher Michelle.

The kids with their art teacher Charlie Schmidt. Check out his web site. He's a great artist in all kinds of areas and well known in the Spokane community. He's also performed globally with his nose dance. Watch the videos on his page - he's really funny.