This was the second week that they children went straight to core skills after arriving at school, and there is a marked difference in their focus on Montessori activities! They are feeling a sense of pride as they delve deeper into their work and feel success as they make progress towards their goals.
The week also began on a high note as each Spark hero read the response to their love letters to their parents last week! The heroes had an in-depth discussion with each other at circle time, as they imagined what it would be like if they swapped days with their parents. What if their parents came to school? And what if the heroes went to their parents’ workplaces?
The children had so much fun stepping into the shoes of their parents for a little while! Thank you to all the parents who shared their daily experiences with us and sparked the learners’ imaginations!
In Quest, the learners have been spending much time outdoors. This week, they learned all about soil including the minerals, clay, and organic materials that makes up soil. The children took soil samples and brought them back to school to take a closer look. They discovered how each sample was unique, made up of different components. It was amazing to see the differences between samples within just a 1-mile radius!
The children also conducted a celery experiment to learn more about how plants grow and how their root systems work. They were all in awe as they watched the celery change color as it soaked up the water!
In World Cultures, the children celebrated Earth Day! The heroes made Earths using paper plates and materials from nature. They also explored a number of Native American tribes and how some look to animals for guidance. To celebrate this, each hero made a clay animals that represented their personality or talents. It was amazing to learn about different cultures and their connections to nature!
The Discovery heroes had a wonderful week following the weekend’s Acton Children’s business Fair!
They kicked off with the second week of ‘Debate a Game’ communication challenge. They learned about several types of logical fallacies. Each of hero created their own logical fallacy card. By using real-life examples to illustrate each fallacy and accompany them with drawings, the Discovery heroes not only solidified their understanding but also showcased their creativity in a unique way. As their guide, witnessing their creativity has been truly inspiring.
On Friday, the learners also engaged in their first mock debate. Each Discovery hero provided intriguing and persuasive arguments on why the game he or she chose is the best in the world, and why that game is better than his or her debate opponents’ game. The Discovery heroes truly put in outstanding work effort into these challenges!
Meanwhile, the community garden quest added more hands-on experience to their learning journey. With the tender care of the Discovery heroes, the seeds they planted began to sprout, symbolizing not only growth in the garden but also the personal growth and nurturing care they demonstrated. They have been extremely responsible for taking care of these plants by observing the small changes and diligently watering the plants.
The Discovery heroes also completed the plant capillary action challenge, in which they set up their own experiments by putting white carnations and daisies into half cup of water with food coloring. They used the scientific method by making hypotheses in the experiment, recording the observations and eventually drawing conclusions. After 72 hours of patiently waiting, the flowers turned colors! The children loved how their flowers turned out to be! They were even thinking about drying the flowers after to better preserve the beauty.
In civilization, the heroes learned about ‘Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible’. The Socratic discussions definitely got them to think more deeply about morals. They expanded their knowledge through research. They found out about the current president in Russia, how long he has been in power, and the three most populated cities other than Moscow. The weekly civilization research challenges have helped the heroes deepen their understanding of history while equipping them with critical thinking skills.
We’ve had an exciting and productive week in Spark! Here’s a glimpse into what we’ve been up to:
This week, we implemented a new morning routine to reduce the transitions in our mornings and create a calmer, more focused atmosphere. Based on guide observations, the change has been a huge success! While learners might feel like they have less free time, rest assured that unstructured play remains an essential part of our day, with an average of 3 hours dedicated to it!!
In our community garden quest, we dug into the fascinating world of plant life cycles. Learners crafted individual silly stories about a seed’s journey and collaborated to create a beautiful plant life cycle poster. It was wonderful to see their creativity and teamwork in action!
In civilizations, we learned about the various festivals that welcome spring. Additionally, we embarked on a caterpillar hunt to explore the wonders of nature. Though our search came up empty-handed, we cherished the extra time spent outdoors, basking in the sunshine and spring weather.
This week, learners decided that our weekly focus should be on “Getting to our outside playground quickly.” Learners brainstormed ways to improve our post-lunch routine and collectively agreed on a new sequence: putting on shoes, cleaning up lunch boxes, tidying up the table or folding blankets, and lining up to get ready to vote. They’ve committed to offering each other kind reminders as we adjust to this new system.
Thank you for your continued support in fostering a nurturing and enriching environment for our Spark learners!
One of our favorite events each year is the Acton Children’s Business Fair. It’s a one-day marketplace open to children from all over the greater Madison area. It’s an opportunity for children to create a product or service, develop a brand, build a marketing strategy, and then open for customers at the fair.
