Session 2 Week 6
The last week of every session is high energy. As heroes race to finish up and prepare for their exhibitions, it often feels like a week long sprint!
In the Spark Studio, as we prepared for the exhibition (aka xubishin spelled backwards on the schedule below), it brought some focus to getting prepared. Some heroes were excited to decorate or became diligent to update their bingo boards with all the tiles they had earned from completing the daily challenges. They also practiced their song.
Yet there was still time to explore things that they would normally be drawn to.
Exploring the land and water forms was definitely a highlight this week. Heroes loved using water to fill in the forms and see the “opposite” landform. They used animals and placed them in their natural habitat, whether that was on land or in water. This activity also incorporated many practical life skills like pouring and wiping up spills.
When it comes to practical life skills, heroes have been working hard on improving their studio maintenance. They love recording themselves cleaning up after CHOICE work cycle and watching the video afterwards. They are getting faster at cleaning up!
We loved exploring the different biomes this session and are sad to say goodbye to our desert,
ocean,
forest,
and rainforest.
We’re excited to see what adventure the next session brings!
In the Fire Studio the heroes finished strong with a full week of high energy challenges. The heroes who chose to do the body systems exploratory work got to do the frog dissection. It was an awesome learning experience even for those looking on.
Heroes worked hard during Core Skills all week. Many enjoyed a few special Thanksgiving focused exploratory works. The favorite was a work that involved reading a book and then making a pilgrim doll. It is so fun to see so many heroes excited about reading the same book!
For some heroes, the hardest of all this week, was global dance! Last week heroes learned about several Native American dance traditions, and this week it was a focus on early American dancing–boys dancing with girls! They all survived or even enjoyed this experience!
For others, the final grit challenge was their highlight.
Quest this week was mostly focused on exhibition prep. We played a few games that focused on teamwork as we prepared. The heroes are learning from their past experiences how to make their exhibitions more of what they want them to be. Their rehearsals went smoother, they started the exhibition on time, their portfolios are getting more meaningful (actually showing what they have done) and most everyone enjoyed the exhibition. It is so fun to watch them progress!
In the Middle School there was a mad dash this week to finish session goals and some good time to reflect on why most heroes didn’t finish their goals. Reflection also focused on what their exhibitions are supposed to be, and what changes the heroes want to make so that their exhibitions hold them more accountable. Reflection is a lot of work, and often tiring. During our last reflection discussion heroes were voting with any limb.
Those heroes who had done the brain dissection exploratory work got to do their actual sheep brain dissection on Monday. The heroes got so much more out of the dissection because of the prep work they had done before hand. We are so grateful to Brian Stagg who prepares and guides these dissections!
It was fun to see the Middle School heroes in a “guide” role for the final Grit challenge. Not answering questions, but providing enough reassurance by their presence to enable the FS heroes to tackle a hard navigation challenge on their own.
After any sprint, a body is ready for rest. After a week of hard work physically, emotionally and mentally, these heroes should enjoy a week of rest and recuperation after which we will all be back ready for more!