4/6-4/12
Both studios began new quests this week with a focus on botany. Studying the growth of plants and flowers is exciting; watching the growth of heroes is exhilarating!
From the Spark Studio
From Miss Anna I can’t believe we are already in our sixth session! The heroes have grown so much. JeVonne and I laughed this week as we recalled some of the challenges the tribe has overcome throughout the year. At the start of the year, we were experimenting with different boundaries and consequences for our actions – our young heroes were learning how to control their bodies and minds in a learner driven environment.
Fast forward to this week – not only are the heroes developing the self-control they need to operate with so much freedom, they are thriving in their ownership! They are initiating problem-solving dialogue, they are suggesting ideas for how we might spend our time and they are often the ones enforcing the boundaries, not me.
One example from this week was when a few heroes wanted to do Turtle Time outside. They went to each member of the tribe to get buy in and then presented me with: “Everyone wants to do Turtle Time outside today because the weather is so nice.” Of course we made it happen! These heroes know that their ideas are important and that they have the power to make changes. They are beginning to explore ideating, planning, and acting – all exciting aspects of freedom!
From the Elementary Studio
From Kara We had a great start to the session with beautiful weather, lots of energy and curious learners. We are studying nature (with a focus on botany) in our quest this session, and the heroes have enjoyed diving into nature journaling, individual learning, and team projects.
From JeVonne I love the start of each session…New squads. New quests. New writing genres. New goals. Even a new playlist… I love that we get a fresh start. It keeps energy high and gives the heroes a chance to continually make changes. As we launched a new session, I was struck by how the heroes have grown since Session 1. Here are 3 examples:
The heroes voted that Thursday’s core skills be devoted to a “Math Power Hour.” Afterward, the heroes shared their reflections: whether or not it was “powerful” and why. While most heroes were sharing how many Wildmath or Khan lessons they completed, one hero who had struggled working through a Khan concept stood up and shared: “It was powerful because I learned something.” How beautiful that a young person can recognize the power not necessarily in accomplishing something on their checklist but in learning something!
As we launched our new Writer’s Workshop (a persuasive essay on which national park to save) I looked around and saw every hero engaged and heard happy banter back and forth about which park was the best. Writer’s Workshop has at times been more of a struggle for the heroes to engage in. Not only were they all choosing to engage, they were enjoying it!
Kara has created another masterful quest. During individual time there are a plethora of different “works” the heroes can choose from. Designed after the Montessori “works” idea, all works are focused on botany but some are reading, some are art, some are building, some are writing, etc. No one is expected to do all of them. As I was talking with a younger hero about what he had chosen to do that day he shared that he read a long, challenging – and in his opinion, a little boring – book. When I questioned him as to why he had chosen that work when there were so many other options he informed me that he wanted to do all the works and thus had chosen to get that one done first. I loved that with no “requirements” this hero was challenging himself and choosing to do something hard.
As the heroes study and learn about the beauty and growth of living organisms, I hope they notice the beauty and growth in their tribes and themselves!