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After a challenging afternoon of communicating and working together to build a pulley system spark studio heroes were excited to begin free time on the playground when a disagreement arose. Two people were playing on the bus structure when another hero decided they would like to play there. “Well, we were here first and we prefer to play this game by ourselves”. This was met with “The spaces on our playground are for everyone, so I can play here too”. The lines had been drawn and no one wanted to budge or give up their stance. Heroes tried to negotiate saying “You can play on the bus tomorrow, we are here now” which was followed with the question “Why can’t you just use half of the bus?” Tensions began to grow as the deliberation continued without progress. In the past these moments had often led to pleas for guide intervention, heroes storming off in frustration or other emotional outbursts.

With a quick reminder from the guide, the timekeeper announced that there were now 10 minutes left of free time. “Ten minutes?! …Well half of that is 5! You all can play here for 5 minutes and then I will use the bus for 5 minutes.” “Deal! “The hero agreed and joyfully ran off. In this playground conflict the heroes stood up for what they felt was fair, they communicated clearly, they brainstormed multiple solutions and they ultimately used compromising tools they have been practicing to work through the dispute. This important social emotional work is constant in Spark Studio and will set our heroes up for success in the elementary studio and life beyond school.

Nesting heroes continue to complete computer work, predicting orbit patterns and mastering lessons on Khan Academy, Newsela and Lexia. The excitement over researching marine life and flags of South America continues to be an inspiration. The afternoons this week were filled with exploration of simple machines. The heroes were in their challenge zones, using recyclables to craft cars with working wheel and axle mechanisms. The week ended in a gorgeous day spent outdoors playing and researching playgrounds. Forts were built in the woods, teamwork utilized to push large swings, and our adventurous heroes climbed to the tops of structures. Heroes reflected on what was memorable about each park and why parks are important to a community. A hero even noted with empathy that if you didn’t have many toys a playground would be crucial for having fun! 

 

After a fascinating trip to Austin, filled with connection and inquiry with fellow guides across the world, this week began with new ideas and excitement for learning that is driven by heroes.

How can young heroes begin to have a basic concept of how physics works unless they have a chance to explore and experiment with it freely? Our playground design quest continues to be built on the foundation of knowledge developed from these playful experiences. Heroes made inclined planes out of cardboard, wood, and even our whiteboards as they tested for distance and speed of toys cars. Our math provocation table challenged heroes to create a maze and then figure out how they could move the marble through it and many were quick to see how the use of an inclined plane aided this process. Heroes spent an afternoon honing fine motor skills and working hard to drive screws into wooden planks. The final simple machine we explored this week was the wedge and by using wedge shaped tools, heroes carved designs into bars of soap and enjoyed the sensory experience of a studio that smelled particularly fresh.

After intentional goal setting and focused work each morning, heroes prepared for a field trip to The Building Museum. We discussed what goes into planning and designing a city. The topic of empathy was brought up in discussions of who gets to decide what structures go where and how these decisions might impact residents differently. Heroes carefully considered the feelings of fellow citizens in the city they were creating. The trip culminated in an amazing show of teamwork and perseverance as heroes worked diligently to build a 7 foot arch out of foam blocks in the lobby of the museum. The building process was exciting and filled with ideas of structure and physics, but I will let the heroes tell you all the details of that endeavor.

Welcome to Session 5! We excitedly welcomed back a hero who had been away and reconnected with our contract. A town meeting brought up problems that were important to heroes such as whether math, writing and reading goals should be set in a particular order and how to be sure heroes are giving concise responses during launches. Our young learners express their feelings and give supporting evidence about what solutions will work best in our community. Work time is, as always, a busy hub of curiosity. We have heroes conquering new math topics, carefully writing stories that are meaningful to them and poring over books, excited to recall plot points and how they might add to the story. They research natural findings and perform science experiments using studio plants and materials.  

Heroes discuss empathy with confidence and they come up with new ways to understand fellow travelers. We will start to discuss the larger communities we are part of and what empathy looks like on a grander scale. Spark studio heroes have made visits to the office where a mindfulness station has been set up. This is a space to name emotions and use tools to self- regulate until a hero is calm again and can rejoin fellow travelers.

Session 5 Quest work is under way as heroes practice acting out and identifying different types of force and motion.  This led to an exploration of magnetic force and we spent an afternoon determining whether magnets work in water, what materials in our studio were magnetic, and which part of a magnet housed its poles. We began discussing simple machines focusing on inclined planes first. Heroes got firsthand experience on our playground’s slide!

For next week’s Building Museum field trip we are collecting some items, if you can, please bring in recyclables by following the guidelines below:

• Paper towel rolls, cereal boxes, and egg cartons are great
• Please don’t bring any juice or water bottles, glass or metal containers
• No containers that have held milk or nuts