The series, hosted by Sue Zelickson, TWLS luncheon attendee and writer for Minnesota Monthly, was created to inform, inspire, and motivate people while contributing to a local charity. Zelickson came to know Rooney and The Whole Learning School as a guest at the annual Possible Dreams Luncheon last April. Zelickson was so impressed with what she heard; she encouraged Ann to nominate herself as a potential speaker.

To learn more about Rooney or to register for the luncheon, visit Minnesota Monthly’s website by clicking here. The luncheon is limited to 80 guests, so please register soon.

Teaching at TWLS

Classroom Teacher Adam Katz is really excited about how technology helps his students. “I have one entire language arts group that is learning how to create paragraphs with topic sentences, supporting details, and conclusion sentences not only on 20th century note pads, but on 21st century tablet computers,” he said. “The students love it and the technology makes them even more eager to learn and do their work,” Katz said.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Vijay, age 7.

“I am so happy about being in this class,” said Stephanie, age 14.

In addition to tablet-style computers, every student at TWLS has a school-provided AlphaSmart “Dana” computer. The “Danas” are laptops designed for school children to assist them with writing and keyboarding, both critical skills for being employable adults. In addition, to writing and keyboarding, the Danas have calculators and calendar functions, too.

While all of these are excellent tools, TWLS can always use newer, better and more technology. “The Danas we have are eight years old and students have to supply their own tablet computers,” Rooney said. “In addition, many of our desktop computers are dinosaurs in the technology world.”

However, donated computers do not always have compatible operating systems, making it hard to simply encourage people to donate used systems. The reality is that the best way to help TWLS, or any other organization with technology needs, is to make either a technology-specific donation or to call and discuss how to make the greatest impact. To learn more about The Whole Learning School’s specific needs, call Julie at 763-231-2700.

As part of their mission, IOCP offers learning and service opportunities to engage individuals, businesses, schools, faith communities, civic groups, health systems, and foundations. Together, IOCP and its partners create opportunities for all to thrive.

Recently, The Whole Learning School’s older students (15+) volunteered at IOCP.  “This week’s volunteer opportunity was a great skill-builder for our students,” said vocational skills teacher Sue McCrary.  Here’s how:

We were originally scheduled to work in the food shelf, but ICOP had a very important mailing that needed to be prepared. The director of volunteer services explained what the mailing was about. We formed an assembly line and got right to work, folding letters and stuffing them into envelopes. We stuffed between 250-300 envelopes! Each envelope had a specific name and address on it, so we had to focus and pay attention. We caught a few letters that were out of order and could have easily been put into the wrong envelope. Good thing everyone was paying attention!

Stuffing and Sorting at IOCP!

According to McCrary, the students learned about how important it is to be a part of the work team. “Sometimes you have to do what’s needed at work, not only what is in your job description,” McCrary said. Students also learned important lessons about being accurate, handling deadlines and meeting expectations, while getting the benefit of knowing that the work they did supports IOCP and the people they serve.

McCrary continues to seek out additional volunteer opportunities like those offered with IOCP.  If you have an opportunity for us, please contact us at 763-231-2700.

It can also support and validate emotion when a child has only a vague idea of what they are feeling. Because children’s verbal abilities are not as developed as adults’, music can offer an additional resource for children to connect to their own emotional states and then to share this with people in their lives.  A lack of language to express emotions can be even more pronounced for children with special needs due to physical and cognitive challenges and increased emotional stress. Using music to help children explore emotions can lead to clearer communication and increased ability to tolerate and regulate feelings because the child has a way to connect his or her internal experience with the external world.

To understand more about how music impacts emotions, take a moment to picture these classic film and TV scenes and the music that accompanies them: the shower scene in Psycho, the shark approaching in Jaws, or the Smurfs dancing through their opening song. All of these scenes rely heavily upon the impact that music has on emotion and they reach us various levels of cognition and awareness. This is because when we listen to music, the elements of music: tonality, instrumentation, tempo, etc. combine with our cultural knowledge, memories, and associations to make music a powerful tool for eliciting and supporting emotions. Understanding our personal responses to each of these scenes can help us to better understand our own emotions.   

Similarly, you can help your child understand and express emotions by helping them create soundtracks to their feelings. Children cope with a lot and children with special needs cope with even more: feeling different from peers, frustrated by challenges, etc. They may also have difficulty processing what is taking place around them. Additionally, if your child is on the autism spectrum, he or she most likely has difficulty recognizing emotion in others. This can make it difficult to interpret signals sent by caregivers, teachers, and peers. Using music to teach about recognizing and expressing emotions can help your child develop the following abilities: self-soothing, recognizing emotions, asking for support and validation, and expressing emotions in a safe, helpful way. Developing these skills can enhance your child’s and your family’s quality of life through improved communication and decreased stress in the home.

