We had a fabulous first week of school and our heroes are already establishing routines. The learners experienced both fun and hard work as they got to know each other and their studio. We are confident that they have laid the foundation for what will be an AMAZING school year!
LH Kindness Curriculum
Thank you to Mrs. Molley who led three kindness curriculum circles this week in the Little Hero’s studio! The topics of this week were “Mindful Bodies and Awareness of Attention”, “Growing Seeds”, and “Growing Friendship with Kindness”. The learners planted lima bean seeds and are excited to watch them grow. They are also building a “kindness garden” in their classroom where Little Heroes can add a butterfly to the wall when they are observed being kind to someone.
Yoga
The Little Heroes participate daily in yoga before their closing circle and the ES learners will be doing yoga on certain days during the mid-day circle!
Core Skills
At HJA “core skills” are considered math, reading, and writing. In the Little Hero’s studio they work on their computers for the first part of core skills and then they work on their Montessori core skills. The Montessori work consists of hands-on manipulatives off of the shelves and their writing books. In the Elementary Studio, they complete their core skills on the computer and read books from our library.
LH Spark Play
Afternoons in the Little Hero’s studio are dedicated to spark play time! This can be a variety of things consisting of outside play, occasionally participating in quest with the older heroes, art, building blocks, story time, or work from the practical life, sensory, and wellness shelves in the studio.
ES Comms
This year “Writer’s Workshop” has transitioned into “ES Comms” which stands for ES Communications. Comms will focus on all aspects of quality communication including writing, speaking, drawing, and body language! On Tuesday we discussed the recipe for holding a proper conversation with someone. Next we practiced this through a game of “Get to Know You” BINGO. On Thursday we introduced character call-outs and practiced writing positive affirmations for each other in the studio. At the end everyone shared their call-outs with the group!
ES Quest
Our first quest of the year is called “Prediction Tools”. The ES heroes are working through several challenges that will prepare them for the rest of the year. Through these challenges, they get to know the studio, themselves, and each other better. This week we talked about the “Hero’s Journey”, and read the book “Six Dots” by Jen Bryant which is a story about Louis Braille. The learners also completed the tech tools challenge and signed their chromebook contracts to receive their computers. Our focus this week was on accountability, organization, and SMART goals. With these foundational studio tools in their belt they will be able to successfully navigate any trials they come across this year.
PE
PE began with an obstacle course designed by the ES heroes. Everyone practiced their speed and agility by jumping through hoops, balancing on beams, weaving around obstacles, and crawling through tunnels. Next up was the game “Icicle of Doom”, the learners took turns freezing and unfreezing each other in a game of tag involving pool noodles! After that was “Duck, Duck, Goose” and we wrapped up with each hero leading the group in a yoga pose.
Art
In art we watched a video on how Moroccan tiles are made for their beautiful mosaic architecture. Next we learned how to make mosaics out of paper. The heroes were able to choose their colors and designed a mosaic out of paper “tiles” on a plate. We also listened to Moroccan music in the background!
Cooking
Thank you to Mrs. Molley who came on Friday to lead cooking with our heroes! This week they made Moroccan chicken and couscous! They grated cheese, chopped up cilantro, zested a lemon, and mixed it all together. After cooking, the Little Heroes used a Montessori work on place setting to set up the tables for everyone to try the food. The dishes were delicious and several learners came back for seconds!
Free Time
The older heroes held a “Town Hall” on Friday to propose and vote on a way to make free time more organized, fair, and safe. They came up with an excellent plan that worked very well on Friday afternoon. Two claps for the ES heroes improving their community!
Fun Friday
We love our “Fun Fridays”! If they have been working hard all week the heroes get to earn their ticket to participate in certain activities on Fridays. In the Little Hero’s studio they have “show and tell” in the morning where they can bring something special to them to share with the studio. We saw all kinds of amazing things including Isabelle’s pet tortoise! Afterwards we gather to cook a new recipe each week before snack time. In the afternoon, all heroes have the opportunity to watch a movie. This week they watched “Home”!
ES Hero of the Week
In the Elementary Studio they started voting each Friday on the learner who displayed the most heroic traits all week long. These are things like focus, positivity, helpfulness, kindness, holding people accountable, being respectful, etc. The hero of the week gets to choose between a few prizes. This week everyone unanimously voted for Aubri! Congratulations Aubri!
