There was lots of excitement on campus as we came back together for our first full week in studio, and also our first week with dedicated core skills time on our computers! To kick off the week we began by reading "The Magical Yet". This is a beautiful introduction to growth mindset, and a reminder to us all that learning takes time and effort and is always possible with a "yet" mindset. With excitement crackling in the air, the learners each sat down with their computers and headphones and spent 30 minutes in flow, learning at their own pace using programs like Lexia, Nessy, or Khan Academy.
After working hard on their computer programs, we tidied up and took break for a snack. One of our learners had suggested a daily "show and tell" time, so we've incorporated this into our morning snack routine. It's been a lovely way to learn about each other's interests and even find some we have in common. Afterwards we put on our shoes and headed out for a nature walk along the river, where we were greeted by a very rare sighting....a turtle!! Then on our way back to the studio we were visited by another local resident, the woodpecker, and on Tuesday, the two Barred Owls made an appearance :). Deer and squirrels are also a daily sighting on campus and it's so exciting to have such close encounters with these beautiful creatures on a daily basis. I can't wait to see what other friends we discover!
After stretching our legs and getting some fresh air it was back into hands-on math and language challenges. We then read a beautiful book called "All Kinds of Families" by Suzanne Lang. We talked about our families, things we love to do together, and then each drew a family portrait to add to our Identity Book, which will be showcased at our first exhibition.
This week we also had our first Writer's Workshop. After reading the book, "A Squiggly Story" the learners were invited to turn 8 beautiful blank pages into any story they'd like, using just drawings, adding letters, or even words and sentences if they chose. Everyone was excited to dive in and we heard stories about UFOs, pets, a group of whiz-kid sisters, and a book of building plans for our Anji Play Zone.
As part of our commitment to building a world-class studio, we continued to work on our community contract and discuss the promises that will be important to make to one another. We watched this inspiring news clip about a young girl who raised money to bring a "Buddy Bench" to her school; a place where children could go to signal to others that they need a friend, someone to talk to or play with. This sparked a beautiful conversation about what it feels like to be alone, when we may have felt this way, and how we can make sure to always include one another. We came up with our studio friendship recipe, the ingredients we agree are important to fostering friendships: kindness, sharing, listening, and helping. Two of our young heroes even volunteered to build the school a buddy bench, a project we plan to start tackling next week.
As always, our afternoons are spent with long stretches of time outdoors enjoying the natural world, either at the river, in the Anji-inspired play zone, or peacefully painting in the shade. These dedicated hours for unstructured play outdoors are so beautiful to witness, and so important to health and wellbeing. It may look like "just" play, but all week long I witnessed these young heroes planning, collaborating, arguing and resolving their conflicts, sharing, creating, and bonding. I even witnessed our democratic process in action on numerous occasions, where a young hero stepped up during a dispute and called for a vote!
To finish off our week, and in honor of the upcoming Terry Fox run, on Friday morning we sat down to watch a short clip about this real-life Canadian hero. We learned that Terry ran 5373km, or 5,373,000m. Our field, from fence to riverbend and back again, is 60m which means Terry would have run that distance a whopping 89,550 times! We decided to challenge ourselves to see how many times we could each run that distance, and to think of Terry and all he had to overcome and push through during his incredible run. They were so inspired by Terry's story, and it was incredibly moving to see these young people take on this challenge. They were dedicated, and made goals for how many laps they wanted to achieve, with our longest distance runner racking up 38 laps (2280m)!
While cooling off in the field afterwards we talked about Terry's selfless sacrifice, and what heroic traits he would have had to call on to achieve this feat.
Our daily rhythm is taking form, and each afternoon we set aside time for D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read). Children select a book of their choosing, find a quiet corner, and enjoy getting lost in a story. We finished our week by reading "Terry Fox and Me", the true story of Terry Fox and his best friend Doug. It tells the story of how Terry was not a natural athlete but wouldn't let that get in his way. He practiced and persevered, and over the course of their friendship Doug and Terry continued to support and challenge each other to be the best versions of themselves. It's a beautiful tale of resilience, friendship, and the indomitable spirit of Terry Fox.
It's hard to believe this group has only been together for 9 days, and I'm reminded constantly of the boundless ability of young people. We said goodbye and set off into our weekends with the wise words of Terry Fox lingering in our minds: "I just wish people would realize that anything's possible if you try. Dreams are made possible if you try."
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