Traditions

Kindle Farm believes in utilizing traditions and rituals to strengthen our community and our students. Our traditions show up as stories, meals, rituals and customs that happen yearly. Traditions are behaviors and actions that we engage in again and again – regular rituals that we perform at the same time and in the same way. Traditions can be big or small, but they have a specific purpose in mind and require thought and intentionality. Traditions, when done right, lend magic, spirit, and texture to our everyday lives.

Tradition contributes to a sense of comfort and belonging. It brings people together and enables people to reconnect with friends.

These traditions help fill the student’s need to belong. Being a part of the special things our school does, helps us all to have that sense of unity. Research shows us that routines and traditions are part of healthy communities. Traditions can give security to young people, providing the continuity that they can depend on year after year. Such activities help promote healthy relationships between staff and students of all ages when they are enjoyed and anticipated by everyone. Traditions provide an all-too-rare chance for face-to-face interaction, help community members get to know and trust each other more intimately, and create a bond that comes from feeling that one is part of something unique and special.

Tradition provides a forum to showcase role models and celebrate the things that matter in life. Traditions enable us to celebrate our diversity, unite as a community and showcase the Core Values of the Kindle Farm School. Our Core Values are:

C. ommunication
A. ttitude
R. espect
E. ffort
S. afety

Tradition serves as an avenue for creating lasting memories and an excellent way to offer comfort and security while creating a context for meaningful pause and reflection.

One of the main purposes of rituals is to impart and reinforce positive values. Through our shared and festive meals, we can share the value of eating healthy food, working as a team to grow & prepare food and the pro-social skills it takes to eat in a community of one hundred people.Many of Kindle Farm school’s traditions revolve around student accomplishment; sharing our values that hard work, effort and being engaged is worthy of celebration. These traditions offer a chance to say “thank you” for the contribution that someone makes.

Traditions and rituals often tell a story about a community and provide a source of personal and school identity. We are together in a common goal of learning, of growing and bringing joy into our community. Traditions and rituals are the antidotes to the harried feeling that comes from our fast-paced and ever-changing world. It’s comforting to have a few constants in our lives.

Traditions can thus be particularly effective during times of change and grief. There’s something about understanding your past and knowing you belong to something bigger than yourself that instills confidence. Regular rituals that give our children unchanging signposts both to look forward to in anticipation and look back on with satisfaction.