Educator Resources
Throughout the school year, educators visit Mustard Seed to learn from our curriculum and instructional style.
Some of these visits are more formal, such as the interns that come from Covenant College or a group of teachers for a conference on Faith, Arts, and the Young Child. Others come for a day or a week to observe and ask questions. We welcome all visitors and would like to continue to support our colleagues from around the world. Below are some resources developed at the school, recommended reading, and links to other organizations. Please contact us if you have suggestions about content as we work to develop this section of our website.
Articles
Finding a Voice in Truth-Telling and Reconciliation: Helping Children Find Their Voice in Hard Circumstances by Shanna Pargellis, Director of The Nest at Mustard Seed School and one of the founders of Mustard Seed. This article was printed in the October 2010 edition of Christian Educator's Journal. It is posted here with permission. (Note: This article is in .pdf format.)
Conferences
Click here for more information on upcoming conferences.
Shared Space Manual
Mustard Seed extends and supports the classroom environment with shared space for hands-on student activities. In 2000, Mustard Seed teacher Dee Mingey received the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship to document the Shared Space and write a manual as a resource for other educators. Go to Shared Space for more information or download the manual.
Book Recommendations
Each summer, faculty and staff read a book that they then discuss and consider at the faculty and staff retreat at the end of the summer. Below is a list of some of the books that faculty and staff have read together over the years. It also includes other books recommended by faculty.
Bass, Dorothy C. Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 2000.
Brookes, Mona. Drawing with Children. Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 1986.
Charney, Ruth. Teaching Children to Care: Classroom Management for Ethical and Academic Growth, K-8. Greenfield, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, 2002.
Denton, Paula. The First Six Weeks of School. Greenfield, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, 2000.
Hirsh, Elizabeth S. The Block Book. Washington: National Association for the Education of the Young Child, 1996
Kriete, Roxann and Lynn Bechtel. The Morning Meeting Book. Greenfield, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, 2002.
Lawrence-Lightfoot, Sara. The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn from Each Other. New York: Ballantine Books, 2003.
Levine, Mel. A Mind at a Time. New York: Simon and Shuster, 2002.
Louv, Richard. Last Child in the Woods. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books, revised 2008.
Pritchard, Gretchen Wolff. Offering the Gospel to Children. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cowley Publications, 1992.
Stroble, Paul E. You Gave Me a Wide Place: Holy Places of Our Lives. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2006.
Vryhof, Steven, et al. 12 Affirmations: Reformed Christian Schooling for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989.
Wiggins, Grant and Jay McTighe. Understanding by Design. Alexandra, VA: ASCD: 2005.
Wood, Chip. Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14. Greenfield, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, 2007
Additional Book Recommendations for Preschool Teachers
Berryman, Jerome. The Complete Guide to Godly Play. 7 vols. Denver: Morehouse Education Resources, 2002.
Cadwell, Louise Boyd. Bringing Learning to Life: The Reggio Approach to Early Childhood Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 2003.
Cadwell, Louise Boyd. Bringing Reggio Emila Home: An Innovative Approach to Early Childhood Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 1997.
Ray, Katie Wood and Matt Glover. Already Ready: Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008.
Stewart, Sonja M. Following Jesus. Geneva Press, 2000.
Stewart, Sonja M. and Jerome W. Berryman. Young Children in Worship. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1989.
Wurm, Julianna P. Working in the Reggio Way: A Beginner’s Guide for American Teachers. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, 2005
Recommended Organizations:
Covenant College
Mustard Seed partners with Covenant College for an internship program. Interns come with a professor for the May to observe and teach.
Bank Street College of Education
Hoboken Group Urban Christian School Conference
A conference of urban Christian school administrators who meet annually to share best practices, support strategies, and assist emerging Christian schools. The group is called Hoboken Group because of its beginnings in Hoboken, but now includes administrators from around the country. The conference location changes each year. For more information, contact Tom Postema (tpostema@mustardseedschool.org), Head of School, Mustard Seed School.
Kuyers Institute sponsors a range of resources, events, and projects that seek to stimulate and sustain quality conversation about the relationship between faith, teaching, and learning.
This is the website of the Northeast Foundation for Children.