The Guides have been having one-on-one meetings with each hero to go through each app and detail exactly where they are, and what they need to accomplish towards their badge plans. This process was an eye-opener for some in seeing that they will need to work with more intentionality to make progress, and that sometimes they need to push through challenges on the apps rather than start on another when the material gets tough. It was also an opportunity for each hero to set their own weekly work plan which they are vested in.
In our core skills launches this week, the heroes have also been exploring the ideas of rights, privileges and responsibilities. The heroes are learning that privileges, like being at Acton, come with certain responsibilities, including respecting the promises they made to each other at the beginning of the school year (in their contract of promises).
Each week our Guide will introduce a new Montessori challenge for the younger heroes. This week it was sandpaper letters and greenboards.
Entomology Quest
The heroes continued in their roles as entomologists this week. They explored questions like: what is an arthropod? and what is an insect? Using what they learned, they designed and built “super bugs” in the makerspace.
We welcomed new guests to the studio this week: ants! The children are setting up insect habitats and this week set up two large ant farms. The heroes are responsible for the care of their ants and will keep a daily observation journal for each habitat. It was fun to see how much progress the ants made on their tunnels in just 24 hours!
The heroes also began running mini-experiments to learn more about the ants. For instance, what do the ants like to eat? Do they prefer an apple or a dead bug? The heroes hunted for insects outside and found a recently dead bee. The ants swarmed it and immediately brought it into their tunnels. We learned our harvester ants prefer bugs over apples!
We’re also learning about ants’ social behavior. We watched a couple snippets of this documentary. If you want to watch more at home, it’s fascinating!
Writer’s Workshop
We continue our exploration of fact-based fiction this week. Last week, heroes completed their topic research. This week, they worked on idea development by creating, sharing and critiquing each others’ story spines. Their challenge is to write a fiction story that also incorporates ten facts they learned about their topic through their research. There are stories about hedge hogs in space, caterpillars that tour the world, blob fish and killer hippos. We can’t wait to learn how they all end!
Civilization / STEAM
This week the heroes completed their canopic jars and used them to “mummify” apples using “natron” mixtures of vinegar, baking soda, salt and sugar. The results surprised us! Ask your hero what happened and how they might design the experiment differently next time to isolate results.
Phys Ed We are so fortunate to have Kathryn on board as she is making fitness really fun while integrating health concepts and tying Phys Ed into other parts of what we are learning.
This week, heroes learned about heart rates, and why they increase when the heart works harder. They learned that fitness is about heart health, strength, endurance and flexibility. They learned that people in ancient civilizations trained/participated in “sport” to be prepared for battle/war. They crawled low and covered their buddies. They also learned about body systems (proprioceptive, vestibular, muscular, vision) by “feeling them” with jumping, hopping, skipping, rolling, spinning, doing somersaults, balancing, carrying each other short distances, sit-ups, and walking with eyes closed. Each hero was invited to pick a system they want to work on, and to start thinking about a fitness S.M.A.R.T. goal they want to work on for the next several weeks.
Finally, they collaborated to play a game together that increased their heart rates and that everyone participated in. The latter can be challenging, and the heroes are learning to negotiate rules that work for all!
Next week we are excited for our first birthday celebration!!
