There are times when it seems much of my day is spent “putting out fires.” On just such a day this week, I decided to take a break and walk through each studio. It was rejuvenating to my soul! In every studio I observed joyful learning; heroes engaging, working hard and enjoying what they were doing. When I was in the Fire Studio a question was asked “Which way does the arrow point in a food web?” the answer from a different hero – “the way the energy flows.” This comment was enlightening to me. Sometimes the small moments in our lives (and studios) feel loud — dropped boundaries, messy desks, unfinished work, conflict or “off-task” chatter. And yet, when we zoom out and trace the direction the energy is actually flowing, the bigger picture becomes clearer: connection is forming, confidence is growing, and principles are taking root. This week offered reminders that even imperfect moments and days are part of a larger flow of energy toward growth.
In the Spark Studio
In Spark, real life is happening all the time — kindness and conflict, curiosity and chaos, breakthroughs and broken boundaries. It can be tempting to focus only on the sweet moments, but our Spark heroes reminded us again this week that the hard moments are often the ones that help them grow the most
Broken boundaries led to discussions on trust and freedoms. Unkind words created opportunities to share I-Messages and validate feelings. Ruined materials led to lessons on taking care of precious objects, plants, and animals.
In an effort to create a better learning environment, heroes established new boundaries during Montessori work cycle. They created a whisper zone and a no talking zone. Learners agreed to those boundaries by signing their name.
This week also brought a new teamwork challenge: work with someone you don’t usually choose. The result? New friendships, new lunch buddies, and a lot less hesitation when asking classmates for support.
During CHOICE work cycle heroes began the week by learning about the practice of yoga in India and reflecting on how small acts of kindness can bring peace to their studio. They put those ideas into action by creating colorful chalk messages for the Fire and Delta heroes to enjoy after school. On Tuesday, the studio shifted to Russian culture, where heroes learned a traditional dance (see the video in the weekly pictures folder), explored instruments native to Russia, and even built their own instruments from up-cycled materials. The energy in the studio felt electric as heroes formed bands and played music!
On their visit to Thailand, heroes watched a traditional Thai shadow puppet show before making and performing their own shadow puppet shows. Spark heroes found so much joy in just interacting with shadows and movement. To end their week, heroes visited Japan by participating in Sumo matches (trying to keep their balance on a pool noodle or balance beam). They then recreated some traditional kanji (Japanese calligraphy characters) before designing their own.
In the Fire Studio
This week the Fire Studio discussed the role of processes and flow on a hero’s journey. Flow is that almost magical state when our efforts are deeply focused, time stands still or passes in a flash, and our energy flows with a kind of ease. Flow might seem like a difficult or fleeting state to reach in a studio busy with unique young people making their individual choices about what to work on (or not). But even so, it is remarkable how often heroes do move their energy into a flow state. Some days the whole studio is quietly humming with focus and even flow. Other days it is more loudly humming with Mrs. Distraction in the form of heroes chatting, playing, snacking, or doing the less important work that seems easier in the moment. Even on those days, look and you’ll find one hero is deep into their math goal, another is on a streak of three Amira stories, and another is curled up in a bean bag with a great book. This is real life learning in real life settings and a wonderful sign that the energy of the Fire Studio is moving in the right direction.
We have discussed how the sun is the source of energy for our food webs. It felt so good to enjoy that sun on our hike!
What unfolded in Quest this week reminded us so much of a food web. In nature, the arrows in a food web show the movement of energy flowing through a richly connected system — far more dynamic than a simple one-direction food chain. Just like energy flows through a balanced ecosystem, the heroes’ efforts flowed between each other this week. Younger heroes sought help from older ones and older heroes lit up with the energy that comes from mentoring. The studio looked scattered—cardboard, laptops, books everywhere—but the learning was interconnected as heroes moved all their documented research from Journey Tracker onto their Zoo signs, and continued building their habitats, all the while collaborating and mentoring. And yes, the Vertebrate and Invertebrate Song could be heard all the way across the gym.
Highlights from the week: Those moments when a Hero completes a challenge. Whether it’s their very first of the session or the final one they needed, the pride on their face — followed by a round of high-fives — sends a burst of energy through the room that truly lights up the studio.
When a younger hero finished his week 5 challenges, he was so excited to be able to add his name to the list of heroes available to mentor others!
A guide walked in just as studio was starting at the end of lunch to find the studio gathered, and the council ready to read the story time letter.
In the DELTA Studio
If you want to see seeming contradictions living in harmony, visit the DELTA Studio daily. I believe it is most helpful to look at both sides of these pairs.
They arrive disjointed and late for P.E., but they play a delightful game of human foosball all together (they didn’t even keep score)!
They often thoughtlessly step over something that needs to be picked up, but they mentor Spark and Fire heroes with purposeful kindness patience.
Their desks may be chaotic, but their bathroom-cleaning and weeding are impressively thorough. They have seemingly “immature” sand wars, but are incredibly mature as they seek to know the limits and apologize (of their own volition) when they cross the limits.
They arrive at school often tired and with low energy. They have all the energy in the world to play their desired games at lunch!
They are often behind in math and writing, but are typically ahead in their passion driven Exploratory Works!
They complain about Quest, but then work late into the evening—literally—because they realized they could do this!
Squad Games this week was held on Tuesday and featured an egg drop challenge (almost every egg survived) and an egg bungee jumping challenge.
The catapult construction was also taken to a new level this week.
Across our studios this week – and every week – the energy doesn’t always look neat or perfectly directed. But like a food web, it is always moving—constantly, dynamically, and often in ways that only become clear when we step back and take in the whole picture. We aren’t ignoring the details—we’re observing, adjusting, reflecting, and learning. But overall? The energy is moving forward. And that is rejuvenating to the soul!