Blog - Countryside

Countryside Day Blog

3 Educational Myths of Halloween-like Proportion

October 31st, 2014

It’s that time of year when conscientious parents carefully check their children’s candy after returning from trick-or-treating. We even remember our parents scrutinizing the popcorn balls, unwrapping the butterscotches, and pulling apart the taffy--while we impatiently waited to dive into the spoils of our childhood trick-or-treating. Think about how widespread “Halloween Parenting" changed because of the tainted candy rumors--stories powerful enough to change day-to-day parenting behavior on a massive scale! But even more shocking is... READ MORE

Pat Bassett Lit a Fire at CMS!

October 28th, 2014

What an inspiring 2 days it was when Pat Bassett visited our school for observation and consultation! Who is Pat? Pat Bassett is a long-time educator, administrator and former president of NAIS. I think that there are many occasions in Pat's life when he is likely the smartest guy in the room, yet he clearly sees every interaction as an opportunity to learn. What I most admire personally in Pat Bassett is the depth of his knowledge,... READ MORE

5 Steps to Keep Kids at the Table

October 9th, 2014

We've all heard of the benefits of the family meal, with studies showing that regular family meals make children less prone to obesity and drug addiction. So we scramble to make time for the family meal. The table is set. The food is hot. Everyone's seated. Now for the real challenge: keeping your children at the table. A recent article in a food magazine had a column on how to keep restless kids at the table... READ MORE

Toward a More Robust Online Community

October 8th, 2014

Dear Countryside Community, A more robust, interactive, online community is not an end in itself, but rather is a means to extending the influence of the CDS community that already exists. And it’s pretty easy to cultivate. Posts on Events When we post a review of a key event at CDS, families who attended can post comments on their most-meaningful take-aways from the event, creating a powerful reinforcement for the CDS community to retain... READ MORE

Sanity in the Morning

October 2nd, 2014

In an older issue of Real Simple, there is an article on how to get through the morning with your children. It features a series of vignettes from different families with different challenges. It asks the reader to imagine her morning hours: calm, peaceful and productive. And they show it doesn't have to be a pipe dream. The Meritocracy One mom’s motto is making the morning fun. After years of pleading with her children to... READ MORE

The Little Leagues: 3 Important Lessons

September 22nd, 2014

Little league coaches and parents are notorious blowhards. The vast majority of young people who eagerly join youth sports leagues in kindergarten will quit before middle school. Some discover their talents are not in athletics, but many kids are so beaten-down and discouraged by the elitist competition and the relentless barrage of criticism, they give up on sports all together. It’s a dirty, crying shame. Not all young people are athletically inclined, but they... READ MORE

Learn to Concentrate; Learn to Love

September 12th, 2014

Work and Concentration Healthy adults are a diverse population, outstandingly different in our goals and intentions. The legendary psychologist Erik Erikson noted that most healthy people mature in predictable phases. He also pointed out that all healthy people have two things in common: we engage in constructive work and we invest in love. Maria Montessori used different terms to describe the growth of children, but her message was essentially the same. She noticed that when... READ MORE

Transition, Growth, and Charlotte’s Web

September 5th, 2014

Reading Charlotte’s Web In a week or maybe two, my husband will finish reading Charlotte’s Web for the fourth time, the first time when he was a child, and once for each of our three children. My husband has a low, mumbly voice, and he is often very tired when he sits down in his rocking chair to read at night, but we cherish every word he reads. Our children greet Wilbur and Charlotte every... READ MORE

Skipping Stones

August 29th, 2014

August Mornings in Maine August mornings in Maine are cool, perfect for hiking through the mountains that border the Atlantic Ocean. Bears are still active near some forest trails, but we never saw one. The solitude and beauty far outweigh the risk. Our children are old enough now to climb and hike, still young enough to delight in snakes and frogs, eider ducks and harbor seals. Every time we hiked to a mountain pool, or... READ MORE

Countryside Day Blog

Countryside Programs