The Gift of Unstructured Time

Guest blog from Dawn Wheatley, Lower School Assistant Principal–

Dear Families,

As the summer approaches I am reminded of how long the summer sometimes felt when I had young children. There was the temptation to fill their days with structured activities to keep them busy, but I also knew that it was really important for them to have days when nothing was planned.

One of my greatest challenges on such days was limiting the amount of time my children spent in front of the television or computer. This was before simply having their phones with them gave them access to movies, television, computer games, and the Internet. We had many battles around “screen time,” or the amount of time they were allowed to use one of these electronics.

So imagine my surprise when for her college application essay my daughter chose to write about the rich dramatic play her twin brother and she engaged in because of the limited screen time they were allowed. Here is a short excerpt:

“”To infinity and beyond” shouts Buzz Lightyear in the movie Toy Story as he prepares for take-off. However, in this case it was not a spaceman toy. It was my twin brother Nick, and when we were five, he was as close to a spaceman as one could get. He was Buzz, and I was Woody, the loveable cowboy to who rules the playroom until the ever fanciful Buzz enters the playroom and threatens his rank. Nick and I had parts of the movie memorized. At least I think we did, for although members of our family would watch us perform, they could not understand a word we were saying. Of course this made absolutely no difference in our world. It was a world where “screen time” limited our daily intake of television and computer games, so we had to find other ways of entertaining ourselves. Not only was there acting, there was also the ever popular Stuffy Olympics, in which our stuffed animals became Olympic athletes and our living room was transformed into a sports arena. The Stuffy Olympics tended to be held on long summer days when parents had to work. They were so popular that stuffed animals would come from far and wide to see Snowy the Bear, the famous aerial skier, do complicated jumps from the top of our staircase…”

The funny thing about what my children chose to do with unstructured time was that it was rarely something that I would have suggested. Who would have thought that the Winter Olympics would lead to the Stuffed Animal Olympics? (I had to bite my tongue when I arrived home to find that they had used the color printer to create dozens of posters announcing the various events.) Or that the closet with the sliding door at the hotel would become an elevator, which entertained them for hours? One time on an airplane I looked over at my daughter and saw that she had crammed into her carryon bag not only an entourage of stuffed animals but also a full tea set on which she was serving them the lunch that had just been brought. She didn’t need a movie on that flight!

Full disclosure requires me to admit that my young adult children spend plenty of time in front of their computers these days. But I also see remnants of this early play in activities that give them much pleasure today. A few months after my son arrived at college he informed us that he would be announcing the football and basketball games on the college radio station. When I mentioned this to his second grade teacher, she was not at all surprised. Apparently during indoor recess he would set up table top football games and became the announcer for them. After years of making costumes for herself and her stuffed animals, my daughter enjoys going to thrift stores, buying articles of clothing, and taking them apart to sew back together into something she likes better.

As we approach the summer months, I encourage you to give your children the gift of some unstructured time. You never know what they will come up with.

Best,
Dawn

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LETTERS FROM LOWER SCHOOL TEACHERS

All Early Childhood Families, a note from Sue: Dear Early Childhood Families — Here are a few more songs for you. They can all be accessed on the left-hand column where it says LREI LINKS or by clicking here. Remember that your K and 4sK child will know the same songs, so listen to them all. Warmly, Sue.

Danielle & Anne’s Fours: Please click here for this week’s letter.

Dot & Becka’s 3rd Grade: Please click here for our weekly update.

All Lower School Families:  Click here for helpful summer reading lists and recommendations from LREI librarians (scroll down the Library blog to see pdf’s of book lists by grade level).

To All Families, a note from Ledell: The fourth grade original musical, “Life on the Lower East Side” was a smashing success! The rave reviews keep on coming! I am so proud of the hard work and dedication, talent and creativity that went into the musical. From the beginning concept and ideas, to writing the script, rehearsing, singing and dancing, and finally performing the musical for the entire Lower School and parents. The students learned so much about collaboration and working together. Congratulations to all!

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UPCOMING LOWER SCHOOL MEETINGS & EVENTS

For the most up-to-date information visit the school’s online calendar at www.lrei.org/calendar. Click here to download the one-page 2009-10 school calendar.

5/27  Spring Concert, Charlton St. Performing Arts Center, 6:30 p.m.

The Spring Concert, featuring LREI’s bands and choruses will be on Thursday, May 27th at 6:30 in the PAC. Little Red Chorus members please wear white tops and blank pants or skirts and nice shoes. Meet me at 6:00 in the cafeteria. This concert features more complicated two part singing as well as songs we love to sing! We look forward to seeing you there!

