Our First Year

Week 20

A week full of accomplishments! The Eagles have had stellar focus on their core skills over the last 5 days with what we think might be the most points earned in one week ever. They all showed how much they have become Eagles and can work to accomplish goals. We kicked off on Monday with a morning launch about how much focus can matter and we watched a failed, unmanned space launch and a video of Kobe Bryant talking about "being in the zone".   In music Ms Karen had us working on our rhythms and practicing the recorder. In art, Miss Sanni had us work on our second draft of our self-portraits after practicing eyes, noses, and lips. The Eagles have also been given random scribbles and shapes on a paper and have had to use their imaginations to turn them into drawings of something meaningful. This has been a super fun exercise, although we had to put up privacy screens to deter copying other's ideas. In PE Ms Sherry ran us through a very fun obstacle course and had us working on our coordination using a ball and a wedge mat.   Mr. TJ shared a new way to handle studio disputes (called VOMP), and the Heroes took to it immediately: Voice - tell your side of the story Own - take ownership of what the other person said. This is how you made them feel, whether you meant to or not. Make a Plan - how will you move forward and/or handle differently in the future?   In Quest, our chess tournament has started! So far everyone has played one game each. I think this will be a close tournament. The games were pretty tight on Wednesday.   In Writer's Workshop, we are working on picture books. So far everyone has a story written and we will start sharing and giving each other feedback on Tuesday. The Eagles are loving the freedom of writing any creative story they can imagine.   In Civilizations we learned about Alexander the Great and his father Philip. The Eagles were asked if he was destined to be the ruler of the biggest kingdom in the world or did he make a path for himself by working towards accomplishing his goals? We learned about the 3rd Great Wonder of the Ancient World: The Lighthouse of Alexandria that stood 330 ft tall!   On Friday to end the week strong we had a morning launch about focusing on your goal until the very end! We watched a video of Lindsey Jacob Ellis snowboarding at the Olympics when she was so far ahead of the competition but broke her focus and ended up falling and earning a Silver Medal instead of the Gold. The Eagles talked about how important it is to stay in the zone all the way until the finish line with whatever goal you are pursuing.

Obstacle course at gym!!

Gratitudes at the end of the day and making a yarn star   Journaling during morning SAVERS routine   Art class with Ms. Sanni - privacy blockers up = no copying!

Gaga ball at the park : )   Cleaning recorders at the end of music class!

Week 19

The week started with a lack of focus, then ended very strong with stellar focus and effort!!   On Tuesday in music we learned a new song on the piano and practiced the same song on the ukulele and rhythm for it on the drums. During art, we continued working on our skills drawing faces adding lips and working more on noses and eyes. I look forward to seeing where these skills take us.   In PE, we played all sorts of fun games and did our usual warm-ups. The Eagles are showing how in shape they are.   We walked to the Laconia Library and everyone received a library card and choose books to take out and bring home. The Eagles were VERY excited about this trip and proud of their book selections.   During Civilizations we learned more about the Greeks and the Peloponnessian War. We talked about what is more important for a society: to make great architecture (what the Greeks are known for) or inventions?   In Quest, we have been plugging away at chess and I (Mr. TJ) am losing a lot more then I would like to admit.   During one of our morning launches we watched President Kennedy's speech from 1962 at Rice University where he announced that we would be attempting to go to the moon. We focused on the message from the speech that "We are not accepting this challenge because it is easy, we are doing it because it is hard and challenges that are hard are worth pursuing". We also watched a video on Grit that reiterated that learning is hard work and the key to success is trying again when things don't go your way. The Eagles then demonstrated persistence and resilience by trying to knock over Mr TJ and not giving up and having to try again.   We celebrated a Birthday this week with cookies on Wednesday!   All in all a great and fun week. Thank you to all who participated in the Journey Meetings. Reflection is always valuable and hopefully you have enjoyed the information gained in those meetings.   Here is a link to Laura's Blog this week: https://www.actonacademyparents.com/a-parenting-mindset-shift-to-free-you/

Below the Eagles try to knock over Mr TJ with perseverance and resilience.

Chess Quest! Play against the computer or each-other!

Week 17

What a week coming back from break! Our new overarching Question for Session 4 is: How will you tackle challenges? The Eagles have dove back into Core Skills and our quest for this session: Chess! Some Eagles can already play and others are learning fast. We are using www.chesskid.com and Storytime Chess to learn the game and different strategies. These programs are very fun and interactive and the Eagles especially like King Chomper and King Shaky.   This week in music we learned about rhythms, what they are and how to use them. We practiced some of our songs on the piano and the ukulele. Ms. Karen was ready to show them how to play the flute but the Eagles all REALLY wanted to play the drums so she let them have fun with percussion and we will do the flute next week!   Our adventure hike on Tuesday was quite exciting and tiring. The trails at the Meredith Community Woods were pretty rough and I think all of us were tired by the time we got back to the studio. We took a lot of resting breaks along the way. It was really fun to see all of the animal tracks in the snow and we identified rabbit, squirrel, deer, fox and even an ermine (weasel).   PE was canceled this week so we spent some time at the park instead. Even with the cold weather, the Eagles were excited to get out and explore. In art, we are learning how to sketch self-portraits and started with practicing eyes and noses.   In Civilizations we learned about King Cyrus of the Babylonians. We talked about whether his best trait as a King was fairness to the people, kindness to new subjects, or wanting to expand the empire. We also learned about the Spartans and had a very lively debate about what is more important to focus on: military might or education and wisdom for the people.   We are ready for a great Town Hall meeting today with multiple topics that the Eagles want to discuss. Town Hall is the time when the Eagles get to discuss, vote on, and change the way that things are run in the Studio. We look forward to seeing them take ownership of their space and processes.   A special note from Mr. TJ: This week I was thinking about my relationship with media. This was inspired by a conversation I had with my parents and my sister. My sister and I have children that are very close in age and we are trying to figure out what their relationship with media will look like. I came across an article from Canada's Center for Digital and Media Literacy. I was struck by it because of the funny anecdote my parents told about my sister hiding from Ursula (the bad witch in The Little Mermaid) behind the couch, dog or anything else she could find. That got me thinking about how media and movies can affect us in real ways. I was terrified of Captain Hook. If you find the time please read this article. It hit home for me and is something I thought others might appreciate. It is also a good reminder that children's brains are not fully developed and actually perceive the world in a different way than our adult brains. For example, children ages 3-6 cannot actually tell the difference between whether something is real or fantasy. In their developmental stage, all things are real. Even cartoony versions can be extremely frightening.   Here is the link: Media Smarts Dealing with Fear and Media

Learning to draw faces with Ms. Sanni!

A very difficult hike in the Meredith Community Forrest - the Eagles pushed through to the end!!