6/20-6/26
My aunt, an expert in the field of children’s music, always says that “a child’s brain needs repetition but craves spontaneity.” As we finish our fifth week at school we are starting to enjoy the daily routine and repetition that these young brains need. And yet, every week (if not every day) there is also something fun and surprising to provide the spontaneity their brains are craving.
In the Spark Studio… Did you know South America is the 3rd largest producer of kiwifruit? We started off the week exploring how to eat a kiwi with a spoon. On Wednesday we welcomed the first official day of fall with a poll to see if more heroes like Granny Smith apples or Red Delicious apples. Helpers prepared the apples for snack time and heroes were asked to taste each type of apple before voting. Votes were recorded on the white board easel. We also voted with our feet and divided the room into the Granny Smith side and Red Delicious side. It was a great visual to see/count the number of votes. So many friends loved Granny Smith apples.
As we get ready for exhibition, heroes are practicing their presentations on works in the studio. It helps us develop better communication skills, self control, listening skills, and practice guiding one another. Heroes are doing a marvelous job learning presentations on works and guiding one another.
And with such beautiful weather who can resist outdoor turtle time!
A few other pics from our routine work cycle and outside time this week:
In the Fire Studio…The heroes are settling into the rhythms of CHOICE life. During Core Skills they are so much quicker to jump into their work. And they are working hard. As a studio at large we are spending a lovely amount of time on math. When asked how they like Dreambox and Beast Academy previously relunctant math doers have responded anywhere from “It is actually really fun” (said in an almost apologetic way 🙂 ) to “It is SO fun” ” I love it!” Listening to the natural collaboration as heroes get stuck on problems and help one another out is a joy.
The hero’s know the routine during Writer’s Workshop. The first 15 minutes are spent with their running partner doing partner challenges after which they move on to their individual challenges. Writer’s Workshop is right before lunch on Wednesdays. This Wednesday, we had an activity during lunch and they were so engaged in their Writer’s Workshop individual challenges, we struggled to pull them away from their challenges! What a wonderful struggle to have!
It’s been so fun to get to know the heroes during this session’s quest time, as they are able to explore the topics and in the learning styles they are naturally drawn to, while also being inspired by what the other heroes are doing. A discussion of Pompeii with the discovery of a plaster corpse in the studio (!) led to further explorations of Roman architecture (see playdough pics), Latin, Mediterranean foods, volcanoes, and Roman mythology.
And of course, a large scale human knot during jolliness and spontaneous trip to the splash pad during P.E. always brings a million smiles!
Whether it’s the routine or the spontaneity, being with these young heroes is what my brain craves!