In this older, yet timeless, article from Wired, they list the 5 best toys of all time. Take a look at all the amazing creativity that happens here daily using the 5 best toys. Luckily, all of it is plentiful at Fairhaven. And when we run out of cardboard, thankfully there’s always more, especially in the age of Amazon. It feels good to give it all another life. Enjoy some of what has been created just in the first 3 months of the school year:
Home made halloween costumes are the best
It’s amazing to see them come to life
…the extraordinary finished product
It’s awesome to think through students’ projects with them and help them figure it out through trial and error
Sometimes costumes aren’t even for Halloween
…adding electronics and gathering a following
It all starts with a blank slate
He made a movie camera which really worked because it held his cell phone inside for him to record with
Sometimes they want to create things from real life that perhaps they’d love to have…
like a Switch…
or this iPhone 11 someone lost somewhere in the school…
just like we all misplace our real phones
Sometimes they explore the world in miniature. Sticks are sometimes skewers and chop sticks
This fantastic house came with a sinister story
…and the house came apart for easy viewing of each floor
Some sort of boat. Sometimes things get tested out in the stream too
Stones aren’t on the list, but maybe they should be. He made a miniature world for his army men to fight in
More boats
…and houses
…and fairy puppets…
and sometimes even weapons for games they play outside
It’s OK. Their creativity is incredible.
For an excellent example of “best toy of all time” #5 (dirt) here’s a video tour of the village some students spent many hours building in the woods this fall.
I often wonder: what will they be when they grow up? There’s so much thought, play, story-telling, and engineering involved in what they’re creating. I just love to watch them become more and more proficient at their craft. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, but don’t forget, in the long run, whatever is in the box may be less interesting and fun than the box itself!
The one thing that makes my job as a staff member at Fairhaven School interesting and challenging is that it offers an ever-changing kaleidoscope of experiences. No day is ever quite the same as the one before, because the infinite potential of human creativity is unfolding before me on a daily basis. I have observed that when students are given the chance to create what they want, many unexpected and rich experiences evolve.
My son was comparing Fairhaven to the public school he attended until he was eight. “You know,” he said, “when I went to my old school, I was always doing things because someone told me to. I did things to make my teachers happy, or to get someone to like me, or to be like everyone else. At Fairhaven I do things for myself, and I don’t have to worry about what other people think.”
Since we first opened our doors, we have spent hundreds of hours playing kickball. This year, however, tension caused by players trash-talking, disagreements about rules, and a general malaise descending on the game threatened its existence. How the players addressed these issues exemplifies problem solving at Sudbury schools, and might concretize how our community functions.
Perhaps more than any other quality, presence defines Fairhaven’s students. Sitting in the Chesapeake Room on a sunny Saturday in February as our eight potential graduates declared their intentions to seek diplomas, then fielded questions from assembled parents, staff and fellow students, I could not help but notice this shared trait. One young woman is…
WHAT I’LL MISS THE MOST A Graduation Poem by Zoë Woodbridge 4:50 – that magic number Each day we hear the page echo through both buildings telling us it’s time to go. We grab our lunches, backpacks, art projects or instruments, pack them in our cars and drive back home only to return the next…
I can’t begin to express what Fairhaven has meant to our family and to Robbie’s success in finding out who he is and how he wants to interact with the world. As you may know, he was a defiant, rebellious, unmotivated youth when he came to you. He is now a more level-headed young man…