OHLC Spring 2019 To Publications / Articles - OHLC Spring 2019
Posted 1/2/19
As our faithful readers know, I was in Phoenix in December. Down there, they think winter is cute. Frankly, I have never seen so many Christmas decorations in my life. Even our Air BnB had a kleenex box with a cute penguin in scarf skating on ice. What do they know about ice? Their ice is carefully corralled in a downtown rink, where they pay money to stand on it, amid numerous warning (“Ice May Be Slick!”). Back in Nebraska, I mused about this while lying on my back, having capsized on a completely unmarked ice patch, losing grip of my leash so that my neurotic dog could bolt down the middle of the street, blissfully unaware of the low profile that a minpin, standing nine inches off the ground, makes as it zig-zags across a road. (The dog was retrieved unhurt; I cannot say the same for my back.)
Meanwhile, back in Phoenix, they are inflating enormous Santa Clauses to put on their rooves* and filling their homes and stores with lights, fake greenery, and putting up virtual forests of virtual Christmas trees. It’s a bit disorienting considering the fact on Dec. 12th we were lounging in a pool overlooking a tree brimming with oranges.
Frankly, it may be too much to contemplate come February, when winter fatigue starts edging into the homicide zone. Come out of the cold into the warmth of the Learning Center, where you can find classes such as
Ages 4-6
YOUNG ARTISTS: New projects! Inspire imagination and self-expression with hands-on art activities. This class will encourage confidence, explore your child’s artistic potential and allow them to engage in tactile learning. Kids discover, get messy, and have fun!
Ages 6-10
CLAY CREATE: Experience pottery making using hand-building techniques. Students will receive their own potter's toolkit. They will learn the terminology of the potter, prepare clay for use, and use techniques such as pinching, pressing, sculpting, coiling, and slabs will complete several finished pieces in earthenware and stoneware clay. This semester new projects will include a textured vase, a candy tray, a wind chime, and a cup and saucer. Finished pieces will be glazed using two different techniques - painting and dipping.
Ages 10-14
GEOGRAPHY: Let's travel around the world! In world geography, students will explore the continents, oceans, major world cities and capitals, climates, and time zones. With hands-on activities, students will use location strategies, explore topography, use different types of maps, and much more to study the globe. We will also use the USA Giganto Map, which will spread across the entire floor of our classroom, and students themselves will be the tools in which to mark, locate, and experience the wonderful features of our country.
Ages 14-18
HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY with Julie Knutson: Time and again American adults, shown a world map, faltered in answering this question: name and identify any country on the map—any country. Fighting this kind of ignorance, this course will study where people, places, and things are located, and how they relate to each other. Explore and discover the processes that shape the earth, the relationships between people and environments, and the links between people and places. Students will see how a global perspective applies to them!
* “Roofs” is the preferred plural; “rooves” is considered an “acceptable, dated alternative, used in New England as late as the 19th century.” It was also used by my 5th-grade spelling teacher, who, now that I think about it, may have dated back to the late 19th century as well.