Session 1 Week 6
A Fire Studio hero ran in after lunch on Thursday and exclaimed, “I can’t believe this session is almost over – that went SO FAST!” We heard this sentiment echoed by many many other heroes in all studios. School time really does fly when heroes engage with the freedom, the focus, and the fun available to them at CHOICE.
IN THE SPARK STUDIO During lunchtime a hero shared honey harvested from his bees. The hero was so excited to share this delicious treat with the studio. I watched as he instructed each person to take a clean spoon and only dip in once to ensure a clean jar of honey. The structure and order that organically developed was fascinating to watch, and the honey was delicious!
As we reviewed each challenge Harry Potter faced in his search for the sorcerer’s stone and the similar challenges we faced in the studio, we discussed whether it took more courage (red), ambition (green), creativity (blue), or patience (yellow). Heroes voted on which habit shined through more in each particular situation and shared their opinions as to why.
Heroes proudly shared which habit that they personally have grown the most this session. As we take the time to recognize the growth in ourselves we see the potential in others as well.
Montessori work cycle is a blast! Heroes are finding ways to challenge themselves more and more. This hero worked on completing the trinomial cube in under five minutes. He then challenged himself to do it in under three minutes and under one minute. He discovered his fastest time and has improved his focus and attention to detail.
The Spark Studio loves to play Wizard’s Chess. Every CHOICE work cycle the heroes are challenging each other and learning new skills. Who would have thought that learning how to play chess would be a favorite Spark activity. They have learned all about each piece and the different moves they make.
Teamwork makes the dream work! Heroes were SO excited to set up for their first Exhibition of the year. They worked together to arrange the seating, plan the schedule, and decorate the studio.
Exhibition was a great opportunity for parents and special guests to come see what their child has been working on at school. The heroes get to talk and guide their guests all around the school. They take so much pride in their learning and studio! Parents ask questions to discover what their child is learning on a deeper level.
We ended the session reflecting that just like Harry Potter, we overcame many challenges on our quest,
And we certainly used AMBITION,
CREATIVITY,
COURAGE
and PATIENCE as we tackled the challenges this session.
As Harry came to the Mirror of Erised he was only able to have the stone because of his desire to use it for good.
We too have been developing habits for good.
IN THE FIRE STUDIO heroes did a lot of reflection. They identified warm and cool feedback for each other in the “Two Stars and a Wish,” reflection, they submitted helpful feedback to their guides, and they reflected on their own journey this session by naming times when they found themselves in their comfort zone, panic zone, or challenge zone. Favorite challenge zone answers included “Doing better at math and not getting behind,” “I tried reading the biggest book ever–Narnia,” practicing “4 Heroic Habits,” and “Lip Dub.”
Heroes also held the final games of their Muggle Quidditch Tournament. As at Hogwarts, heroes were placed into four Houses this session, called Creativity, Courage, Ambition and Patience. All session, each House played hard to learn the components of Muggle Quidditch–Chases, Beaters, Seekers, Keepers, and Snitch!–and this week was the final Tournament.
After the games, their Jolliness discussion gave them a great opportunity to name and process some of the big emotions many of them felt during the tournament–some were negative, some were positive. They discussed the question, “Is it worth it to participate in competitive tournaments, even though they can raise big, uncomfortable feelings?” Seeing the house teams work together to learn and compete in a complex, new game this session, as well as watching their faces as they showed off their core skills accomplishments at exhibition, was pretty magical.
During Quest, the final watercolor piece was finished for Exhibition – the OWL! Each Hero was able to research an owl of their choice, read up on the owl, sketch as realistic as possible like a scientist, then use the Light to Dark and color-blending techniques they have learned over the weeks to complete the final piece. Their focus, creativity, and determination was pretty impressive.
So many earned their first official Quest badge this session. This means they are really learning to navigate Journey Tracker, be accountable for their work, follow instructions, and help each other when feeling stuck. Earning their Quest badge, plus setting up their Studio Maintenance system, and completing their Lip Dub… Quest time was full and fun this session!
And then we got to celebrate at Exhibition! Exhibition is an important part of the process each session, both in preparation and execution.
In preparing for Exhibition, the FS had a discussion about the question: Does having an audience to view your works matter to the effort you put into the work?
Answers: 1-Yes, what is the point of working hard if no one is going to give feedback? 2-No, I would still work hard because I like to see the effort and end result I put into something. 3-No, because there are opportunities while working to help others and that makes a difference so an audience is just a side benefit.
Planning Exhibition was a new experience for some of the volunteer Exhibition Committee heroes, and it gave others a new opportunity in leadership. It was so fun to listen to the hero who wrote all the clues at each station -she was so proud of her efforts!!
During the execution it was so wonderful to see so many engaged parents. Thank you, parents, for coming to Exhibition! Thank you for engaging with your hero and a big thank you for engaging with other heroes!
On Thursday, we had a short Exhibition reflection. The Hero’s gave plenty of feedback on what they loved about Exhibition for Session 1 and what needs improvement for the next. It will be rewarding to compare the first session to the last. Afterwards we went to Fire Station Park to play. They all get along so beautifully, it is a joy to see how well they engage after only 6 weeks.
IN THE DELTA STUDIO exhibition was here before we knew it! With only a few hours of planning the day before, our heroes put together one of their best exhibitions. It is so fun to see how they improve through the years.
Thank you, parents, for having fun with us!
Thank you, parents, for giving heroes an opportunity to celebrate with, speak with and be held accountable by many different adults. In the pictures below, all the parents are talking with heroes who are not their own children. It was so delightful to see so much of that. That is a sign of a community – caring about other children alongside your own!!
The days following Exhibition were filled with reflection (powerful tools as heroes have a chance to see and express both success and places for improvement in themselves and others), an introduction to real power tools for a Woodworking Exploratory work (thank you Tim!),
playtime,
and of course… Misogi!
We had heroes running, army crawling, climbing trees, hopping, climbing playsets, pushing rocks, doing sit ups, doing pushups in the water, hopping tables – so many different challenges. It was fantastic to watch some heroes push themselves beyond where they thought they could, and others recognize they could push themselves a little further next time. A fun new tradition!
As Session 1 wraps up, it is amazing to look back and see the growth of the tribe, the growth of the individuals, and all the fun along the way! Can’t wait to see what happens in Session 2!!!