Thank you, Wholehearted Chef!

Saturday's celebration of Nia House was beautiful. We will slowly savor the celebration over the next week with pictures and expressions of gratitude to the many people that helped make it all come together.

On the topic of savoring- let's start with the dessert! Meet Christina Sachs, The Wholehearted Chef, and the baker of the delicious cake served on Saturday. When I contacted Christina initially, her quote was outside of our budget. Christina lowered her cost by more than half to support Nia House. The cake you enjoyed was organic, GMO free, and so good! Christina has been so gracious throughout the process. Please read more about her and consider her for your catering and baking needs. Christina has generously offered to continue supporting Nia House. Let's support her in return!

Meet Chef Christina Sachs owner and operator of The WholeHearted Chef, and your baker for the Grand Opening ceremony.  She was raised in a health and food conscious family and started learning to cook with her mom as early as five years old.  She has lived and cooked professionally in the Bay for nearly ten years and is joyfully committed to the farm to table and slow foods movement.  The mission of the WholeHearted Chef is to create beautiful, delicious and nutritious food that celebrates local abundance, supports the local community and can bring family, friends and communities together.  The WholeHearted Chef offers a variety of culinary services including private chef, event catering and specialty baking. Chef Christina Sachs has extensive, though not limited to, experience with vegetarian, vegan, raw, gluten and refined sugar-free cooking and can easily work with any dietary requests. 

Thank you for including The WholeHearted Chef in your celebration and we look forward to serving you in the future.

Find Chef Christina Sachs on Facebook at The Wholehearted Chef.  By email at wholeheartedchef@gmail.com or call (805) 407-7010.

The Party is Soon!

Happy Friday everyone!

We are so excited that the Grand Opening Ceremony and Silent Auction are just a week away! If you haven't already, please make a donation and reserve your space. We want to celebrate with you. Simply click on the words "Grand Opening Ceremony..." and you will find everything you need to make it.  

Nia House has been blessed by very generous donations from the community. Here is a sneak peak at some of the exciting donations:

Harry Best and Shebang will be providing live Calypso Steel drum music. Harry Best is a long time family friend to the Wood Family (Atticus) and has agreed to kick the party off from 5-6pm. Don't miss it! 

Scotch Bonnet will be catering the event with traditional Jamaican food. Chef OB (father to O'Brien and Evan) has prepared a delicious menu for the event.

 The Wholehearted Chef, Christina Sachs, will provide dessert- a Jamaican Toto Coconut cake. It is going to be amazing. Save room! 

Thank you all for your giving hearts and support of Nia House. 

Click on the names above to visit their sites and learn more.

Get Your Links: Google Calendar & Volunteer Sign-Up

What a treat to come to a carpet room full of old parents and many new additions. Though all claiming our sides- "South Side!", we all are part of a growing Nia House community. 

Thank you for sharing your skill sets. The evening's best:

"Limited (good with those charged with crimes)."

"Peanut Butter and Jelly Wraps."

"Face wiper. Teacher. Mom."

We look forward to honing in on your strengths to support our school community.  

As promised, here are a few important links.

• Google Calendar

• Grand Opening Ceremony Volunteer Sign-up

For all the information you need on how to support Nia House through Amazon Smile, Berkeley Bowl Scrip, and more check out our Support Page.

Thanks all. The party on the 26th is going to be FUN! Get your tickets, volunteer, and let's celebrate Nia House! 

We've Moved In!

With a tremendous push from the Nia House staff and the help of our community, we did it! We moved into our new campus. Thank you to everyone that helped make this possible. From building the tables and shelves, planting trees, finishing furniture, moving boxes, you name it- Thank You!!!

Now, get ready to celebrate. Please plan to join us at the Grand Opening Ceremony & Silent Auction celebration on Saturday, September 26th. We hope to see you there! Click here for details. 

Our building was designed by Denise Hall Montgomery Architecture.

Continue to stay tuned for pictures of the children in their new classrooms.

Join in Nia House's Time Capsule

The Nia House Time Capsule will be buried at the Grand Opening Ceremony on Saturday, September 26th.

All families that have donated $50 or more to our Program Expansion are invited to fill an envelope full of love and memory to be unearthed in 2034 at Nia House's 60th Anniversary. 

If you haven’t donated, you still can!

You can fill your envelope with a letter to your child that they will receive 20 years from now, photos, art, family stories, store receipts, song lists... you name it! 

Commercial envelope size  (3.5 x 6 inches) is ideal.

Email or talk to Stacey with any questions: stacey@niahouse.org 

First Day of School!

Today was an historic day for Nia House, marking the integration of new and old.

