Columnist Cassie Mattia is a resident of Historic Downtown
Loveland, Ohio – On March 15th, I got the opportunity to visit a brand new climbing facility right here in Loveland. It’s called Mosaic Climbing and believe me, you want to check it out!
Before I walked into Mosaic’s opening day I envisioned a small facility with a rock climbing wall set up like the ones you see at the YMCA. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Inside the building are several rooms with state of the art climbing walls with routes that go from easy to hard depending on the color of the pegs. The Mosaic staff, both passionate and full of energy, gave me an in-depth introduction to climbing as well as walked me through the entire facility, which not only had multiple climbing walls but also includes a fitness room, yoga room, and a quiet nook for meetings or checking your work emails.
The orientation the friendly staff provides is a must before you’re allowed to climb, which I think is great for those who have never climbed before.
There is a bouldering room with shorter climbing walls, where you are able to train and work on your climbing skills with no harness, no ropes, and with or without a partner, all over large thick pads for safety. I highly recommend this room for those who are a bit afraid of heights or for small children just looking to climb a short distance.
The first room I chose to start my climbing journey had climbing walls that extended more than 50 feet into the air. In this room, you are able to do “Top Rope” or “Auto Belay” climbing which includes a rope suspended overhead. I took on the auto-belay challenge and let me tell you it wasn’t easy! This is coming from someone who works out 6 days a week. The climb itself took skill and quite a bit of strategy when it came to what peg you were going to grab next or put your feet onto. Yes, I made it to the top and wanted to yell ‘I’m the queen of the world,’ but it definitely wasn’t without effort! After I finally convinced myself to come down (it was very high up and that was a bit scary for me) not only did my forearms burn but my muscles were shaking as well! It was a great workout and I felt very accomplished!
Fortunately, Loveland Magazine Editor, David Miller, got my climbing experience at Mosaic Climbing on their opening night all on film so that you the Loveland Magazine readers could see what an unbelievable new business Loveland has added to its repertoire!
Click on the video below to get the full Mosaic climbing experience right from your living room couch!
Loveland, Ohio – Students from Jennifer Miller’s 1st-grade class walked to Loveland Magazine’s offices on December 12 to learn about newspapers and write their own story. They had been studying about military Veterans.
“There was a lot of excitement leading up to our trip to LM. Lots of questions – what does it look like? What does your dad do there? Are we stopping to get ice cream?” said Miller. “Upon our return and through a follow-up activity for our scrapbook about our trip – I was able to reiterate that writers write in all different kinds of spaces and places and for different reasons. And that this trip to LM will help our reports on Veteran’s Day reach all kinds of readers in our community.”
Jennifer Miller grew up in Loveland and in 1993 graduated from Loveland High School. She is the daughter of Loveland Magazine Publisher, David Miller. She has an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Miami University and a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Literacy. She has taught in the Loveland School District for 21-years.
Miller, a teacher in the Loveland Primary School said she believes writing is important for first-graders because they can learn to express themselves through their words and pictures. Every day, her students write and read what they write to each other. Often, they will collaborate on a story in small groups. Miller said, “They watch me be a writer every day. They become confident during writing as well. Writing is a social experience for us.”
During their visit to Loveland Magazine, the students learned about magazines, newspapers, news websites, and the purpose of writing news stories that people in their own community will want to read. They understand that teachers and parents will read what they write, but if their stories are published in newspapers people they don’t even know will learn what’s on their mind as well.
Many parents came with the students and helped the smaller groups complete their writing assignment.
The students work on a specific piece of writing during “Writer’s Workshop” every day. Before they write though, they practice yoga to get their bodies ready for a morning of learning. Miller said that Yoga helps first-graders focus and make good decisions about their behaviors. “Yoga allows us to move in a purposeful way before we have to sit still. That makes for fewer unexpected behaviors in our classroom and room for more meaningful learning,” said Miller.
Students and parent-volunteers sprawl out on the floor to write their story about Veterans.
Amy Reiss is the English as a Second Language teacher for the District, servicing grades 1-4.This is her 6th year teaching in Loveland and her 12th year of teaching.She services students who are bilingual, or who need support from exposure to another language. She sees students inside and outside of the classroom and provides them additional support in English Language Development. There are over 14 languages represented in the District. Reiss and Miller have co-taught for 5 years and work together teaching the Expanding Expressions Tool Writing sequence for the whole class. The languages represented in Miller’s first-grade class this year are Spanish, Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, and English.
