It has been a productive and rewarding week in the Spark Studio! The heroes are growing accustomed to practicing working independently in the mornings. With this practice comes deepened concentration. Several of the heroes are beginning to focus on earning either a writing, reading or math badge! While others continue to enjoy exploring art, building, science exploration in the studio.
Our circle time focus this week was using wise words and actions. The Spark heroes decided to focus on saying, “I’m sorry” and sharing. We saw many examples of both throughout the week, even when challenging at times!
The heroes have also been greatly enjoying nearly daily reading of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Every chapter seems to end with a cliffhanger. Reading such a colorful story is always a great way to kick off either D.E.A.R. or Writers’ Workshop.
During outdoor play in the afternoons with Spark, we’ve been practicing using our senses with natural objects. We’ve mindfully explored bark, leaves, and nuts from local trees by paying close attention to the colors, sounds, and smells we can detect in them. After these exercises, the kids have been paying more attention to the plants around them as we walk outside.
In one of our explorations we practiced managing risk by using potato peelers to whittle sticks, a task that involved a lot of self-control, remembering safety rules, and being aware of the space around us. Every Spark chose to learn this skill! Along the way, we noticed interesting mysteries about the wood we worked with, like how new colors appeared as we carved deeper into the sticks.