The old Nia House children welcomed new friends and practiced the formality of a greeting, including a handshake, name exchange, and a “nice to meet you.” Many of the children’s old friends returned today, to resume the games and works they left off with a week ago, the same old sandbox and playhouse, joined now, by new friends.

Our old office and former toddler wing have beautiful new oak flooring and are prepared for preschool children that will comprise a second new class. The old preschool classrooms remain, anchoring the children to something familiar- their home away from home.

It feels almost as though our old campus simply unfolded, opening into a new and naturally integrated, yet contemporary campus. Our new toddler classrooms have children inside!

It is heartwarming to know that the Nia House experience will be available to many more children and families. Within our beautiful new light filled classrooms and our familiar and established campus, the children of Nia House embarked today on their first day of school for the 2015-16 year. 

Thank you, Denise Hall Montgomery, our architect and Nia House alum mother, for envisioning this new campus. Everyone that walks into the office and classrooms from parents, to staff, to the children feel so pleased. You did a beautiful job. Please check out some of Denise's other projects: http://www.dhmarchitecture.com

Thank you teachers and staff for working so hard over the past week and weekends to prepare the school. It feels amazing.

Finally, thank you Eve for guiding us all through this process with such grace and vision.

Welcome to all the families, new and old! We are thrilled to merge our big Nia House family community. It is going to be a special year.

Join Nia House in Celebration: September 26th!

We are thrilled to announce that toddlers will enter into new Nia House classrooms on Tuesday, September 8th!

Come celebrate this historic moment in Nia House history at our Grand Opening Ceremony on Saturday, September 26th. 

Enjoy a Caribbean infused evening of live music and dinner at Nia House’s Annual Silent  Auction.The event will be held on our newly expanded campus.

For everything you need to know, to make a donation for tickets, or reserve childcare, click here Grand Opening Ceremony. 

Make New Friends but Keep the Old

It is a bittersweet day today at Nia House. With confidence and love we send off our graduates, Brazil, Damian, Dashiell, and Olin. We know they have learned the invaluable skills of how to make a friend, solve conflicts peacefully, advocate, concentrate, work independently, and leave with a love of learning. 

Allen, Alyna, Celeste, Nathaniel, and O'Brien are off to Kindergarten or another preschool program. We have loved having you here at Nia House. We have certainly grown and felt great joy in knowing you.  

Thank you all for being valuable members of our community. Visit us soon!

Saturday's Parent Work Day: A Beautiful Success!

Thank you to everyone that came out on Saturday to help landscape our new campus. It looks beautiful! We had an amazing turn out of parents. It was especially nice to spend time with the new families starting in the fall. 

Some of the days highlights included: Wiley and Ariel digging with babies, Fermina and Daza, on their back. Tara, a proclaimed black thumb, successfully planted two thriving passion fruit plants. Lisa and Aidan scored a few plant donations from East Bay Nursery. The children helped to dig, plant, and water plants. It truly was a feel good day. 

Big props to Scott, Esme's dad, for helping to mastermind the project and for all the work.

Cindy, Alison's mom, provided baked breads, coffee, and pizza for all!  A very warm thank you for your generosity.  

We're moving in

The toddler teachers are experimenting with classroom layout. It feels amazing to walk into this light filled room. 

The beautiful shelving was built by Mark Carilli, Brian's dad, Steph's husband, and a recent part-time hire for the Nia House teaching team! Thank you to all the volunteers that have helped us move and seal this furniture.

Nancy, Eve, and Stacey are settling very nicely into our new office. New Resource Bank kindly donated their gently used office furniture. Cara and Erik Lemire, parents of Henry and Finley, spent a Saturday by picking up the entire office, delivering it to Nia House and assembling it. A heartfelt thank you!  

Nia House alum, Otto Harris, Goes Solo Shopping

Thank you, David and Tara for sharing this milestone in Otto's life!

He was always interested in shopping, and paid attention to what aisles things were in at Berkeley Bowl and Trader Joe's. A few years back we started having him go off to get items, then meet us back at the cart. We've always had an agreement that when he helped with grocery shopping he could pick out one thing for himself, which he loves doing.

Otto began asking how old he'd need to be to go grocery shopping on his own. We said we'd need to think about it. One day Tara and he stopped at the Berkeley Bowl info desk to ask if they had any limits to how young unaccompanied shoppers could be, and they said no. We talked about it and decided that when Otto turned ten, we'd give it a try.

So a few days after Otto's birthday we all walked over, and Tara and I got some coffee and relaxed in the cafe while Otto took the grocery list and got a cart. We gave him one of our phones so he could call when he was done. It worked out fine. I went in to pay when I got his call and took a couple pictures to commemorate the event. Otto has done the shopping a few times since, and continues helping out when we go together.

Otto's advice: Know the store like the back of your hand! The bulk couscous comes out fast.

