5/25-5/31

This may be our last session, but there is “newness” all around!

From the Spark Studio

From Miss Anna Our final quest of the year in the Spark Studio is “Think Like a Scientist!” After just 3 days, our heroes are already catching the vision! We started the week off with a series of short and simple experiments to help us answer a few questions like, “why do some things sink and others float?” and “why are some things magnetic and others aren’t?” We shared our hypothesis and conducted experiments throughout the day. At the end of the day, we analyzed our data and came to some conclusions. My favorite part of this process was observing how rich and exciting the learning was. I never taught any formal lessons on magnetism or buoyancy, but instead allowed the heroes to make the discoveries themselves. 

After the first day of some simple experiments, the heroes got to test out a simple circuit with various attachments like lights, a speaker and a fan. The work was a huge hit! It was so cool to hear the heroes collaborating with each other, trying to figure out why the power sometimes came on and other times it didn’t. I never once stepped in to show them how to make it work! At our reflection at the end of the day, the heroes taught me all about circuits, how to make them stronger and how to avoid power outages. These 4-7-year-olds grasped every concept that they might have been formally taught in a more traditional environment and much more. And they did it all on their own!

From the Fire Studio

From Kara Our final quest of the year is a curiosity quest where the heroes are exploring and creating a project related to a personal passion. The heroes spent the week surveying their own interests, learning about trumpets and bonsai trees from a passionate guest, and starting to think through questions that can drive the project they will create.

From JeVonne Oh it’s hard to pick highlights! A new session brought so much fun this week:

Lego building creations during civilization

Wall painting as part of quest

Slime and Rice Krispy making during Writer’s Workshop

And A hero invented relay race during lunch (I’m still not sure what the rules were??)

Perhaps my greatest highlight however, was the beginning of their new system of government. Just like anything that is new, it will take tweaking and a little experimenting. There will be frustrations and some annoyance. But the foundation is solid. The heroes have created a system that will #1) reward hard work (thus providing some positive consequences for their choices) and #2) hold them accountable for breaking studio contracts (thus providing some negative consequences for their choices). I have already seen some powerful effects. During core skills there were a few heroes participating in a “see who can jump the longest on one foot” contest. Another hero kindly walked over, reminded all of them that was a distraction and a breach of their contract and asked for a Moolah. The contestants peacefully handed over a Moolah and went back to working on their core skills. What a beautiful learner driven moment!