Every important step in the business process was tackled by the young entrepreneurs themselves. Each young entrepreneur is responsible for the setup, sales, and interaction with customers.
Cash prizes were awarded in each of the three age groups (6-7, 8-10, and 11-12) for “Most Business Potential,” “Most Creative Idea,” and “Most Impressive Presentation.”
With 22 booths, 24 entrepreneurs and over 100 shoppers, the event was a success, and we can’t wait to grow!
Want to Participate in the Next Acton Madison Children’s Business Fair on May 17, 2025?
For more information on the next fair, you can check out our business fair website here. We will begin enrolling closer to the fair date, and you can add yourself to our mailing list in the meantime.
What a wonderful week back after the long spring break. The week started with a special solar eclipse viewing party. After lunch, the children gathered for a launch about what causes an eclipse and why this week’s eclipse is so special. The children were surprised when they had the realization that they will be in their late 20’s the next time such an eclipse comes around. Where and who will they be?! We watched the first 30 minutes of the eclipse, went back to work, and came back for peak coverage. The children were fascinated with how dark, cool and eerie it was outside.
The Discovery heroes kicked off the “Community Gardening” quest this week. For the next several weeks they will explore both the science and art of plants and planting. On day one, they explored vegetables, herbs and flowers through their senses. How do they look, taste, smell, feel? Based on their observations, the children did further research on how much space each plant would need to grow, how they would need to be planted (transplant or direct sow), which plants do best together, and how they can use flowers and herbs to deter pests and attract pollinators. They then researched different locations around the school for successful gardening, and made a planting plan for later in the quest. The next task is to plant seedlings which they will keep under grow lights in the studio for the next several weeks! They also explored the concept of photosynthesis and modeled plant cells with colorful air-dry clay, labeling each part.
In Civilization, the children are continuing to explore the middle ages and complete weekly research on interesting questions. They are learning about reliable sources and paraphrasing their findings with their own words, then presenting to the group.
The children enjoyed the warm weather this week as well. For PE, the children hiked to a place they call “rock park” (Glenway Children’s Park) where they had lunch and explored the canyons, hills, and ledges of the unique park!
This session, art will tie into the gardening quest. The children celebrated spring by creating the components of their indoor community garden which they display for the exhibition.
Finally, this week ends with the Acton Children’s Business Fair happening this Saturday. Several heroes are participating and all will be shopping! We can’t wait to see the creations the children have made!
Welcome back from the long spring break! We’ve kicked off our new quest with enthusiasm and curiosity, diving into exciting projects and discoveries. The studio was abuzz with energy as we reunited after the break. The Spark heroes shared tales of their adventures and dreams for the new session ahead. A hot topic was what hotel everybody stayed in and if it had a pool!
Here’s a recap of our week in the studio:
This week, we embarked on a journey into the world of gardening and plant life. We delved into what plants need to thrive and grow, creating our very own mini greenhouses to observe the magic of seed growth up close! From seed to sprout, the children will be making daily observations in their journals. Fingers crossed they all sprout!
The children turned their gaze skyward to witness the awe-inspiring phenomenon of the solar eclipse. They watched the first 30 minutes of the eclipse, went back to work, and came back for peak coverage. The children were fascinated with how dark, cool and eerie it was outside.
During world cultures, they ended the week by crafting intricate cherry blossom trees, inspired by the Japanese tradition of Hanami, celebrating the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms in spring.
The children enjoyed the warm weather this week as well. For PE, they hiked to a place they call “rock park” (Glenway Children’s Park) where they had lunch and explored the canyons, hills, and ledges of the unique park!
This session, art will tie into the gardening quest. The children celebrated spring by creating the components of their indoor community garden which they display for the exhibition.
Finally, this week ends with the Acton Children’s Business Fair happening this Saturday. Several heroes are participating and all will be shopping! We can’t wait to see the creations the children have made!
Nemo. Luke Skywalker. Mulan. Odysseus. Dorothy. The Little Engine that Could.
These stories strike a chord of yearning we share – adventure, identity and meaning in our lives. They also have a structured rhythm that’s been repeated in stories for thousands of years. Joseph Campbell’s work revealed this fundamental structure and called it the “monomyth” or the Hero’s Journey.
Because of its timeless power that crosses cultural barriers, we chose to build the Hero’s Journey into the design of the Acton Academy model.
In fact, second only to our underlying belief that each child has unique genius within, the Hero’s Journey is the #1 element that defines an Acton learner driven community.