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Nia House community, if you also shop at Berkeley Bowl- you can help fundraise for Nia House. We participate in Berkeley Bowl Scrip. For every $100 you spend, Nia House gets $4. For more information on how to participate click below.

The Construction Fence is Down!

The fence separating the construction zone and our yard has come down! At last, we can sense how the new campus integrates into the old. It looks and feels wonderful!

There is still a ton of work happening on the construction site. For now, it remains closed to parents and children. We are painting, finishing light installation, cleaning up, and moving in!

Yes, we are really beginning to transition our office into the new building.  This past weekend, an amazing group of NH parents spent their Saturday installing office shelving and furniture.  Cara and Erik Lemire picked up an entire office of new, used furniture for us from New Resource Bank's old office space.  New Resource Bank was kind enough to donate their beautiful furniture, and Cara and Erik hauled super heavy, beautiful furniture over the bridge to school.  All of our thanks to everyone who helped with the amazingly productive work day this weekend.

The building is looking super pretty and we can't wait to open it up for tours, but we do want to ask for your patience.  As the construction crew finishes their work, we want to be certain to give them as much space as possible.

We're almost done!!!

Save the Date for our Grand Opening Ceremony!

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 26th! 

Enjoy a Caribbean infused evening

of live music and dinner at

Nia House’s Annual

Silent  Auction.

The event will be held on our

newly expanded campus.

For everything you need to know, to make a donation for tickets, or reserve childcare, click here Grand Opening Ceremony. 

Viv & Rae Return!

Viv & Rae have been volunteering at Nia House this summer. It has been such a great treat and help to have them here. They demonstrate an intuitive understanding of what needs to get done to make the school day flow. From setting out beds, moving boxes, to quietly sitting with a small group of children- they have enthusiastically done it all.

 Enjoy this interview of Viv and Rae’s memories of their years at Nia House.

Memories of Nia House Learning Center

• Collecting clumps of sand in the sand box
• Playing in the teepee
• Piñatas and sesame honey treats
• Tita’s mango sticky rice
• Eating ants too!
• Cinnamon catching a bee in her pant legs!

 Do still maintain Nia House friendships?

Of course- Michael and Jesse, Anjali, Ella and Oscar, Anika and Tia.

How is it to be back at NH?

•  It’s fun to be back at Nia House and to help!
• Everything seems tiny!
• I remember learning to cross the monkey bars.
• I remember a sign up to have lunch with the toddlers- fun!! Lunch with Jeanie…
• I remember having to sit and finish lunch while others were playing.

Most important things learned…

Viv: When it comes to school work and learning, having your own speed is ok!

Rae: To respect other people and who they are, and to respect other people’s way of learning.

 How are things different, or the same?

 Different- Lunch is in the quiet area, not at the picnic tables.

The same- toddlers are cute. 

Some things never change- look at this picture of Viv and Rae! Toddlers are, indeed, cute.

Thank you, Viv and Rae, for all your help! You are wonderful role models for the Nia House children.

Thank you, Ashby Lumber

A big thanks to Ashby Lumber for their donation of $200 of and generous discount on wood to Nia House. With this gift, Mark (Brian’s dad) will build cubbies for the expansion. Rick of Ashby Lumber took a great deal of time to describe options and offered valuable expertise to our project.

We are so lucky to have neighbors like Ashby Lumber. Every donation we receive contributes to the service of quality education we provide. Thank you Ashby Lumber for supporting the work of Nia House. We encourage the Nia House community to get your wood and hardware at Ashby Lumber.

Thank you Ashby Lumber & thanks to Mark!

Made For & By Nia House

Bill Savidge is back at it again- making tables for the Nia House children. On Saturday, a group of dedicated and talented parents, and grandparent, got together to build new tables for our new classrooms.

Grandfather to Julian, Bill’s children also attended Nia House. When he was a parent, Bill built many of the tables that the children still use today.

Tim, Elliot’s dad, graciously opened up his beautiful, sunlit, Emeryville warehouse for the table making to happen. Tim shared, “A wonderfully productive day at the shop! 31 table tops cut, jigged out and lovingly hand sanded. Salvaged copper legs in the works. Stay tuned!”

Thank you to all who gave your Saturday to this exciting project. It is incredibly meaningful to know that the tabletops upon which the children work were lovingly made by our community.

The Warren-Boyd’s Make Volunteering Their Family Culture

Thank you Ashley, mom to Julia and Paul, for giving back to the community and blogging the experience. Your spirit will undoubtedly inspire the community.

Individually and as a couple, my husband John and I have had a long history of volunteering for causes we care about and it’s a big part of our identities. However, since becoming parents, our volunteerism has dwindled.