Music Therapist Amy Madson performing with TWLS Students

There are many ways to use music to support emotions in your home. Here are a few ideas to incorporate into what you already do:

Invite your child to find songs that support and comfort them when they’re feeling the following emotions: happy, sad, angry, and afraid. Does your child have other favorite songs they want to connect to an emotion? Maybe your child wants to add an emotion to the list. You can make a wheel map with your child that has at its center, “Music and My Feelings”. Each spoke of the wheel should represent a different emotion. Work with your child to help them find the songs they like and fill them in for each emotion. The most important part of this is that your child puts in the songs that are meaningful to him or her. Strive to find songs for each emotion that are validating and comforting, so they can allow your child to feel his or emotion and then to move through it to a more comfortable place. This may take several songs.

Ask your child to make up a song about what they are feeling. You might need to model this for them first. For example, you might sing a song that goes, “The snow was so annoying, it really got me down. I had to drive for two hours just to get across town!” Be sure to demonstrate a face that expresses the correct emotion as well as model that this is a fun and safe way to say what you’re feeling. Using music in this way can help a child feel a sense of safety even when they are expressing something that is difficult for them to express.

Amy Madson, music specialist at The Whole Learning School, is a board-certified music therapist and licensed associate marriage and family therapist. In addition to working at TWLS, she maintains a private practice called Aria Counseling in which she specializes in integrating the creative arts, specifically music, into mental health counseling for adults, children, and families. She invites you to contact her with any feedback, questions, or comments.  amy@ariacounseling.com, 612-219-1449, www.ariacounseling.com.

Each year, The Whole Learning School Players put together a Winter and Spring Showcase, to showcase what they have been learning in drama and music. 

Hopping along the bunny trail

 Unlike other schools, at TWLS, all students are expected to participate in these productions.  The showcases, which attract a crowd of about 100 friends and family members, are an important opportunity for TWLS students to learn about teamwork, because they have to work collaboratively to have a successful production.  In addition, students build their self-esteem, confidence and risk-taking abilities.

"Spiders" from the Spring 2011 Showcase production of James and the Giant Peach

The December 15 event will feature Beatrix Potter’s classic tale of Peter Rabbit, including original songs, set to familiar tunes, that the audience can join the students in singing. Refreshments will be served following the performance.

To RSVP, please call the TWLS office at 763-231-2700 or email Julie Hoff at j.hoff@twls.org. We look forward to seeing you next week!

Like Groupon, Plum District offers daily deals via email, but Plum District focuses on deals that women and moms will love. Plum District puts women first by connecting them with products and inspirations that make their lives easier. Their goal: To make every woman’s day, by offering great values for her and her family.

“I’ve already used Plum District to get excellent prices on great holiday gifts and for family portraits taken by a professional photographer who came to our home. You have to check it out,” said Laura Beth, TWLS parent and Plum District shopper.  “On top of that, The Whole Learning School gets 10 percent of all my purchases. It’s a win-win,” she concluded.

There is no fee to sign up, you just agree to receive their “daily deals” emails. Each time you make a purchase, please use the link below or go directly to Plum District through the emails you receive from them. If you are already a member, please re-sign in to Plum District through TWLS…that way, TWLS will receive 10% of each purchase you make.

To sign up now, click here:  http://click.plumdistrict.com/SH47

We hope you find a “plum” of a deal!

Tasty Acorns

Ingredients
1 bag of Mini Nutter Butters
1 bag of chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips
1 bag of Hersey’s Kisses

Cooking Supplies
Crock pot /pot to heat the chocolate
Wax paper
Paper towels
Wooden spoon

Directions
1.  Melt a small amount of chocolate chips…that’s your glue!
2.  Take apart the Nutter Butter cookies.
3.  Dip the bottom of the Kiss in the melted chocolate.
4.  Attach the bottom of the kiss the Nutter Butter cookie.
5.  Dip the bottom of the chocolate chip in the melted chocolate.
6.  Attach the chocolate chip to the top of the Nutter Butter cookie.

Allow to cool…and enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving from one cute turkey!

“It’s awesome!” Elena shouted. “I liked making the feathers,” Peter said. Based on the clay pasted all over the students’ fingers, it was a hands-on experience that they’ll remember for a long time.

 In addition to clay turkeys, the students constructed clay finger puppet animals. While many of the animals were unrecognizable, the excitement wasn’t. They loved creating their own finger puppets. There was variety of animals sculpted, including a penguin, chicken, duck, and even a plaque honoring a teacher.  It was a fun prelude to the feast of Thanksgiving.

Northern Clay Center visits TWLS