10/18-10/24
Just as going deeper into the ocean provides a fantastic adventure for deep sea divers, CHOICE heroes enjoyed another marvelous week of adventures going deeper into social, emotional and intellectual learning.
In the Spark Studio…this week we enjoyed digging deeper into the oceans! We learned how a whale’s bladder keeps the whale warm while living in cold ocean waters. We compared and contrasted various beaches. Heroes saw physical differences on land and read about differences in the water. It was a special treat to have some CHOICE parents bring in a whale bone. Observing the whale bone without being told anything about it, generated some great questions.
The relationship between the Fire Studio and the Spark Studio deepened this week as we began our Fire Studio mentor reading. Fire Studio heroes have the opportunity to sign up to be Spark Studio reading mentors. The Fire Studio heroes come in and listen to Sparks read once a week. The Spark heroes love the friendship and support from the Fire Studio, and the Fire Studio heroes consider it a treat to be a mentor to their young friends!
During our Loose Parts Play reflection, we had a deep focus on writing this week. We practice our writing skills, especially forming letters correctly, while reflecting on our emotions. Not only are we reflecting on how plans were changed, but also discussing how learners felt. When did you feel sad? When did you feel happy? Writing is a skill we are working hard to master here in the Spark Studio!
In the Fire Studio…We dove head first into our Freedom levels this week. For the first time heroes placed themselves into a Freedom level depending on how many points they earned the previous week. Some heroes’ Freedom Level dictated that their running partner help decide what they should work on. Other’s Freedom Level dictated they got to use a blocker. Still others maintained total freedom. The beautiful part about it was that there wasn’t one murmur of complaint. It is a hero created system and the learners recognized they had made choices that put them in a certain Freedom Level. It was beautiful to watch their acceptance of consequences.
During Civ, the heroes deepened their understanding about Clovis uniting the Franks, and the Salic law against name calling. The heroes discussed whether it should be against the law to call people names. A wide range of opinions arose: from an argument that people should be able to say whatever they want, to advocating for outlawing name calling and making it punishable by death 🙂 The heroes then chose to dig deeper into one of two aspects of this period of history, either hair or archery. If they studied archery they may be able to discuss why there are pictures of Franks wielding bows but little to no archaeological evidence of bows. They also made a mini bow. The heroes who studied hair then made a yarn wig in honor of the long haired Frankish kings. Some of the wig makers showed some mad sewing skills, and they got so into it that a few of them kept working into lunch and outside time.
The heroes found that coral reefs are a fascinating place, whether composed of actual coral and other marine organisms, or crafted from yarn, cardboard, Q-tips, and balloons. The heroes worked in groups to study the creatures found in coral reefs and the relationships between them. Then they created awesome models of the organisms they studied. It was great to see them grow in their understanding of ecosystems and food chains as well as their collaborative skills. And creating is so much fun!