After yoga, Miller dives into the writing lesson. She said, “Some days there is a mini-lesson from me, some days there is time to share, and there is always time to write, or what we call a work session”. Amy Reiss (English as a Second Language teacher for grades 1-4) and I work together.” The students just finished pieces titled “My Thanksgiving” where they retold the facts from their Thanksgiving Holidays with their families. “They turned out wonderful. The children worked hard on including adjectives to describe pie and mashed potatoes. So much work went into this three-week writing project. We completed our pieces of writing with a fancy cover, class photo, and a ribbon. They knew their piece of writing was even more important when I took the time to pull it all together for them this way.”
The languages represented in Miller’s first-grade class this year are Spanish, Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, and English. There are 26 students in the class and approximately twenty-five percent are “English Learners”.
is one of the many tools Ms. Miller uses to teach her students to write.
Upon return from Winter Break, the class will turn their focus to “small moments.” These personal narratives are also fun to write, according to Miller. For example, instead of writing about their Winter Break, a huge topic, a student might focus just on the moments of making cookies with their grandma while on winter break. “We will then move into a personal narrative about a snowy day which also serves as an assessment piece. And then, my favorite – opinion pieces,” said Miller.
Miller’s first-grade classroom recently volunteered to pilot two new writing resources for the District so they will be working with those during January and February. Miller said, “We are excited to see what they have to offer to help us become even better writers. I will then share my thoughts and examples of my student’s writing with our writing team to help make a decision about which resource we will use in our District at the elementary level in the years to come. It’s going to be a lot of work, but worth it.”
While at Loveland Magazine each group practiced reading what they wrote and were filmed for broadcast.
Miller’s first-graders also work on writing in personal journals every day. This can be a challenge because they can sometimes see this as a job rather than a place they can express themselves. Miller says writing in the journals improves writing stamina. Miller said, “Each month the expectation increases to help them expand a topic that they have been writing about. They must stick to the prompt and really stretch their thinking during this time each day.” When they are done writing in their journal, they have to read it to a friend before turning it in. Reading what they wrote is an important skill for first graders, according to Miller. Their classmate then offers them some constructive criticism and usually, the student returns to their desk to improve their journal before turning it in. Miller said they also work on choosing a friend who will actually offer good advice and not just say, “It looks good.”
While at Loveland Magazine each student wrote their own sentence describing Veterans to make their group’s story that they read on camera.
“So much learning!” said Miller. Each child has a goal for their journals hanging on their desk. The students write their goal. Some want to make their writing more interesting or work on their illustrations. And some who are learning English want to better use their new vocabulary. “Goal setting has become a very important part of writing in our classroom,” said Miller.
Publisher’s Note: I cannot thank the parents and Amy Reiss who accompanied the children – enough. Your help with the children’s field trip to our office is so very valuable, from ensuring they have a safe walk to and from their school, to each of you taking part in helping the small groups with their lesson.
Sangha is a place to experience skillfully designed, fun, and inspirational hatha yoga classes close to home. Simply drop in and yoga!
Sangha Yoga is the home of EmbodiYoga® in Cincinnati, a somatic yoga approach new to the Cincinnati area, and offers traditional Hatha and Holy Yoga Classes. All levels of experience are welcome. See our cooperative teaching schedule at www.sanghayoga.org
Sangha Yogais located in the beautiful historic district of downtown Loveland, one block east of the bike trail and 1/2 block north of Loveland Station.
![[VIDEO] Mosaic Climbing doesn’t disappoint Cassie Mattia!](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/maxresdefault-2.jpg)
week. The climb itself took skill and quite a bit of strategy when it came to what peg you were going to grab next or put your feet onto. Yes, I made it to the top and wanted to yell ‘I’m the queen of the world,’ but it definitely wasn’t without effort! After I finally convinced myself to come down (it was very high up and that was a bit scary for me) not only did my forearms burn but my muscles were shaking as well! It was a great workout and I felt very accomplished!
Jennifer Miller grew up in Loveland and in 1993 graduated from Loveland High School. She is the daughter of Loveland Magazine Publisher, David Miller. She has an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Miami University and a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Literacy. She has taught in the Loveland School District for 21-years.
Amy Reiss is the English as a Second Language teacher for the District, servicing grades 1-4.
is one of the many tools Ms. Miller uses to teach her students to write.
Publisher’s Note: I cannot thank the parents and Amy Reiss who accompanied the children – enough. Your help with the children’s field trip to our office is so very valuable, from ensuring they have a safe walk to and from their school, to each of you taking part in helping the small groups with their lesson.
