Session 2, Week 6

I always thought I was quoting my mother when I said “Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues, but the parent of all of the others.” As is turns out I was quoting the Roman philosopher, Cicero! Regardless of whom I was quoting, gratitude is a secret to a happy life. Living with gratitude all year long is life changing. It is also meaningful to have one time of year that our whole society focuses on being grateful. And thus, every year at this time, this blog is dedicated to what we as guides were grateful for at CHOICE that week. It is perhaps the easiest blog of the year to write – for we have so much to be grateful for!

Miss Hannah

The Sparks are influenced by many different people. This week, after seeing the Stop Motion video a Delta Studio group put together, the Sparks wanted to take on their own Stop Motion videos. I am grateful that these Sparks have such a variety of encouraging allies and helpers in their lives. 

During the exhibition this week I stepped back and watched the heroes and their parents. I saw the pride on both their faces as heroes rushed to show their parent how exciting their language program has been. I saw some heroes show their parent a math work they have struggled with and recently mastered. I heard heroes practicing I-Messages with their parents and talking about how they can work out their problems. I am forever grateful for these young people and the passion they bring with them each school day. Magical things happen at school and at Exhibition we get to share that magic with parents, grandparents, and special guests. I am grateful for amazing parents who support these young people by encouraging, letting them fail, and celebrating those failures.

Miss Lauren  This week I noticed several heroes connecting with other heroes they may not have previously connected with as often. I am grateful the friendships in our studio are expanding and deepening. 

As some of the studio maintenance was overlooked this week, I saw heroes step in and work together to get our areas looking good. I am grateful for the hard work and responsibility I see developing in these young heroes. 

Mostly I am grateful these young people allow me to guide them along in their journeys. It is a privilege to witness the determination, creativity, and growth in them each week.

Stephanie At the end of a session, there is a lot of hustle and bustle as heroes finish up goals, plan and prepare the exhibition, and celebrate accomplishments with extra games and cheers. I felt grateful to observe the growth heroes have made this session and the plans they have for upcoming sessions.

One hero who started the school year uncomfortable in the Fire Studio was so proud to earn his Heroic Habit badge for Courage. Another hero considered starting a Create-Your-Own habit to make more comments in discussions. Many heroes received their first badges of the year and celebrated each other.

Heroes reflected on their session, offered and received feedback from fellow travelers, and discussed the stars (warm feedback) and wishes (cool feedback) they felt about the final exhibition they planned for their families. I am grateful heroes can practice giving and receiving feedback.

Heroes also shared many ideas about gratitude in Socratic Discussions and I was happy to hear all the things and people heroes are grateful for in school, at home, in nature, and in their country. 

Monson

This past week as the fire studio heroes prepared for exhibition there were many small moments of gratitude which I was able to witness.  I saw moments when heroes were working to finish their challenges for their Quest Badges and hit a hurdle and looked to another hero for some guidance and help and then watched the exchange of kindness from one hero, which was reflected in gratitude from the hero in need. This same exchange and experience was replicated as the heroes finalized revisions or created more complex models of their wind turbines for the exhibition. I witnessed moments of frustration and doubt, change into moments of happiness and triumph as the heroes worked the complexities of their designs and discovered the solutions they were struggling to find. It is a simple yet profound moment to see the difference a little guidance and support can provide in changing the perspective of confusion and concern, into a spark of understanding and confidence.

I also enjoyed the hearing the heroes share all their expressions of gratitude and thankfulness as we explored the topics in our daily launches. It helped us all feel and remember that reflecting on and expressing the gratitude we have for others helps to increase our appreciation and love for them.

Bob It was encouraging to see many heroes engaged in their quests after the exhibition. This showed me that for them quest is not a learning session. But a living session.

JeVonne It is difficult for me to even begin listing everything I am grateful for around CHOICE. I’ll just list a few from this week.

This week I was grateful for Exhibitions. I am grateful for the event planning and leadership opportunities it provides the young people. It is exciting to watch new heroes step into leadership or public speaking roles. I am grateful for you parents who take time out of your busy lives to support your children. I am grateful for how you support and encourage heroes who are not your own children. I am grateful for how you connect with other parents. I am grateful for the chance I have to connect with parents at Exhibitions; to hear your stories of wins and progress as well as your frustrations and challenges. All of these are part of your child’s Hero’s Journey and I feel sincerely humbled and honored to get to be a part of it with your family.

DS parents, your heroes really want to PLAY with you! Thank you for playing.

As guides, we create Tribe building challenges and games for the heroes. I am so grateful when the heroes use those tribe building skills in real life. On Thursday, the DELTA heroes got their new Running Partners and thus had to switch desks and computers (which involves a lot of cord switching and plugging in). It is kind of a mess. I was so grateful to watch how they willingly looked to help each other – and to help me – for a sustained period of time.

Each P.E. I am grateful heroes of all ages are willing to go and play and learn new things! I am grateful the heroes invite us guides to play with them!

A group of DS heroes who was sure they didn’t like football was willing to give it a try and we ended up having a blast!

I am grateful for DS heroes who were willing to push themselves physically during Misogi this week. Many heroes worked harder physically than they ever have before. It is awesome to watch them recognize what they are capable of doing and to see their confidence grow. Plus its fun to play afterwards! (I was doing my own Misogi so I have pictures of the play not the hard work!)

I am grateful for the creativity of young people at all ages who find joy in all kinds of creating. Here are just a few of the creations from this week:

Creating a song for the opening and closing speech at Exhibition
Creating a dance using the Quest coveralls as costumes
Creating “worry dolls” during World Geography
Masks during Civ
Music during Civ
Who knew a pile of sticks could provide endless hours of creating!
Even furniture pieces can be used creatively!
There is no end to the art creations every day

And I can’t even begin to describe the creativity EVERY day during EVERY CHOICE work cycle in the Spark Studio!

This post could go on an on with all that I appreciate. But since it is time for you to go celebrate giving thanks, rather than read about it, I will wrap it up. I suppose this post could be summarized with the following:

I am grateful for guides who love, inspire and create opportunities for growth for your children.

I am grateful for you parents who are willing to trust your children and engage in this journey.

I am grateful for your children who bring excitement, meaning and joy to my life every day.

I am grateful for this community – in the truest sense of what community means!

I am grateful.