Week 21: 2/9-2/11
From the Spark Studio
From Miss Nina: We certainly ended on a high note as we finished the human body quest. Heroes focused on challenging works and found satisfaction in stretching themselves. They enjoyed finishing their anatomy models and getting creative footage for the “My Amazing Body” video. I heard several of the kids singing the songs we learned this session during their play. It makes my heart so happy because when the learning crosses over into their play, you know it is deep meaningful learning. They even requested to learn another skip counting song!
Thursday afternoon we had a Valentine’s Day party and decorated cookies like anatomy models. As excited as they were about that, many of the heroes were even more excited about hanging streamers and scrubbing the floor for the exhibition. They enjoyed cleaning so much that they ended up also cleaning in the Elementary Studio and I had to tell them to put their rags away at the end of the day!
The big highlight was seeing how proud the heroes felt about all they have worked on and how excited they were to share it at Exhibition. Thank you to those who were able to celebrate with us.
Here is their “My Amazing Body” video from the exhibition…
From the Elementary Studio
From Kara It was a whirlwind week with high highs and low lows. I was amazed at the ability of the heroes to come together as a team for their for the exhibition. Group work is HARD–and the bigger the group; the more complicated the task. The heroes faced their frustrations head-on and triumphed in very real ways over all sorts of obstacles. Their perseverance and compassion inspire me!
From JeVonne On the first day of this session, when the heroes were challenged to create an innovative product, the complete lack of ideas was almost comical. Fast forward 6 weeks as the teams give their product pitches to the rest of the studio. Each team had experienced tremendous frustration and setbacks and yet they each created an innovative product they were proud of. It was the first time most of them had gone through the innovative and creative process from start to finish. It was a beautiful process to observe.
Tuesday the heroes led themselves in an Exhibition rehearsal and it was arguably one of the more frustrating experiences they had together. Neither the Exhibition Planning Committee nor the quest teams did well. The committee had a real choice; as no one is forced to be on the committee, they could give up or dig in and keep going. Although frustrated and furious, each one of them decided to show their grit and keep going. They pulled together, communicated their emotions, worked out the details, volunteered to do more outside their comfort zones and orchestrated an awesome exhibition. Individual teams who performed poorly during the rehearsal, revamped, reorganized, redesigned and presented so much better during the actual exhibition. I am so grateful the heroes have the opportunity to participate in real world activities that hold them accountable. The skills they learn in organization, communication, follow through and accountability are palpable. We even had teams staying 3 hours after school to finish their innovations in time for the exhibition… and they had fun doing so! This was the heroes’ exhibition. They owned it and they rocked it!
The day after exhibition is such a critical day. A day of reflection, relaxation and celebration. Heroes breath a little easier and everyone is just a little more silly. Feedback and reflection about the exhibition and quest complete the session’s learning arc. Along with the reflections, a deep movie and Socratic discussion, passing out valentines, math games with riotous laughter, and a Bon Jovi air guitar and sing along were all equally important parts of the day.
Exhibitions are a tricky beast. They can elicit tremendous frustration, stress and overwhelm in the heroes and yet can also elicit joy and incredible self-satisfaction. They are exactly the real world accountability and celebration we desire for all of these amazing heroes!