What kind of school did Mozart attend? I have no idea. And I don’t care that my children will never be Mozart. But I do care that they learn to be humans who can express themselves and can move and act with confidence and compassion in the world in which we live—particularly the natural world.

To that end I want to say, wow! What a wonderful first couple of weeks at Silver Oaks Cooperative School. As new members of the cooperative, we feel lucky to find a group of educators dedicated to leading educational practices. Silver Oaks offers a relatively affordable, parent involved education focused on social-emotional growth with plenty of outdoor time.

At Silver Oaks, my children are having plenty of outdoor time, including two outdoor “work” sessions a day. I put work in quotes because from a certain perspective, children shouldn’t be doing work, but rather playing. Increasingly, though, folks are realizing that play is work. And unstructured play sometimes seems to be relic of the past. What will the children do if not entertained? What will happen?

They will find something to do—right?

So far, I’ve reveled in my co-op days at Silver Oaks. There is a child-friendly rhythm. The teacher takes the lead, and I learn some helpful ways to interact with my children at home.

I’m so glad that Annette and Alicia decided to dream big and work with many, many others to make this dear school a reality.

I once heard, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” And isn’t that what we need right now? I feel like some pressure is off me now, because raising a child in this world is not just a two-person thing, it’s more like an all hands on deck thing, and at Silver Oaks many hands make light work.

Amy, mother to Isaac (K) and Oliver (2)