by Amy Valens | Jun 11, 2022 | Events, Open Classroom
Many connections were made or remade on May 14th, but one thing that connected all of us was the music performed by the Open’s musical community members–whether former students, their parents, or music teachers, the songs and the joy with which they were...
by Amy Valens | Jun 2, 2022 | Open Classroom
Marty Meade and Karen Voets spent a day a week for months sorting through boxes of photos spanning all the years of the Open Classroom. They created 44 posters worth of them, some themed, some by year. Then they added in the posters that were made for the 25th...
by Amy Valens | May 17, 2022 | Open Classroom
It had been on my mind for 5 years, and in a more active state since January 2020. On May 14th it came to fruition so magnificently!! There are so many people to thank who helped make yesterday’s celebration a reality. Dave Cort set me on the path in the fall of...
by Amy Valens | May 12, 2022 | Open Classroom
When I got these memories from Tamina Stephenson, who attended the Open from 1985 to 1992, and from Becky Lynch, who was our Resource Specialist in the early 2000’s I saw a way to link them that I hope you enjoy. First Tamina recalls: * Sock Walks: We put...
by Amy Valens | Apr 29, 2022 | Open Classroom
By Steve and Carol Rebscher Like many new parents in the San Geronimo Valley my wife, Carol, and I looked at the three elementary programs in the Lagunitas School District. At the time, those were the Montessori Program, the Open Classroom Program and the...
by Amy Valens | Apr 20, 2022 | Open Classroom
by Amy Valens One of the things I have enjoyed so much in being part of the Open community is how even the traditions that repeat every year–the haunted house or the holiday cafe, never are the same twice, and always allow us to get excited about learning...
by Amy Valens | Apr 14, 2022 | Open Classroom
by Amber Rose Bauer Some of my favorite times in Open were in the art room. Lanee was the art teacher at that time, and I always remember there being endless opportunities. I would grab cardboard, tape and scissors and be enthralled in a world that could have lasted...
by Amy Valens | Apr 11, 2022 | Open Classroom
by Kristy Muhic Arroyo There was no designated art teacher or art room in the Open Classroom during the first three years that I was in the program (from 1971-1973), and I didn’t need an art teacher or art room to know that I could always feel free to take creative...
by Amy Valens | Apr 5, 2022 | Open Classroom
by Amy McConnell, Open Classroom parent I haven’t visited in a while, but the Open Classroom is not just a figment of my imagination. It really was and always will be the coziest, most inviting home for learners, for everybody. There is a connection among families...
by Amy Valens | Mar 28, 2022 | Open Classroom
by Alison Double Back in our family’s day, most parents co-oped at Open Classroom; I was one of the parents lucky enough to spend a lot of time volunteering in the program. Just to give you an idea of timing, in those days, we still used paper Scrip*, sold from a...
by Amy Valens | Mar 21, 2022 | Open Classroom
by Leif Glomset March 19, 2022 Howdy all; I’m Leif Glomset. I taught in the Open Classroom from 1972-79, the first years. I’m looking forward to seeing so many of you in May. I thought I’d toss out a few random good memories from those years as we get ready for the...
by Amy Valens | Mar 14, 2022 | Open Classroom
Those tables. It was the first thing I remember seeing in the Open Classroom. Year of our Lord 1975. Imagine squat, angular, modernist mushrooms. Seen from above they were like stop signs, except instead of equilateral octagons, every other side was triple the...
by Amy Valens | Mar 1, 2022 | Open Classroom
I love school. I always have. Yes, there were mornings in Marlene’s room when I cried with her because I missed my mom, but even then there was something that felt so right about being there. Being at school. It felt like the place I was supposed to be. It still...
by Amy Valens | Feb 11, 2022 | Open Classroom
A nervous energy fills every member of the school community before the start of the new year. A teacher in the Open Classroom is no exception. Can I do this? Am I prepared? Is the room alright? Judy’s room looks perfect. Mine...
by Amy Valens | Feb 3, 2022 | Open Classroom
When the rains started this year I remember waking up one morning and thinking: “I am retired now. Rainy days don’t mean facing all that child energy contained in a building.” But then I had a different memory of times when rainy days were amazing,...
by Amy Valens | Feb 1, 2022 | Events, Open Classroom
We are so excited to have this opportunity to bring together the creative energy of 5 decades of Open students! Go to http://lagunitasopenclassroom.com/alumni-art-show/ and register by March 1! And then think of another Open alumni who makes art, and tell them to sign...
by Amy Valens | Jan 20, 2022 | Open Classroom
The Open Classroom resuscitated my teaching career. Through years of public and private school jobs I had stalled in a profession that stifled my idealism and desire for creative freedom in the classroom. After a five year break from the...
by Amy Valens | Jan 8, 2022 | Open Classroom
Asked to describe my own experience inside Open Classroom, I find myself beyond words, for something so crucial and sacred, which saved my life and those of many around me, is beyond explanation. But, if pressed, I will begin with this: Community is the core of...
by Amy Valens | Dec 20, 2021 | Open Classroom
When I retired after 36 years of teaching in the Tam District, I was ready for a change and thought I might like to volunteer at my local elementary school. I was welcomed by the principal who set up a schedule for me in the Montessori, Waldorf and Open Classroom...
by Amy Valens | Nov 29, 2021 | Open Classroom
The first time I visited Open Classroom I was overwhelmed. There were so many things happening I wasn’t sure what was what, but I loved how the teachers talked with the children and the other parents talked to us. When we left I said to my husband, “I...
by Amy Valens | Nov 15, 2021 | Open Classroom
I sat down recently with Judy Voets. Here’s what she had to say. As I think about the beginning of Open I think about how we did a lot of laughing. We had to laugh because there was so much that we didn’t know, and we didn’t know where to...
by Amy Valens | Oct 28, 2021 | Open Classroom
What influenced my thinking the most probably is growing up in Berkeley and going to UC Berkeley in and out from 1950 to 1960. I was always interested in politics and how decisions were made, so I took part in politics at Berkeley, and was a member of Slate, the...
by Amy Valens | Oct 18, 2021 | Open Classroom
Some great memories from Clay and Play Day! http://lagunitasopenclassroom.com/photo-albums/
by Amy Valens | Oct 15, 2021 | Open Classroom
This is the first of hopefully many posts where members of the Open Community write about their personal experience of the program. Feel free to contact us if you’d like to write an entry! ****** We moved to the Valley in 1970 and Kate was enrolled in Sandy...
by Amy Valens | Oct 7, 2021 | Open Classroom
Ally Wilson was a student 25 years ago when Amy Valens was the Open art teacher. Amy put out a call to the Open Classroom community: Come make a tile for a mural to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the program. Students like Ally made tiles on three different themes:...