5/28  Field Day — Please read the following important information regarding Field Day:

On Friday, May 28th, we will hold our annual Field Day at Pier 40. Prior to beginning the Field Day festivities this year, we will convene as a community on Charlton Street briefly to celebrate the completion of the most recent phase of renovations/expansion at the Charlton Street campus. We are looking forward to a very exciting day!  Some additional information follows:

• It is important for all students to arrive on time to school.  Classes will walk over to Charlton Street together at about 8:45am.
• We would love to have parents at the ribbon-cutting if you can stay with us (for a half hour or so).
• To celebrate the importance of the day, LREI will be providing each student with a Ribbon Cutting/Field Day T-shirt. T-shirts will be distributed on Friday morning. Students do not need to wear any special color shirt to school on Field Day.
• Students will spend the first part of Field Day in activities with their buddies. The younger lower school classes will return to the school after lunch, while the third through twelfth grades will participate in a variety of activities in mixed age groups.
• Students will need to bring their own lunch along with a container of water. (No nuts or seeds, please.) Plastic bottles are fine, but please no glass containers! Clothing should be comfortable and easy to move in – shorts or sweatpants and athletic shoes. No sandals. Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat are strongly recommended.
• We will return to school in time for 1:00 p.m. dismissal for second through fourth grade; 12:45 p.m. for the Fours, Fours/K,  Kindergarten, and First Grade.

5/31  School closed on Monday, May 31 for Memorial Day

6/1  The Afterschool Piano and Voice Recital and Instrumental Concert will take place on Tuesday, June 1st.

Piano and Voice Recital, 5:30 in the P.A.P.A.S.
Instrumental Concert, 6:30 in the Auditorium.

6/3  The Afterschool Karate Share and Enrichment Share will take place on Thursday, June 3rd.

Karate Share, 5:30 in the Auditorium
Enrichment Share, 6:00 in the P.A.P.A.S.

6/4 – 6/6  LREI Camping Trip: Sign-up tables will be in front of the Sixth Avenue building on the mornings of Tuesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 27.  It’s time for the 17th Annual LREI Camping Trip, which will take place the weekend of June 4-6 this year at the Riverbend Group Campground along the Delaware River.  Swimming, hiking, games, fishing, bird-watching & S’mores!  All LREI families and their children — from all grades pre-K through high school — are invited to participate.  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help out, please contact Larry White at LWhite@stern.nyu.edu or (212) 533-1966.

6/8 – 6/9  Little REaD Book Swap! Are your kids’ bookshelves so full they’re about to buckle? You can start clearing them out for the first ever Little REaD Book Swap! On June 8th and 9th, bring those books that your kids loved a few years ago but will never read again to school to swap for something new. Please — only kids’ books in good condition. Foreign-language books are fine. Any leftover books will be given to the GO Project or other charities. Please help recirculate good books around our community! Stay tuned for more details.

6/11  Lower School Half  Day on Friday, June 11. Dismissal at 11:45 a.m. for fours – 1st grade, 12:00 p.m. for 2nd – 4th grade. Afterschool is closed on this date.

6/14  Fourth Grade Moving Up Ceremony, 9:00 a.m.

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LOWER SCHOOL END OF YEAR CLASS PICNICS

6/2 Elizabeth’s Kindergarten

6/7 Diane & Charles’ Fours-K

6/8 Beth’s Fours

6/9 Kate’s 4th Grade

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LOWER SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES

All Movement Assemblies are held in the P.A.P.A.S. (on the Fourth Floor) at 8:45 a.m.

6/2 Fours Movement Assembly

6/3 4sK Movement Assembly

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UPCOMING PARENT ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

5/28 Literary Committee Meeting

6/3 LGSA Committee Meeting

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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Click here for an updated LREI 2010 – 2011 school year calendar.

LREI is now on Facebook and Twitter! Click here to view our Facebook page, and here for our Twitter account. These are two new great ways to stay in the LREI loop.

The School Store will be open on Wednesday, June 2nd at the 6th Ave. entrance from 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. In case of bad weather, we will open on June 3rd. See you there!

From the Admissions Office: Please click here for some important information regarding the upcoming admissions season.

Save the Date! On Thursday, June 10, right after school (3:00 p.m.), we will be having a Farewell Party for Sue Ribaudo to celebrate her retirement. Faculty, staff, and families are invited to stop by the auditorium for some music and good wishes for Sue. More on this later, but please save the date!

Take a look at what we’ve  been cooking in Afterschool! Our recipes blog includes detailed recipes and pictures of the dishes that the Reds and Blues have been making in Afterschool. Click here for the link!

ART SALE – There are still some pieces of art that are for sale so please visit http://artauction.lrei.org/ for additional information and to view items that are available. If you have any questions, or want to check out what’s on offer, please contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232.