Thursday afternoons can't come soon enough for many Springwater K-5 students...not because it's almost Friday, but because it's time for Flow Room!  Flow Room provides an informal time for students to work in small groups with one or more adult volunteers to learn a new skill or explore a special topic outside of the classroom, with an emphasis on whole-brain learning.  The current Flow Room session runs through February 11th and features a diverse range of activities.  K-2 students have the opportunity to get delve into beading, choir, the winter Olympics, simple sewing, fitness games, or grounds crew.  Third, fourth, and fifth graders can try their hands at photography, basic sign language, dance, henna, art collage, and - particularly popular this session - rocketry. 

The underlying focus of Flow Room is that students have multiple learning modalities.  As Gardener's Seven Intelligences recognizes, students may be better learners spatially, or kinesthetically, or through music or language.  Flow Room provides students with chances to learn in a wide variety of modalities, and lets students shine in areas that they may not be recognized for during more traditional classroom instruction. It also encourages students to push themselves by exploring new areas of interest that they haven't had experience with before, so that they can develop their ability to learn in a wider variety of modalities.

Flow Room coordinator Alex Van Pelt is always eager to have help from parents, grandparents, and other adults in the community.  "People are hesitant that they may not have a special skill to teach, but they don't have to be a professional in a subject," she notes.  "It's all about sharing something they know and enjoy with the students."  Alex can be contacted at 503-653-2771 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .