little hippie school

We love Miller's school. It is a very earthy/crunchy/granola kind of place... not what one would expect for a child of mine. Religiously recycling my Diet Coke cans is about as eco-friendly as I get.

Miller's school is not traditional, and I love it for that. Kids call teachers by their first names... and while I'm sure that isn't for everyone, I think it is great. One teacher brings his dog to school. Minnie, the class guinea pig, often gets to go to recess with the kids. And while a lot of schools are phasing out recess in favor of more class time, Miller's school has outdoor time twice a day. Each Wednesday morning they go on an all-school walk through the neighborhood. Homework consists of 30 minutes of reading a night. Miller comes home disheveled and covered in dirt and paint many days, and almost always happy.

Yesterday was their Earth Day celebration, and all of the kids at school made costumes and had a parade through downtown called "Procession of the Species." Miller and his classmates were all butterflies this year. Last year they were roly poly bugs. The kids make their own costumes in class, and you can tell how proud they are of them.

Mark, Gray, Everett, and I went to watch the festivities. We got there a tad after they left, so we waited in front of the school for them to circle back around about 30 minutes later. The first few pictures were taken while we waited.

Gray's dimple.... it is so hard to catch it in a photograph for some reason.

Mark and Little Mark

Everett hung out in the stroller

On the side of the school are kid-painted wooden flowers in their very own "garden."

Here he comes!

Back view of his wings

On our way back to the car, we found a field of ready-to-be-blown dandelions