This month we have some cool ways for you to get involved in Bluestem. 

First, please stop by our Friends of Bluestem Meet-Up this Saturday, 9-12, at Indigo Bridge Cafe.  We have almost 150 people who support us on our Facebook group, but only a handful who have been able to make it to our regular meetings.  That means that there are almost 150 people who have opinions and ideas for Bluestem, but who have been unable to share those ideas so far!  Now, our whole thing is to be a community school.  We believe that the best things come when we collaborate and listen to each other.  Many of our best ideas have come from friends (and not-yet friends) sitting together and just throwing things out there. 

Well, friends, this meet-up is designed to give you a chance to throw YOUR ideas out there.   What kind of ‘specials’ would you like to see incorporated into our day - art, music, Spanish, gardening, or things I haven’t even considered yet?  What kind of planned field trips do you envision?  Do you have ideas about our tuition?  How to set up scholarships?  Fundraisers?  What kind of space do you have in mind for our long-term home?  Our outdoor classroom?  How do you envision our temporary classrooms set up?  What are the things that will make it or break it for you?  What is important to YOUR family, and what are your priorities for this school? 

Just as important, this meet-up is a chance for you to ask questions.  If you’re not sure what our vision is, or how we’re planning to implement it, or how Montessori elementary education works, or who the heck I am, this is your chance to ask.  This is a pretty new concept for Lincoln.  Don’t be afraid to ask us things.  I know I wouldn’t send my kids to a start-up school without asking a whole lotta questions! 

Most important, we know that you are busy and you might have kids clinging to you.  This meet-up is at a COFFEE SHOP, where there is a STORY TIME at 10:00 AM and a train table.  1. It serves some of the best coffee in town.  Seriously.  2. My own kids can happily spend hours at Indigo Bridge, and the staff there is patient and kind.  I have never once felt uncomfortable taking my kids there, even when they were a preschooler and a just-walking toddler.  Plus, if you just want to swing in and grab a coffee and say hello before you swing out again on your Saturday errands, we get that too.  We have had many Saturdays like that ourselves. 

The next way you can get involved is by shopping at our November Norwex fundraiser.  Marissa Olson, Norwex Ambassador Extraordinaire, is hosting a demonstration for us on November 3, and Children’s Circle Montessori has graciously offered to let us use their space.  Marissa will share with us how these natural, toxin-free cleaning tools work.  I, for one, am excited to learn how to simplify my family’s cleaning routine and do something nice for the environment - especially as the holidays (and flu season) are approaching!  30% of your purchase will come to Bluestem Montessori.  If you can’t make it to the demonstration, no worries - you can participate in this fundraiser here. 

Third, we are very excited to say that we’ll have a book fair at Barnes and Noble on December 10.  The idea here is the same as a dine-out night, or our Norwex fundraiser - you buy things you would buy anyway (Christmas shopping anyone?), and we get a percentage of the profits.  The cool thing about this one is that we can turn it into a community event.  We can have story time, a craft table, a gift wrapping table for extra donations - pretty much whatever we want.  This has the potential to be a very big fundraiser for us.  However, we really need help to make it a success.  We need to get the word out, we need to plan the events, and we need people to be there on the day to wrap presents, read stories, or whatever else we decide to do.  Even an hour of your time can make a difference!  Please contact me at laura@bluestemmontessori.com to help out however you can.

So there you have it!  So many opportunities to help make Montessori elementary education a reality in Lincoln.  If you have ideas for other community events or fundraisers, don’t hesitate to share them with us! 

Until next week,

Laura