Session 1, Week 3
This week put the phrase “it’s fun to do hard things” to the test, and heroes proved it true in each studio. Whether it was pushing through frustration on a treasure map, wobbling through a brand new skill for the very first time, or trusting a rope on the side of a mountain, heroes found that the difficulty was not something to get through before the fun could start. It was the fun, already underway.
In the Spark Studio…
The Spark Studio guides heard a familiar request all week long: “Can you take a picture and send it to my mom?” Heroes are proud of their hard work and love celebrating it.
One hero grew so discouraged making a treasure map that he wanted to give up and go home, but he pushed through and came out the other side beaming, map in hand, proof that giving up would have meant missing that happiness entirely.
The Brown Stair was a popular Montessori work this week, and since heroes couldn’t quite reach the top to place its skinniest piece, they brainstormed together to find a safe way to get it done, with pride showing on every face involved.
Lip Dub gave heroes one more chance to work through frustration together: after their idea fell short last week, they tried again Monday and got it right on the first try.
Heroes also discussed the treasures in their own lives and made their own tea stained paper for treasure maps.
In the fire Studio…
The Fire Studio had a week full of firsts: the Magic App, squad meetings, the IXL arena…
…D.E.A.R., and their new Studio Maintenance system.
Not every first went smoothly, but heroes were reminded that first tries at anything–like riding a two wheeler bike or trying roller blades–come with a few bumps, and that’s exactly what leads to more fun down the road.
Fire studio heroes have shown “gritty” determination (a new word straight out of their Lip Dub song) in pushing through the hard parts while staying kind to each other and holding the new boundaries set by their contract of promises. Each day, heroes worked on Lip Dub lyrics and choreography in small groups, and working toward one final result brought plenty of challenges along with plenty of smiles. In Sapphire studio quest, heroes learned the importance of feedback and multiple drafts, putting it into practice with DELTA heroes critiquing their Lip Dub routines and running partners offering warm and cool feedback on dream board drafts.
Heroes also learned about the Statue of Liberty (it gets struck by lightning 600 times a year!) before building their own statues out of recycled materials.
In the delta Studio…
The DELTA Studio went on their annual adventure this week, built around three goals: learn something new, do something physical, and bond the tribe, all of which can be hard in their own way. Preparation began over the summer with P.I.E. badges focused on stars, paleontology, and geology in the Vernal area. At Ashley Canyon, heroes split between Via Ferrata and rock climbing, both brand new experiences that pushed them far outside their comfort zones. Heroes who had never climbed before, or were nervous to try, got on the rock anyway, and most exceeded what they thought they were capable of, stepping into their panic zone again and again, choosing grit, and cheering each other on the whole way. Back at camp, heroes made dinner, set up tents, and stayed up too late talking around the campfire. Friday morning brought a trip to Dinosaur National Monument to earn Junior Ranger badges. By the time they headed home, heroes had learned something new, pushed themselves physically, and both made new friendships and strengthened old ones.
Every studio found its own version of the same truth this week. The hard stuff–a frustrating first draft, a wobbly first try, a rope on a canyon wall–is not something to avoid. By the end of the week, it was hard to say where the difficulty ended and the delight began, and the heroes were too engaged to worry about drawing that line.