This narrative equips our young heroes with the tools and skills they need to learn how to learn, learn how to do and learn how to be. And now research shows it:
This article from the John Templeton Foundation summarizes research by behavioral economists about how using the Hero’s Journey as a framework for life enhances that one’s sense of meaning and increases resilience.
How to use this at home? Tell lots of hero stories! Stories beat lectures every time. Also, use the identity of a hero as a reflection tool when things get hard. Remember a hero is someone who doesn’t quit or blame. “I love you. I know this is hard. I know you can do it. Now, get back in the game, my dear and beloved hero.”
The Discovery heroes wrapped up this session’s Detective Science quest with an exhibition of learning where they created a crime scenario and crime scene for exhibition attendees to solve! They set up a jailbreak scenario and parents and friends were asked to figure out whole helped the criminal escape. They used finger prints, footprints, and hair samples left at the scene to identify the prime suspect.
After that, the heroes engaged in a panel discussion where they answered questions about their quest, like:
What’s more important? the ability to collect evidence carefully and successfully or the ability to identify the most important evidence?
What was the most important character trait you practiced during this quest: imagination, attention to detail, curiosity, or perseverance?
What was the most challenging thing about being a detective?
And, when did you have the most fun on this quest? (for many, it was DNA extraction, identifying cat vs. human hair in a microscope, or using bacteria samples to match to a suspect).
What was your greatest lesson learned?
Following a tour of their individual detective-science based work, heroes from the drama club took to the stage and acted out their production of, “Little Blue Riding Hood.” The production was 100% learner-led. The children wrote the spin-off, directed it, acted in it, and created their own props and costumes. The play was a real crowd-pleaser and heartly laughter was heard in response to the menacing wolf pair and the fairy who made them sleep to save little blue riding hood.
Now spring break begins and the children will share photos and stories from their travels or stay-cations when they return, and embark on the “Community Garden” quest!
As winter bids its farewell, we eagerly embrace the warmth and joy of spring here at Spark! The Spark heroes have been buzzing with excitement and curiosity, ready for the adventures that lie ahead. Let’s dive into the highlights of our recent escapades:
With the arrival of spring, we eagerly embarked on our Gardening Quest. Exploring the wonders of nature, we learned all about bottom-watering plants and watched with sheer delight as our grass-potted plants finally began to sprout and grow! This newfound growth fills us with hope and anticipation for our green-fingered endeavors coming up next session.
The Spark family continues to grow! We joyfully welcomed two new friends into our studio, sharing our space with open arms. From exploring Montessori tools to introducing our studio promises and cherished playtime toys the day was one for the books!
With creative minds at play, we delved into the realm of mysteries! Anticipation filled the air as we crafted intriguing crime scene scenarios, preparing for our upcoming exhibition. Together, we created a Spark studio fingerprint database, marveling at the unique patterns on each of our fingertips.
With a spring in our step, we showered our beloved studio with extra love and care. Together, we tidied up our creative space, ensuring it shines bright and welcoming for all who enter.
We relied on the experience of having both of our children attend a wonderful Montessori program as toddlers and pre-schoolers, our own research on this topic, as well as the input from other Acton Academy owners who have also spent time contemplating the answer to this question. We certainly share many values of the Montessorisystem and care greatly for our friends who run and work in these schools.
A common response to this question from other Acton owners is that Acton Academy is almost like a Montessori 2.0 or Montessori for the 21st Century. While Acton Academies do believe in many of the principles espoused by Maria Montessori (respect of the child, self-learning/freedom of choice, multi-age classrooms, a prepared environment and teachers as guides, to name a few), there are significant differences between the programs as well. It is important to note that not all Montessori schools are officially licenced so there is some variation in the style of programming delivered. Similarly, each Acton Academy is independently owned and operated as well so absolute generalizations cannot be made.
With that in mind, here are some specific distinctions that make an Acton Academy a unique learning environment compared to a Montessori school.
Consistent Progressive Education Goals vs. Focus on Early Years
Maria Montessori seemed to invest her genius in preschool-aged children and early childhood development. Acton owner Kai Olderog had this to say: “She designed it for those ages and placed an enormous amount of trust in children that age to be responsible for their environment and capable of doing amazing work.”
The Montessori programs offered for older children weren’t necessarily developed by Maria Montessori and have been formed by individual programs wanting schooling for higher ages. As a result of this distinction, many Montessori schools add more traditional elements to their programs as the children get older; this actually leads to decreased responsibility in the higher grades. At an Acton Academy, our Hero’s are given more responsibility as they get older and are heavily involved in self-management, leadership, and self-government of their learning environments.
