A Day at CFL

A Day at CFL

Students and teachers live together in small hostels, in a relaxed and informal ambience.

The day begins with a 7 am wake-up, for exercise, bird-watching, observation or quiet nature walks. Senior school students get to sleep in till 8 am, something that we have put in place after reading the research on the dangers of sleep deprivation in adolescence. After breakfast, during community work, the hostels and learning spaces are cleaned, garbage is taken out, the land is tended, and vegetables are chopped for lunch. Everyone, young and old, is part of this process. On some days this is followed by a long period of quiet, solo time for everyone on campus.

Assembly follows, a time for singing or for presentations. The entire community comes together in these activities.

Classes begin after assembly. The day is a mix of activities inside and outside the classroom, from math and language to pottery, art, woodcraft and land work. The kitchen, meanwhile, continues to hum with activity right through the day, with parent volunteers and teachers working to get meals ready (cooking here has always been a community activity). The food in CFL is vegetarian and varied.

Late afternoons are a time for games, exercise and boisterous activity. Dinner marks the beginning of a quiet period of study. All is quiet (well, nearly!) by 10.30 pm.