We started off so well! We hosted a get-out-the-vote calling party for Barack Obama volunteers during the California primaries while our son Paul, just two months, was snoozing away in a swing in the corner.   All three of us did neighborhood canvassing for Obama later that year in Nevada. Paul still loved his stroller as a 9 month old (hard to imagine now!) and his chubby body and blue eyes added a lot to our collective appeal to potential Obama voters. But when Paul became mobile and we added Julia to our family in 2010, the barriers to volunteering seemed insurmountable.

However, I’m proud to share that we’re back in the volunteering game! This last weekend, our family volunteered for about two hours at the SF-Marin Food bank (http://www.sfmfoodbank.org/).

We discovered the opportunity somewhat by chance after a friend of ours started working there recently and mentioned to us that the food bank will accept volunteers as young as 4 years old.   Most of the other volunteer opportunities we had explored, had much higher age limits and wouldn’t accommodate us as a whole family.

The kids were apprehensive as they had no idea what we’d be doing and it didn’t initially sound “fun”. But they really did understand why giving families food is important. And they had contributed to food drives in grocery store bins so we had talked about the role food banks play in helping families in need.

family volunteering_5-15We had such a wonderful time together. The kids dived into the work with purpose and gusto. As an added bonus, the food bank jobs were really extensions of Nia House work. Our first task was to separate oranges that were rotten from those that those that were safe to eat. Most of the oranges were cosmetically challenged but still perfectly fine to eat, which lead to a great discussion about how appearance doesn’t necessary tell us everything about a person. And they couldn’t have been more prepared to sort based on characteristics – thanks Nia House!

In our second task, we counted small bags of chips into groups of 20 for distribution to community centers and senior citizen facilities. Who is better prepared to separate things into groups of 20 than Nia House children?! The kids felt competent and in charge of their work as much as they do at school, which was wonderful.

I give the SF-Marin Food Bank huge credit for designing activities that were suitable and fun for families. A 90 minute plus shift was exactly the right length for our kids and the staff made our contribution feel valuable by adding what the total group of 50+ had accomplished that day. So we left feeling part of a productive, larger community and one we want to support long-term. Paul has recently started receiving an allowance, 1/3 of which is set aside for sharing with others. We planted the seed that he could give part of his share account to a food bank now that he’s seen what they do.

If you are interested in volunteering at the SF-Marin Food Bank, here’s more info: 

http://www.sfmfoodbank.org/volunteer-opportunities

A few tips:

• Children 8 or older can join in on Saturday projects
• Children between 4-8 can only sign up for Sunday projects
• Sign up early – volunteer shifts on Sundays fill up 3 months in advance!
• The Alameda County Food Bank accepts volunteers 10 years and older
• What other volunteer opportunities are out there for families with preschool and early elementary kids in the Bay Area? Please share – we want to keep up our volunteering and make it an enduring part of our family culture.

Expansion Project Video

Montessori for 3!

Image from: https://nbcprobasketballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/cd0ymzcznguwzdbhnduynddiytjhm2yyzthlmtjjotqwyyznpwu1nja1yjkzmjy1mjq4nwmwowmxmji2mgmxzmnjzguz1.jpeg

I’ve often heard a critique of the Montessori approach as “too academic.” Here we have a story in the realm of athletics, not academia, where the values imparted in a Montessori education are credited with extraordinary success.

The Golden State Warriors are in the Western Conference Finals. This hasn’t happened in 39 years! Their superstar player, the NBA’s most valuable player of season, and possibly the best jump shooter the NBA has seen, Steph Curry, attributes the shaping of his work ethic and achievement to Maria Montessori.

In an interview with Montessori Life, Winter 2013-2014, Steph Curry shares,

(Montessori) gave me a lot of confidence at a young age. I was able to learn the way I wanted and needed to, to gain a sense of achievement as I went along. I was able to push myself, and it taught me a lot of self-discipline and a work ethic. I always wanted to do more and get better.

 Check out this short video on the Curry family and the role of Maria Montessori in their life:

The Montessori approach is stellar at providing the foundation for academic success, but not for the perceived stringent academic approach. Sonya Curry, Steph’s mom, shares her appreciation of how Montessori instills foundations for life- “I love Montessori for the fundamental aspects that it affords children … independence, the intrinsic love for learning, responsibility, respect for yourself, for other people.”

Montessori offers the opportunity to achieve proficiency, to choose the same work, over and over again, following intrinsic motivation, until a sense of accomplishment and mastery is attained. Steph Curry affirms this, “Montessori taught me that anything I put my hands on and practiced, I could accomplish.” He’s doing it! Steph Curry is breaking 3 point records in the regular and post season. If you haven’t been watching, do. For your love of Maria Montessori, watch Steph Curry.

Go Warriors!