Every year in the Holden School is uniquely different. This year’s student population includes a first grader and a third grader. To make this year even more special, we got to conduct the first two weeks of school from Holden Bed and Breakfast due to fire evacuation orders. 

We were lucky to have a dedicated space to do our work every day as we awaited an all-clear from the Village. It was an intimate space to start the year as we did the important work of getting to know each other. We played lots of board games and read lots of books. We also talked about our hopes and dreams for the school year, including our daily schedule and big projects we’d be interested in delving into.

It’s strange to recall those smoky, 95 degree days on the shores of Lake Chelan as I write this in our cozy valley with snow on the ground all around us. Since we’ve returned to the Village, we’ve had lots of fun reclaiming the space from the summer Narnia program to make it just how we want it to be for the 170 school days.

After three weeks of settling back into our routine post-evac, we have about a dozen Villagers working with the students on a weekly basis with reading, math, and other skills. In weekly meetings with the potter, artist, and musician; we’re beginning to think about clay projects we’d like to create, new drawing/knitting skills we’d like to learn, and songs to sing for the Village at open mic nights. I can’t wait to see what other projects we decide to explore in the coming months!