For many Spark learners, Friday is easily the best day of the week. Instead of heading to The Village School in Arlington, their cars and minivans steer two miles away to Ms. Jenny’s house. Jenny Thomas is a Community Partner, longtime educator, parent of a former TVS learner, and strong advocate of our program. Her historic two-acre property is an unusually large space in Falls Church City. In her words, “it begs to be shared.” With their unending grassy areas and spaces to explore, the grounds perfectly complement the environment at TVS. So much of our focus is on character building, relationships, following your curiosity and passion, etc. Some might argue that our deepest learning happens on Fridays.
The crunch of tires on gravel as the first minivan makes its way up the long, stately driveway signals that the morning has begun. After saying a quick hello to the guide, children thud to the ground one by one and sprint for the backyard. After hanging their backpacks, lunch boxes and coats on the picket fence, they greet the animals awaiting them. There’s often a foster puppy (or five) waiting to play catch, or one of the three cats scurrying for a hiding spot.
Some learners waste no time in turning over the giant logs surrounding the fire pit or rocks outlining the gardens. After having laid undisturbed for a week, these spots teem with new critters. Finding a stag beetle or two is all but guaranteed year-round, but the children marvel when they unearth the occasional centipede or spot a woodpecker. Last week, they found a salamander guarding its tiny, translucent eggs.
Other groups collect sticks for the afternoon fire, assemble “soup” ingredients, or swing on the hammock strung between two hundred year-old trees. In the autumn, oak leaves blanket the lawn, just waiting to be raked into piles. It’s amazing how much organization this takes, inspiring even the little ones to step up and lead. They all take turns leaping in and burying each other.
Then they let loose and run. Oh the running! They smile big and often as they gather speed and tear across the lawn, lungs gulping the fresh air. They shout to their heart’s content. It’s not unusual to see a learner stroll off by themselves, enjoying time to think quietly, let their mind wander, and rest in the moment.
According to Balanced and Barefoot, a therapist-recommended book by Angela Hanscom, young children should play outside 4 to 5 hours a day for optimal exercise and mental health. We do our best at TVS, giving them more than two hours a day. But at least one day a week, Spark learners get seven straight hours to let loose, jump on the trampoline, lift heavy sticks and logs, play tag football, and more. (Notice how they sleep really well on Friday nights?)
In Spark, this is experiential learning at its best. Children learn to do as they build fires in the pit built for 20. They learn about the limits of their balance as they climb on the hammocks and trees. They learn to live together as they mediate arguments over turns on the swing and retrieve ice packs for their hurt friends. They learn to be, to treat each other with kindness when they find out what is fun and what hurts others. Perhaps most importantly, they exercise autonomy over their entire school day. If they want to spend hours around the fire or take six turns on the trampoline, so be it. If they want to harvest carrots in the garden or help Ms. Jenny mow the lawn, that’s fine, too.
Seven uninterrupted hours allow play to evolve and new friend groups to form. Adapting to cold, rainy weather also helps build resilience. (Don’t worry–when it storms, indoor areas like the wraparound porch, craft room, and lofty barn provide shelter.) Children enjoy cozy traditions, such as sharing blueberry tea, roasting marshmallows over the coals of a dying fire, or wrapping up in blankets to enjoy a story or two at the end of the day. We have yet to enjoy a snow day here, but we have our fingers firmly crossed for the upcoming winter!
Guides look forward to Fridays, too. It’s time to observe each learner and see what they are capable of outside our school setting. We see their bravery, leadership, and skills in conflict resolution evolve. We can’t wait to return next week and see what they’ll do next. Personally, I relish the opportunity to talk as little as possible. This is time to just watch the learners play, play a little myself, build relationships with them, and get ideas to take back to school.
All this is crucial to our learning model at TVS. Children set and work toward their own goals, come up with their own rules, and get good and dirty. Children who play messy can think creatively. Spark’s unofficial motto? The dirtier the better!
I could go on about the learning opportunities at Ms. Jenny’s house. Suffice it to say, what may look like a throwaway day from the outside holds some of the richest learning experiences on offer at TVS. It is something that makes learning here truly unique!
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