Having said that, our school and many other Acton Academies accept students at age six or seven so we often rely on, recommend, and partner with local Montessori programs for the toddlers and preschoolers who will come to our school at that older age.
The Focus on Mastery and Use of Technology
At an Acton Academy, a large emphasis is on the development of mastery when learning Core Skills (reading, writing, math, and spelling). We utilize tools, at times technology-based, that allow our students — we call them “Heroes” — to learn at their own pace and individually. We continually seek the most efficient ways to enable this, and many Acton Academies incorporate other paper-based tools (Singapore Maths, Writer’s Workshop, for example) to find the best means to achieve our ultimate goal.
Technology is one tool we use to allow this kind of learning to take place. For the most part, Montessori programs have a reflexive policy against the use of technology in the classroom.
Jeff Sandefer, the co-founder of Acton Academy said this about our program: “Acton isn’t pro-technology, but we use powerful game based programs for areas like Math, as well as relying on the internet to bring experts and the world to us. We don’t dismiss technology out of hand. If it’s a useful tool, process or habit, we use it, whether its Khan Academy or a walk in the park.”
Socratic Method vs. Group Discussions
Acton Academies emphasize the use of the Socratic Method in educating our students. This differs from the group discussions led by teachers, which Montessori programs encourage. The Socratic method, with the use of active questioning in order to draw out and clarify one’s thinking, is a vehicle for developing critical thinking skills, stimulating critical reflection, and developing depth of character. Although group discussions are better than lectures, often the teacher is still in the role of ‘expert’ and this can limit the robustness of thought required by the students.
Ability to Apply Learning to the Real World
Real world preparation includes a need to adapt to a place influenced greatly by technology, a continual shift in knowledge, and a rapidly changing landscape. We just don’t know what kind of future our children will face so developing useful skills and a critical thinking approach is extremely important moving forward.
The Acton Academy system is focused on preparing our Heroes to find their own calling in the real world. We continually help our students in this regard in multiple ways:
1. The use of the Hero’s Journey heuristic as a way of using stories as a backdrop for learning, and in understanding that they themselves are on their own journey
2. Bringing in guests to discuss their Hero’s Journey and demonstrate the challenges everyone faces on their life’s path
3. The use of Quests as structured real-world challenges that create real world accountable results, much like project-based work
4. The use of Apprenticeships as Heroes get older to make the world their classroom
5. The focus on entrepreneurship, leadership, and self-management
6. An emphasis on character development and the concepts that allow our Hero’s to do their best – Curiosity, Gratitude, Grit, Growth Mindset, Optimism, Purpose, Self-Control, Social/Emotional Intelligence, and Zest
At an Acton Academy, we continually focus on relating lessons and tasks to the real-world in order to give our Heroes the skills, abilities and confidence to succeed in whatever field they choose. The focus is on the process of learning, not just the content of it, thus enabling them to be ready for whatever the future may bring.
Ongoing Improvement to Achieve our Educational Goals
An Acton Academy has, at its core, the mission to enable our Hero’s to Learn to Learn, Learn to Do and Learn to Be, along their path of finding their own calling. The program has been developed with this goal in mind and therefore there is constant reflection on what is working and what is not, so continual improvements can be made as needed. The Montessori Method is a specific educational philosophy in and of itself, and thus it can be hard to change in a rapidly changing education landscape.
Overall, while Acton Academies do share, respect, and incorporate many of Maria Montessori’s philosophies on children’s education, we do have a number of differences which we feel help our Heroes to best prepare themselves for the future. It comes from the similar desire to do all we can for our next generation but also takes advantage of the recent advances in tools, philosophy and understanding of education in the 21st Century.
The Discovery heroes continued with their marine science quest this week! First, they examined a couple of real fish specimens. The heroes were fascinated by their scales and eyes. The next day, they explored marine food webs. Some were surprised to learn that humans are at the top of the marine food web, and explored Read more…
This week’s focus was growth mindset. We explored questions like are you born smart or do you get smarter with hard work? We also discussed the word “yet” and explored how powerful it can be when we encounter a challenge, as in “I can’t do this……YET.” We’ve continued to explore weather through books and activities. Read more…
This week, our Discovery heroes dove even deeper into the mysteries of the ocean with an exciting project on light and how it transforms underwater. They started by cutting out deep sea glasses and taping them onto file folders. Next, they taped blue film over the eye holes, allowing the glasses to filter light similarly Read more…
