TRR photo by Mary Greene Children line up to partake in sledding on the Homestead’s icy hill before school begins. (Click for larger image)

The Homestead School:
a total learning environment

By MARY GREENE

GLEN SPEY — Would you believe: seven-year-old children reciting Emily Dickinson by heart, calculating the percentage of fat versus protein in a yogurt container and naming with ease the parts of a flower or the migration routes of monarch butterflies?

These occurrences are commonplace in Peter Comstock’s bright, hands-on classroom, and in other classrooms at the Homestead School, a private Montessori school in Glen Spey. Comstock and co-director Marsha Comstock act on the notion that children succeed in an environment of structured freedom, respect and hands-on learning techniques.

The Homestead School goes from pre-K (serving children as young as three years) through second grade. The underlying philosophy of the school, according to Montessori literature, is that children “must have freedom, achieved through order and self-discipline.” Gradually, the young child will gain insight into his or her environment and develop an “inner discipline.” In order to meet this need, the Homestead creates a “prepared environment,” using a variety of accessible and attractive hands-on learning tools that allow children to gain independence, isolate sensory experiences and begin mastering intellectual functioning.

Comstock, or “Mr. C” as he is affectionately called by his students, demonstrated the use of 100- and 1,000-bead squares (which contain actual beads) in learning how to calculate square roots. “It’s play to them,” he said. “All this learning kind of creeps up and ambushes them.”

	TRR photo by Mary Greene Peter Comstock

The Homestead School was founded in 1978, but the 85-acre property has been in Comstock’s family since the 1860’s. At that time, Comstock’s great great grandfather, Alexander MacKenzie, was called over from Scotland by his brother, George Ross MacKenzie (for whom the new MacKenzie elementary school, just up the road from the Homestead, was named). Alexander, a cabinetmaker and gamekeeper suffering from ill health, came with his family to “oversee the mansions” of the offspring of his wealthy brother.

Various members of Comstock’s family occupied the large, three-story farmhouse until 1915 or so, and then it remained vacant for 25 years. Comstock’s grandfather, Alexander MacKenzie Telfer, remodeled the house and set up a dental practice there in the early 1950’s. Afterwards, it was used as a vacation spot and hunting lodge within the family.

Comstock’s personal association began in early childhood. Growing up in north central New Jersey, he often rode the Erie Railroad from Ridgewood up to the property, where his grandfather picked him up on a Friday night. “From seven [years old] on,” he said, “I was put on the train by myself and entrusted to the conductors.”

Comstock attended college at the University of Washington, where he studied French literature and met his bride, Marsha. Comstock received a teaching certificate at the University of Puget Sound in 1974. The pair came east to found the Homestead in 1978. That year, the school had 14 students and one assistant teacher. Classrooms were held in different rooms in the farmhouse, as is the case today. The Comstocks, who have two sons, moved into the top floor and called it home.

Today, the school has an enrollment of 155, with six classrooms and 20 staff members.

There is a large outdoor educational component to the program, which sets it apart from suburban-setting Montessori schools. “We are blessed with all this acreage,” said Comstock. In addition to immaculate grounds, a large playground, a barn gymnasium and a small animal farm, the Homestead has several hiking and birding trails, including one with an archeological dig, “on the foundation of my great grandfather’s cabin,” said Comstock.

Emphasizing the totality of the learning experience is characteristic of the school. “What I try to accomplish in my teaching,” said Comstock, “is to show children the connections between things. Connections are what inspires poets and prophets and, for that matter, scientists.” The biggest vehicle for accomplishing this, he said, is the yearlong project, which is interdisciplinary and encompasses a theme. The project (this year involving health, safety and nutrition) culminates in an elaborate (and very fun) three-day field trip, involving first and second graders, their parents and teachers. This year, the group is traveling to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Destinations in the past have included Cape May, NJ; Philadelphia; and the Finger Lakes region of NY.

After the trip, scheduled for May, students will prepare for the June open house, which always involves a large outdoor endeavor. This year, kids are planting half an acre in Kenebec potatoes. “Each child will have a 50-foot row,” said Comstock. The potatoes will be sold, and proceeds donated to the non-profit group Prasad.

There is a sense of joy at this small school, reflected in its physical beauty, the enthusiasm of students and parents and in the dedication of its teachers. “It’s a lot of work,” said Comstock. “Teachers are here regularly until after dark.” Payoffs come from the children, from “watching their fulfillment.”

Parents are an important factor in the mix. Parent turnout at the annual Homestead functions is “95 percent,” said Comstock. “It helps tremendously when they agree with what we are doing, and support it.”

What about life after the Homestead?

“The biggest thing I want kids to bring with them when they leave here is a love of learning. I want them to be self-motivated and independent, ” said Comstock.

The report card on former Homestead students is good. In general, they do well in the public schools, and again, “parents are a big factor,” said Comstock. “An average student can become superior with parent support.”

For more information, call the school at 845/856-6359.