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The Village Free School
Learning to Listen
Learning to Listen

To be in communication with others is not so much a skill as it is a practice in listening.

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CommunicationCouncil SecretaryFebruary 9, 2020 Comments
Helpful Ideas for Talking with Kids
Helpful Ideas for Talking with Kids

If an adult can liberate herself from communicating with children under the oppression of adultism, wonderfully vibrant relationships with authentic communication await. 

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CommunicationCouncil SecretaryFebruary 8, 2020Comment
Village Free School Communication Tools
Village Free School Communication Tools

At VFS, we have developed many tools to facilitate the building of caring, intentional relationships and over the years these tools have been fine-tuned and continue to evolve through communicating with each other.

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CommunicationCouncil SecretaryFebruary 7, 2020 Comment
True Stories About Texting With My Children
True Stories About Texting With My Children

Even though they are charming in person, my kids are downright terrible at communicating digitally.

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CommunicationCouncil SecretaryFebruary 6, 2020Comment
Watch Your Mouth: Power, Punishment, and Profanity
Watch Your Mouth: Power, Punishment, and Profanity

Do you remember the first time you used profanity freely in front of your parents? Without the looming threat of shame or punishment? Where was the line drawn rendering you eligible for the use of swear words?

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CommunicationCouncil SecretaryFebruary 4, 2020Comment
Sweet Little Lies: Lying as a Developmental Milestone
Sweet Little Lies: Lying as a Developmental Milestone

We want to be honest and we want our children to be honest.  There has, however, been recent research that shows that being able to tell a lie, and even learning how to tell a believable lie is an important developmental milestone--one that is related to intelligence.

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TrustCouncil SecretaryJune 9, 2019 Comment
The Deadly Swamp of Screentime
The Deadly Swamp of Screentime

If you’ve spent any time reading parenting articles on the internet, you already know that screens are, it seems, in the same category as cocaine.

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TrustCouncil SecretaryJune 8, 2019
Trusting the Process of Self-Directed Learning
Trusting the Process of Self-Directed Learning

Instead of putting trust in a system, self-directed learners have to put the trust in themselves and the community around them.

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TrustCouncil SecretaryJune 7, 2019 Comments
Say Goodbye to Food Fights: Trusting Children to Eat
Say Goodbye to Food Fights: Trusting Children to Eat

It’s important to remember that a big part of being a healthy human is in our heads: having a positive psychological relationship with our bodies allows us (and our kids) to make intuitive choices about what and how to eat. 

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TrustCouncil SecretaryJune 6, 2019 Comment
What is Autonomy?
What is Autonomy?

Autonomy is more subtle than just “doing whatever you want” - and it impacts all of our lives.

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AutonomyCouncil SecretaryMarch 7, 2019 Comment
Long Lost Autonomy: A Brief History of Modern American Schooling
Long Lost Autonomy: A Brief History of Modern American Schooling

Have you ever thought about how schools came to be? The history takes us back to a time when nationalism and supremacy informed many of the foundational structures that still stand in classrooms across America.

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AutonomyCouncil SecretaryMarch 6, 2019Comment
Dragons and the Art of Letting Go
Dragons and the Art of Letting Go

As I engaged in a gentle, slow-motion wrestling match with my two and a half year old son and a tiny sweater, I reflected on that age-old parenting advice, “Choose your battles.”

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AutonomyCouncil SecretaryMarch 5, 2019 Comments
Childhood Autonomy: A Comeback Story
Childhood Autonomy: A Comeback Story

Learn how Self-Directed Education in schools allows childhood autonomy to survive and thrive.

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AutonomyCouncil SecretaryMarch 4, 2019Comment
Little Lands of Youth Liberation
Little Lands of Youth Liberation

Junkyard playgrounds are a protected space in which children are free to be autonomous.

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AutonomyCouncil SecretaryMarch 3, 2019 Comment
Freedom, Schmeedom: Autonomy Support Is What Matters
Freedom, Schmeedom: Autonomy Support Is What Matters

Studies show that democratic schools are especially good at supporting the primary psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

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AutonomyCouncil SecretaryMarch 2, 2019 Comments
The Village Free School
1785 Northeast Sandy Boulevard,
Portland, OR, 97232
503-788-3935 info@villagefreeschool.org
Hours
Mon 10am-4pm
Tue 8am-4pm
Wed 8am-4pm
Thu 8am-4pm
Fri 8am-4pm
Sat Closed
Sun Closed
 
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Statement of Non-Discrimination

The Village Free School admits students of any race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. This public benefit corporation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs, employment policies, election of officers, membership, or election to the Council.